Drawing insights from strategic management and international business literature, the present study develops an integrated model to explain the competitive actions between multinational firms in a global context. Accordingly, two research questions are addressed: What key factors explain the competitive actions of multinational firms? What key factors moderate the competitive tensions experienced by different pairs of multinational firms? Using structured content analysis to identify competitive actions, the empirical findings of the present study suggest that subsidiary control, MNE size, national culture, government regulations and multimarket contact are all likely to exert important impact on a multinational firm's motivation and capability to compete and therefore influence its competitive aggressiveness in foreign markets.

Drawing insights from strategic management and international business literature, the present study develops an integrated model to explain the competitive actions between multinational firms in a global context. Accordingly, two research questions are addressed: What key factors explain the competitive actions of multinational firms? What key factors moderate the competitive tensions experienced by different pairs of multinational firms? Using structured content analysis to identify competitive actions, the empirical findings of the present study suggest that subsidiary control, MNE size, national culture, government regulations and multimarket contact are all likely to exert important impact on a multinational firm's motivation and capability to compete and therefore influence its competitive aggressiveness in foreign markets.

This study employs the method of linear regression to examine the competition behavior of TV console industry in the North America market and affection of the TV console developer¡¦s action on the competitors¡¦ sales volume share in the same month. The data only include the hardware and software sales volume of the main competitors-PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii in this generation and their action after publicly announcing. Main findings of research show that price reduction, console improving and releasing big titles have influence upon the sales volume of opponents. The influence of price reduction action is related to the position of TV console: PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 have a similar position and their action will affect each other, but the console of different position ¡V Wii not be affected. The action of console improving and releasing big titles apparently shows that TV console in similar position have more influence on each other.

This dissertation describes the development and empirical testing of strategic asset pricing theory (STRAPT). This explains the processes by which investors form ideas and judgments about a given firm‘s competitive strategy, and their ultimate belief about the impact these strategies will have on the firm‘s future stock price. My model explicitly accounts for information investors associate with dimensions of a firm‘s pattern of competitive actions, how investors process and interpret this information, and how they form opinions about the relationship between competitive strategy and future value of the firm‘s equity shares. Thus, by accounting for observed competitive behavior, my model stands in stark contrast to asset pricing theory – which asserts that financial markets are efficient and all investors rational – and instead sides with Hirshleifer (2001) who contends some investors form biases, and that the next stage of asset pricing theory is to look at how investors form opinions about stocks. Drawing from some unique theoretical areas: information perception/salience, information processing, social judgment, and decision making, my dissertation develops a conceptual model of this process by which long-buyers and short-sellers view and react to patterns of competitive actions carried out among rivals. My findings about how long-buyers regard between-firm ―differences‖ in the pattern of competitive actions the firm carries out over time, or strategic heterogeneity, are generally supportive of Miller and Chen (1996), who posited that distinctive processes such as heterogeneous strategies may decrease the ―legitimacy‖ of the firm. They exhibit a negative relationship with stock returns. Due to a different decision-making process, short-sellers come to different conclusions. Strategic heterogeneity exhibits a U-shaped relationship with short interest. My findings pertaining to how long-buyers value the number of strategic moves carried out by a firm generally support Young, Smith, and Grimm (1996) and Ferrier (2001). Specifically, I demonstrate that these investors value exposure to a firm, and this translates into positive stock market returns. Short-sellers, on the other hand, see the value of a large number of strategic actions only to an extent. Through their systematic analysis, they subscribe to the Porter (1980) and Shamsie (1990) viewpoint that more is not always better. This results in a U-shaped relationship with short interest.

