Waking up to the new era of hypercompetition
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11270653 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Richard A D'Aveni (Dartmouth Hospital, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1998 |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 183-195 |
| Publication date | 1998-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Washington Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0163-660X • E-ISSN: 1530-9177 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/01636609809550302 |
| OpenAlex | W2066403586 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 1 |
From microchips to corn chips, software to soft drinks, and packaged goods to package delivery services, executives have watched the intensity and type of competition in their industries shift during the last few years. Industries have changed from slow moving, stable oligopolies to environments, characterized by intense and rapid competitive moves, in which competitors strike quickly with unexpected, unconventional means of competing. They now confront “hypercompetitors” who continuously generate new competitive advantages that destroy, make obsolete, or neutralize the industry leader’s advantages, leaving the industry in disequilibrium and disarray. The problem of hypercompetitive markets has spread to the airline, pharmaceutical, financial services, health care, consumer electronics, telecommunications, broadcasting, auditing, automotive, and computer industries, among many others. As Jack Welch, chief executive officer of General Electric, said in 1992 in describing future competitive practices, “It’s going to be brutal.” 1 The new realities of this era shock even the most seasoned executives. For decades firms sought to sustain a competitive advantage, seen as the “holy grail” of strategy, but they find this impossible in hypercompetitive environments. The frequent rise of rapid imitators and leapfrog strategies has devastated long-time players. In the past, firms would often try to increase profitability by legally restraining the level of competition in an industry. They avoided price wars, segmented the market to avoid head-to-head competition, and tried to keep
Aeronautics · Business · Political science · Business Strategy and Innovation · Engineering · Innovation and Knowledge Management
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,57 |
| Citation span | 2019 - 2025 (7) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |