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Article
Publication date: 22 March 2024

Yang S. Yang, Xiaojin Sun, Mengge Li and Tingting Yan

This study investigates the extent to which a firm’s centrality and autonomy in its supply network are associated with the intensity and complexity of its competitive actions.

Abstract

Purpose

This study investigates the extent to which a firm’s centrality and autonomy in its supply network are associated with the intensity and complexity of its competitive actions.

Design/methodology/approach

Utilizing social network analysis and dynamic panel data models, this study analyzes a comprehensive panel dataset with 10,802 firm-year observations across various industries between 2011 and 2018 to test the hypotheses.

Findings

Our findings show that a firm’s level of centrality in its supply network has an inverted U-shaped relationship with both competitive intensity and competitive complexity. In addition, the turning points of these two inverted U-shaped relationships differ in that firms with a lower level of centrality tend to compete aggressively by launching more actions within fewer categories, while firms with a higher level of centrality tend to compete aggressively by launching fewer actions that cover a larger range of categories. Finally, we find that a firm’s structural autonomy has a positive relationship with competitive complexity.

Originality/value

This study bridges the gap between the supply chain management literature and strategic management literature and investigates how supply networks shape competitive aggressiveness. In particular, this research investigates how a firm’s structural position in its supply network affects its competitive actions, an important intermediate mechanism for competitive advantage that has been overlooked in the supply chain management literature.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 April 2015

Wu Wei, Xiang Hu, Yanping Li and Peng Peng

The purpose of this paper is to seek to advance the understanding of competitive interaction framework based on competitive dynamics theory that investigates how nonmarket and…

1088

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to seek to advance the understanding of competitive interaction framework based on competitive dynamics theory that investigates how nonmarket and market factors concurrently affect the relationships among action and response, their integration, and initiating firm performance.

Design/methodology/approach

To test the hypotheses for this study, the authors used data collected from the news found in web sites of 72 Chinese firms over a five-year period from January 2007 to December 2011. The authors use the approach suggested by Baron and Kenny (1986) to test the mediated effect of rival response and speed, after structured content analysis is adopted to overcome the challenges of identification and measurement by using a sample of competitive actions and responses.

Findings

The results test partial mediating role of rival response and speed in linking nonmarket, market, and integrated action with initiating firm performance outcomes. Rival responses and speed may vary systematically in nonmarket action. The relationship between the integration of competitive action and initiating firm performance is positive, high, and significant.

Research limitations/implications

The results of this study were limited by a sample in China. The authors further need to consider how nonmarket and market components are operationalized in different institutional environments. The authors study only captures observable moves reported in the news of Chinese firms’ web sites. This single-data source collection raises the specter of cognitive bias. It is advised to collect data from multiple sources, perhaps directly measuring the managers’ perception by using a questionnaire-based survey.

Practical implications

Firms whose main focus is to launch market actions in an effort to gain competitive advantage should ensure that their nonmarket actions constitute interfirm rivalry. Particularly, this study also encourages managers to continuously and rapidly integrate nonmarket actions into their analyses of market competition for firm success. Additionally, managers need to develop effective information-processing mechanisms to analyze, monitor, forecast, and interpret rival response and speed for each competitor.

Originality/value

The research contributes to the authors’ understanding of the nature of nonmarket and market competition by bridging nonmarket action into traditional competitive dynamics.

Article
Publication date: 9 May 2022

Feiyang Guan, Wang Tienan, Qianqian Fan and Linlin Liu

This study aims to explore the effect of competitive aggressiveness on firm performance and the moderating effect of firm 2019s ego-network structures in the international…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore the effect of competitive aggressiveness on firm performance and the moderating effect of firm 2019s ego-network structures in the international coopetition network.

Design/methodology/approach

From the perspective of strong cooperation of the global automobile industry in recent years, this study uses the global automobile firms in Factiva database as samples to test hypotheses using the least squares dummy variable (LSDV) model.

Findings

This study finds that there is different relationship between the number and variety of competitive actions and firm performance. In addition, ego-network structures have different coefficients for the number and variety of competitive actions.

Originality/value

The conclusions provide theoretical support and policy suggestions for firms to develop effective competitive strategies according to ego-network structures in the international coopetition network.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 52 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 July 2014

Olawale Oladipo Adejuwon

In order to achieve a desirable level of market efficiency, regulators need to identify the strategic groups within an industry and understand the way the constituent groups…

Abstract

Purpose

In order to achieve a desirable level of market efficiency, regulators need to identify the strategic groups within an industry and understand the way the constituent groups relate to one another. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

In the current study, factors that may lead to strategic group formation were developed and used as clustering variables in a k-means cluster statistical analysis to categorize the firms into strategic groups. The factors used are entry costs, timing of entry, technology type and scope of operations. In addition, the number and type of competitive actions employed by the firms in the industry were identified by structured content analysis of a public source. The competitive actions were used to examine the dynamics of the resulting groups within the context of competitive behavior, resource and scope commitments and corporate social responsibility (CSR) actions. In addition, χ2 analysis was employed to ascertain the likelihood that actions of a firm will be responded to by firms from the same group or from outside the group.

Findings

License fees was found to be the most significant clustering variable. The study also showed that groups with significantly higher license fees carried out considerably more competitive actions, had higher resource and scope commitments and executed more CSR actions. In addition, the study revealed significantly more competition within strategic groups than between groups.

Research limitations/implications

The absence of financial records for firms in the sample necessitated the use of CSR activity as a measure of firm performance. Some empirical studies have shown strong links between CSR and firm performance.

Practical implications

The study revealed high mobility barriers which prevent ease of movement of firms in the industry from one strategic group to the other. Therefore regulators who wish to promote competition must do so by identifying the strategic groups with significant market power and permitting entry not by lowering entry barriers but by allowing the entry of firms with proven resources similar to the firms in those groups and to stipulate similar commitments in entry conditions. The results also offer management practitioners an insight into competitive behavior in the industry.

Originality/value

The study utilized a unique data set (competitive actions of firms in the Nigerian Telecommunications industry as reported in the media) in contributing to empirical studies on competitive dynamics and strategic group literature.

Details

African Journal of Economic and Management Studies, vol. 5 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-0705

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 19 August 2015

Tieying Yu and Mary Ann Glynn

Although two decades have passed since the publication of Walsh and Ungson’s (1991) seminal article on organizational memory, there has been only limited theoretical elaboration…

Abstract

Although two decades have passed since the publication of Walsh and Ungson’s (1991) seminal article on organizational memory, there has been only limited theoretical elaboration and application of this critical aspect of cognition in the strategic management literature. We remedy this gap by advancing the construct of competitive memory, which we define as a firm’s dynamic capability consisting of stored information from its past competitive interaction with a given rival that can be brought to bear on present or future competitive actions. We theorize that competitive memory is composed of both procedural and declarative elements and can be accessed automatically and deliberatively. Additionally, we suggest that competitive memory is relational: As rivals within a competitive set interact in the market, competitive memory drives not only their strategic actions, but also their expectations about their competitors. Last, competitive memory is also dynamic, which can be constructed and reconstructed over time by an organization’s enactment of its internal and external environments and by purposive memory trials with its competitive set.

Details

Cognition and Strategy
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-946-2

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 November 2022

Hui Qi, Xiaotao Yao and Weiguo Fan

The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of a competitive action and its impact on the response of rivals in the digital market. Specifically, this paper introduces the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of a competitive action and its impact on the response of rivals in the digital market. Specifically, this paper introduces the concept of action complexity and action variation to delineate the configuration characteristics of each digital competitive action and empirically investigates how these action characteristics further affect rivals’ response speed.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses structural content analysis methods to code competitive actions based on the news of Chinese online travel agencies (OTAs) from 2010 to 2015. The cox proportional hazards regression models are employed to test the hypotheses.

Findings

The results indicate that action complexity of the focal firm is negatively associated with rivals’ response speed as it constrains their interpretation (awareness), motivation and capability to respond, while action variation of the focal firm is positively associated with rivals’ response speed as it enhances their attention (awareness) and motivation to respond. Furthermore, the negative relationship between action complexity and response speed is weaker when action variation is high.

Originality/value

Further to advancing competitive dynamics theory, this paper proposes an action-configuration perspective to explore the particular content and quality of each digital competitive action. The discussion of competitive rivalry between OTAs also enriches the application of competitive dynamics in the digital market. Meanwhile, this paper further clarifies the decision-making process of rivalry drawing on the awareness–motivation–capability (AMC) framework.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 61 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 July 2021

Kyle Turner, Matthew C. Harris, T. Russell Crook and Annette L. Ranft

The purpose of this study is to integrate research on competitive and cooperative repertoires and to simultaneously assess the direct, indirect and curvilinear effects of…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to integrate research on competitive and cooperative repertoires and to simultaneously assess the direct, indirect and curvilinear effects of competitive and cooperative action repertoires in relation to firm performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The analyses are conducted using a longitudinal dual-industry sample of publicly traded firms, including over 6,500 competitive actions and 750 cooperative actions. The authors use fixed effects (FE) regression models to test the diminishing returns of action volume on firm performance as well as the moderating effects of action diversity.