S’appuyant sur les apports de la théorie de la dynamique concurrentielle et de la théorie évolutionniste, notre thèse aborde la question du processus d’évolution des comportements stratégiques des entreprises en relation avec le processus d’apprentissage. Une revue de la littérature nous a permis de développer des propositions de recherche traitent cette question et débouchant sur un modèle conceptuel qui a été ajusté par la suite à l’aide d’une étude empirique qualitative. L’examen de ce processus d’évolution a été effectué à travers une étude empirique (qualitative et quantitative) auprès des entreprises tunisiennes performantes appartenant aux secteurs de production de lait et de Textile-Habillement (T-H)... / Basing on study of the theory of competitive dynamics and the evolutionary theory, our thesis tackles the question of the process of evolution of the strategic behaviors of the firms in relation to the process of learning. A review of the literature made it possible to develop proposals for a research treating this question and leading to conceptual model adjusted thereafter by the use of qualitative empirical study. The examination of this process of evolution was carried out through an empirical study (qualitative and quantitative) on high performance Tunisian firms belonging to two sectors: milk of production and textile...

Prior research on incumbent firm response to radical technological innovation identifies firm, technology, and environmental factors associated with incumbents’ performance after a technology shift. What remains unexplored are factors affecting choice of response made before a technological shift occurs. Such ex ante choices are important intermediate outcomes affecting long-term performance outcomes. Competitive considerations may be influential inputs in choice processes because technological innovation is often related to competitive strategy. The resulting research question for this study is: What role do competitive considerations play in incumbent firms’ ex ante strategic choices in response to potentially radical technological innovations? Findings from a survey of key informants in the electronics industry whose firms face a potential technological disruption (n=120) suggest that incumbents’ response choices are affected by competitor-related orientations and by perceptions of relative strength of their strategic assets. Limited support is found for a moderating effect of perceptions of the competitive environment. The results of this study extend theory on incumbent response to radical technological change by shedding light on the influence of competitor interdependence. Findings also suggest the importance of strategic choice as an intermediate variable in understanding incumbents’ long-term performance. Research examining choice factors at varied stages of a technology’s diffusion can further advance understanding of the evolving nature of strategic response choices and the effects they have on long-term performance.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:25:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Nelson Roberto Furquim.pdf: 3491743 bytes, checksum: 0e9c6dc3c7e81daa2c67460f67a5e676 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-03-09 / Fundo Mackenzie de Pesquisa / The worldwide economy growth rate has been around 5,0% since 2004, according to the World Economic Outlook (September 2006) report, by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and that growth has increased the basic metals demand, zinc included, specially in China. In the mining and metal sectors, throughout 2006, the price of commodities, including zinc and other non-ferrous metals, reached historical highs, generating value to many companies acting internationally. The scenario of high prices took place mainly due to the high demands, lower supply and lower stocks, leading to very restricted market conditions. China became the main driver of the pricing dynamics in the metal markets, and particularly in the case of zinc, the demand in China has been higher than the worldwide consumption growth. Two main factors have directly influenced the growth of zinc and other metals demand in China: the country increasing importance in the world economy, and the fast growth of its industrial production (including exports), involving a high consumption of metals. Taking into account the complexity and the opportunities related to the mining and metals segments, the main objective of this study is to make an analysis of the competitive dynamics and of some strategies present in the zinc segment; gathering elements that will make it possible to better understand the strong competitive pressure observed in the international scenario of the zinc industry. Further to that, it also becomes important to understand how the competitiveness critical factors, such as: sources of competitive advantage, firm internal factors, market factors, industry contion, regulatory and incentive approach; influence the firms decision taking. Those factors all together make up the competition standard for the commodities producing industries (FERRAZ, KUPFER and HAGUENAUER, 1995), including the zinc industry. In addition to that and aligning the study with the purpose of evaluating the competitive dynamics in the zinc segment on the long run, there will be also an analysis of the main strategies, including innovation and internationalization strategies, adopted by the zinc industry in Brazil and worldwide, and how they impact the development and growth of zinc markets. For the development of this project and collecting the needed information to support the study, questionnaires were distributed to Votorantim Metais and companies associated to the International Zinc Association (IZA)employees, besides employees from the association itself and from the Latin America International Zinc Association (LATIZA). The answers were consolidated and statistically treated. / A taxa de crescimento anual da economia mundial tem ficado em torno de 5,0% desde 2004, como é apontado pelo relatório World Economic Outlook (September 2006), do Fundo Monetário Internacional, e esse crescimento acelerou a demanda por metais básicos, incluindo o zinco, especialmente na China. No setor de mineração e de metais, durante o ano de 2006, o preço das commodities, incluindo zinco e outros metais não ferrosos, atingiram altas históricas, gerando valor para muitas empresas no contexto internacional. O cenário de altos preços foi decorrente principalmente das altas demandas, menor oferta e baixos estoques, desencadeando condições mercadológicas bastante restritas. A China tornou-se o principal direcionador da dinâmica dos preços nos mercados de metais e particularmente no caso do zinco, a demanda da China ultrapassou o crescimento do consumo mundial. Dois fatores básicos influenciaram diretamente o aumento da demanda de zinco e outros metais na China: a sua crescente importância na economia mundial, e o rápido crescimento da sua produção industrial (incluindo exportações), envolvendo um alto consumo de metais. Considerando-se o grau de complexidade e as oportunidades apontadas para o segmento de mineração e metais, o principal objetivo deste trabalho é fazer uma análise da dinâmica competitiva e de algumas estratégias que vigoram no segmento do zinco, reunindo elementos que permitam compreender a forte pressão competitiva verificada no cenário mundial da indústria do zinco. Torna-se, portanto, importante uma compreensão de como os fatores críticos de competitividade, a saber: fontes de vantagens competitivas, fatores internos às empresas, fatores mercadológicos, a conção da indústria e o regime de incentivos e regulação; influenciam as tomadas de decisão nas firmas. Juntos esses fatores compõem o padrão de concorrência nas indústrias produtoras de commodities (FERRAZ, KUPFER e HAGUENAUER, 1995), das quais a indústria do zinco faz parte. Complementando o estudo e alinhando-o com o propósito de avaliar a dinâmica competitiva no segmento do zinco no longo prazo, serão analisadas as principais estratégias, incluindo as estratégias de inovação e de internacionalização, adotadas pela indústria do zinco no Brasil e no mundo, e como as mesmas influenciam o desenvolvimento e o crescimento dos mercados do zinco. Para o desenvolvimento deste projeto e levantamento das informações necessárias para fundamentar o estudo, foram utilizados questionários individuais distribuídos a funcionários da Votorantim Metais e de empresas associadas à International Zinc Association (IZA), além de membros da própria associação e da Latin America International Zinc Association (LATIZA). As respostas foram tabuladas e tratadas estatisticamente.

