Competitive Actions of Firms ― Types and Contexts

Competition between firms is usually conducted through a series of specific actions in the marketplace. It is the competitive actions and dynamics of the firms that actually translate strategy into results. This book provides extensive case studies as well as extant theoretical literature and advances a typology of firm actions based on three dimensions (action breadth, action intensity, and action duration) so as to capture the characteristics of a firm’s actions in terms of various combinations of scope, magnitude, and time signature.

The book highlights the action types which range from "soaking" the entire battlefield with constant bombardment to "hopping" around by hit-and-run guerilla forces, from heavy "drilling" in a focused area to patient "fishing" that intends to influence customers and rivals through gentle persuasion, from "sprinkling" alternately in different market segments to decisive "thrusting" within selective niche, and from strong "lightening" effort within concentrated time and space to long-lasting and soft "drizzling" in a vast domain.

The book posits that the effectiveness of each type of competitive action will be determined by the environmental context in which the action is undertaken. In general, the breadth of a competitive action is positively related to the munificence of the environment, the intensity of a competitive action is negatively related to environmental complexity, and the duration of a competitive action is negatively related to environmental dynamism.

The book offers insights on the matching environmental contexts for each type of competitive actions discussed. It is a refreshing perspection on discussion of environmental context which hinges not only on the types and evolutionary stages of the industries, the socio-political-cultural milieus of the marketplaces, but also on the increasing globalization and glocalization as well as the recent shift of world economic orders.

Hao Ma is a Professor of Management and Academic Director of Beijing International MBA Program (BiMBA) at China Center for Economic Research (CCER), National School of Development, Peking University, Beijing, China. He earned his Ph.D. in Strategic Management from The University of Texas at Austin. He had also held faculty positions in the US, Japan, and other leading business schools in China. His research has been published in Academy of Management Review, Journal of Business Venturing, Journal of International Management, Journal of Small Business Management, and Organizational Dynamics, among others. His current research interests are the nature and causes of competitive advantage, multiple market competition, managerial decision-making, and the entrepreneurial process. His prior book published by Routledge is entitled Corporate Political Strategies of Private Chinese Firms.

Jianwen (Jon) Liao is a Professor of Management Practice and Associate Dean of the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business. He previously held faculty positions at numerous universities in the US, most recently at the Illinois Institute of Technology. His research focuses on venture creation process, entrepreneurial growth strategies and management of technological innovation as well. His research has appeared in academic journals such as Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, Small Business Economics, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Journal of Small Business Management, Family Business Review, Journal of High Tech Management Research, Frontier of Entrepreneurship Research, and Journal of Management Inquiry, among others.