Findings

The results suggest that increasing competitive and cooperative actions yields diminishing returns in relation to firm performance. Furthermore, in the context of competitive action repertoire diversity, increased diversity magnifies the diminishing returns of competitive action volume on firm performance.

Originality/value

The study provides a firm-level conceptualization of overall competitive and cooperative repertoires to extend the literature on competition and cooperation beyond dyadic interactions or structural determinants of competitive and cooperative actions.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 60 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 October 2010

Xinming Deng, Zhilong Tian, Shuai Fan and Muhammad Abrar

The purpose of this paper is to explore the prediction of competitive response based on the characteristics of market and non‐market actions comprehensively, and develop a…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the prediction of competitive response based on the characteristics of market and non‐market actions comprehensively, and develop a four‐stage decision‐making model of firm's competitive action, which is significant for Chinese practicing managers when formulating and implementing the strategies, and further predicting competitors' strategic choices.

Design/methodology/approach

The research adopted the method of structured content analysis and carried out the survey in Chinese home appliance industry, mainly covering the largest firms, including TCL, Hisense, Changhong, Konka, Haier, and Skyworth. The method of multiple regression analysis was employed to test the hypotheses.

Findings

The results show that in order to comprehensively forecast competitor's responding behaviors, the firms could not only limit their perspective to market field but also pay attention to non‐market. Additionally, in the process of dynamic interaction, the attacking or responding action is not independent and it is related significantly to another three type decisions, which are market and non‐market, strategic and tactic, and collective and individual. Further, the study asserts that, in market field, tactic activity is more likely to trigger competitor's response than strategic one, while in non‐market, the situation is just the opposite. Meanwhile, the study figured out that individual market attack is easier to trigger individual market and non‐market response, as well as collective market response. While for non‐market action, whatever it is individual or collective, both would be easy to provoke competitor's collective response.

Originality/value

The research findings extend the existing competitive interaction theory to non‐market field. When forecasting competitor's choice of the competitive action, the firms could not only limit their perspective to market field but also pay attention to non‐market, attaching importance to certain situation of competitor's taking such non‐market action as corporate philanthropy, etc. to launch an attack or a response for gaining competitive advantage.

Details

Nankai Business Review International, vol. 1 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-8749

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 31 December 2013

Eon-Seong Lee

This study aims to develop a competitive dynamics model of container shipping liners, one which examines how inter-firm network embeddedness would affect inter-firm rivalry such…

Abstract

This study aims to develop a competitive dynamics model of container shipping liners, one which examines how inter-firm network embeddedness would affect inter-firm rivalry such as the likelihood of a competitive action of a focal firm and the likelihood of its rivals’ response and how the inter-firm rivalry then has an influence on the market share of the focal firm. Structural and relational network embeddedness between a focal firm and its competitors would be investigated as drivers of the likelihood of the competitive action and response. The theoretical framework on the relationship between network embeddedness, inter-firm rivalry and market share in the liner shipping industry will be developed and relevant propositions are then suggested in relation to the model. This attempt may provide meaningful insights for managers and academic researchers into the key factors which affect the inter-firm rivalry between shipping liners and may also detail the impact of inter-firm rivalry on the focal firm’s market share. This research would therefore contribute to the development of the competitive strategy of container shipping companies so as to help them strategically manage their rivals’ competitive behaviors and maximize their market share.

Details

Journal of International Logistics and Trade, vol. 11 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1738-2122

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 July 2018

Ming-Chang Huang and Bau-Jung Chang

This paper highlights cooperation as an important moderating condition of competitive action and response. Drawing on a new perspective of collective identity on competitive

Abstract

Purpose

This paper highlights cooperation as an important moderating condition of competitive action and response. Drawing on a new perspective of collective identity on competitive dynamics, the purpose of this paper is to stress the impacts of market commonalities and resource similarities on competitive actions and responses and focus on the moderating effect of cooperation on the relationships mentioned above.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employs logistic regression analysis to test the hypotheses in the Taiwanese flour industry at the period 2002–2005.

Findings

The results indicate market commonalities and resource similarities have a negative effect on the likelihood of a price-competitive action and a price-competitive response. Moreover, the level of cooperation among firms moderates the relationships among market commonalities, resource similarities, price-competitive actions, and price-competitive responses.

Practical implications

To understand and predict competitive behavior help firms to control and avoid unnecessary rivalry and therefore maintain mutual forbearance with competitors.

Originality/value

This study provides a new angle on cooperation-level analysis, contributing the use of collective identity theory to analyze the moderating effects of cooperation on competitive actions and responses.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 57 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 91000