Extant research within competitive dynamics recognizes a positive relationship between high levels of competitive activity and firm performance, but the cognitive and psychological antecedents to competitive activity are far less clearly understood. I explore the role of a specific psychological antecedent - status, in impacting firms’ motivations to launch competitive moves against rivals. The key question, which extant literature does not seem fully equipped to answer, is when and under exactly what circumstances lower-status firms become motivated to launch action against higher-status ones and vice-versa. I use the stimulus-response model in social cognition to build theory which helps to answer the question by considering structural properties of market engagement. The specific structural property of market engagement that I focus on is market commonality, or the extent to which a rival is a significant player in markets important to a focal firm. I predict that a rival’s market commonality with a focal firm and its status relative to the focal firm have independent and positive effects on the extent to which the focal firm pays attention to the rival, that a rival’s market commonality with a focal firm and its status relative to the focal firm interact negatively to predict the focal firm’s motivation to launch action against that rival, and that a rival’s relative status and market commonality with a focal firm interact positively to predict the extent to which the focal firm pays attention to the rival. I test theory through a field study on gourmet food trucks in Lexington and an experiment through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk tool. Results provide broad support for the hypotheses. Three consequences follow from my study – that high-status firms are likely to come under attack from lower-status firms with whom they do not compete in markets, that they are unlikely to be paying attention to those lower-status firms when first attacked, and that they are likely to become aware of and motivated to act against those lower-status firms only after the lower-status firms have occupied key markets. My study contributes to the literatures in competitive dynamics, status, multi-market contact, and entrepreneurial action.

