Today's Competitive Scenario

 

There are several things that can be said about today’s competitive scenario. This competitive scenario is more volatile and unpredictable. Environmental changes are likely to be discontinuous. There is a declining emphasis on single domestic markets and an increasing emphasis on global markets as more industries globalise. Companies find that they must compete differently to achieve strategic competitiveness and earn above-average or superior returns. There will be a need for managers to make significant and even painful decisions to achieve strategic competitiveness.

 

Therefore, the need of the hour is that the companies must learn to compete differently if they are to achieve strategic competitiveness in the new competitive scenario. New ways of competing may include the following:

• bringing new goods and services to market more quickly
• the use of new technologies
• diversifying the product line
• shifting product emphasis
• consolidation
• combining on-line selling with physical stores

 

Thus, the new competitive scenario has changed from the old and familiar. Reasons for this change include such factors as:

• increased attention to global markets with less emphasis on the domestic market
• recognition of and reaction to different forms of competitive actions from new, global competitors
• advances in information and communications technology enabling more effective communication across multiple markets, faster decision making, and rapid competitive responses
• improvements in quality and rapid time-to-market for new products enabled by sophisticated technologies
• an increased emphasis on innovation that is changing the nature of competition in many industries
• co-operation between former competitors in the development of new technology or the formation of strategic alliances to compete against other competitors

 

The focus of this course is on competitive dynamics, the series of competitive actions and competitive responses among companies competing within a particular industry. When one company takes action, competitors respond.  This often generates a response from the company that first took action.  As a result, the ultimate effectiveness of a company’s strategy will be determined not only by the company’s initial actions, but how well it anticipates and reacts to the strategic actions of its competitors.