This study employs competitive dynamics theory, upper echelon perspective, power perspective, and strategic human resource management perspective to examine how executives matter with organizational outcomes. It argues that CEO dominance and executive human resource management system will affect top management team social integration, and the latter will promote aggressive competitive behavior. It also explores the performance implications of aggressive competitive behavior. Finally, it endeavors in opening the black box between executive human resource management system and firm performance. Anonymous questionnaires were distributed to firm executives, and the unit of analysis is firm level. Analyses with structural equation modeling confirmed most of our hypothesized relationships. CEO dominance is found to be negatively associated, but teamwork-oriented executive human resource management system is found to be positively related, with top management social integration. Top management team social integration will facilitate aggressive competitive behavior, and action speed matters with firm performance significantly. Finally, top management social integration and aggressive competitive behavior partially mediate the relationship of executive human resource management system and firm performance. Although strategic leadership research is prevalent, only few studies investigated the psychometric characteristics of top management team, even fewer paid attention to the impact of CEO power dominance on top management team¡¦s interaction. At the same time, strategic human resource management studies also put very few efforts on the topics of competitive behavior and top managers, although these issues should be critical sources of an organization¡¦s competitive advantage. This study is initiated to fill in these research gaps. Implications and limitations are discussed.

Les industries de réseaux tels que les télécommunications et l’énergie attirent l’attention des chercheurs et des praticiens depuis plusieurs décennies. La libéralisation de ces industries présentant des spécificités aussi bien des points de vue techniques qu’économiques a provoqué une reconfiguration du paysage concurrentiel, désormais moins stable et plus incertain. La question des conduites stratégiques se pose alors avec acuité pour les acteurs du marché qui se retrouvent dans un environnement fluctuant. La thèse s’attèle à cette question afin de saisir les interactions concurrentielles entre les acteurs des industries de réseau. La question de recherche guidant ce travail doctoral peut être résumée de la manière suivante : "comment la dynamique concurrentielle entre acteurs évolue-t-elle dans un environnement incertain ? ". Notre travail de recherche apporte des éléments de réponse à cette question en étudiant les dynamiques concurrentielles qui s'établissent entre les acteurs de l’industrie des télécommunications en Algérie, marquée par des transitions institutionnelles de libéralisation. Nous adoptons une approche dynamique pour analyser les actions et les réactions entre concurrents, tout en prenant en considération les changements institutionnels auxquels ils sont confrontés. Cette approche montre, sur la base des résultats de la recherche empirique, comment les acteurs interagissent et tentent de façonner leur environnement à travers leurs stratégies individuelles et/ou collectives. Ces résultats permettent de dépasser la vision déterministe et statistique des interactions concurrentielles véhiculée par les approches classiques, invitant de ce fait les chercheurs et les praticiens à saisir et à considérer la complexité et la diversité des stratégies concurrentielles. / Attention of scholars as well as practitioners. Their liberalization has led to a novel competitive landscape, featured by less stability and more uncertainty. The issue of strategic behavior then arises for the market players who have to deal with a fluctuating environment. The thesis addresses this point in order to understand the competitive interactions among players in the network industries. The research question guiding this doctoral work can be formulated as follows: "How does the competitive dynamic among actors evolve in an uncertain institutional environment?" .This work tries to answer the research question by studying the competitive dynamics that are established between players in the telecommunications industry in Algeria, fueled by institutional transitions of liberalization. We focus on a dynamic approach to analyze actions and reactions between competitors, while considering the institutional changes to which the market players are subjected. On the basis of the empirical results, this approach shows how actors interact and try to shape their environment through individual and/or collective strategies. These results allow us to move beyond the classical approaches that study competition from a deterministic and static point of view. They also emphasize the importance for researchers and practitioners to consider the complexity and the diversity of competitive strategies.