what is the relationship between the number of firms and competiveness?
148035
Number makes no difference.  It is the quality of the product and the reputation of the various companies that make all the difference.\n\nLook at all the car manufacturers.  Price ranges are vast even within similar cars of various makes.
577675
it probably it is the link between the firm's internal resource to the global environment.\n\nFor example, how can a firm utilize its human resource in global scale which adding value or creating sustainable competitive advantage
843813
Statistics can be misleading...if you have a country with only one factory and they build another then they just grew by 100% compared to a country with 500,000 factories who build 100,000 more which is a growth rate of 20%.\n\nGiven this info...I would say either Romania, Albania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Lithuania or Slovenia.  My money would be on Slovenia.
58797
I think the best source for an overview of this information is Adrian Slywotzsky's best selling book - the Profit Zone.  This was required reading in my MBA program.  The Profit Zone has write ups on 22 different profit models - each of which is somewhat unique for depending on its business model. For example "Specialization Profit" takes different approaches that "Relative Market Share Profit."  This is a great book, easy to read, with a lot of visual content that will help you understand the concepts.
960514
Hi Ricardo,\n\nI think you need to look at the centralisation of the management structure and production processes.\n\nReduction in overheads.\n\nPossibly more effective inter-departmental lines of communication.\n\nEasier customer/supplier liason.\n\nPossible reduction in staff liabilities. (wages etc.)\n\nJust a few ideas to get you going. \nHope your studies are progressing well.\n\nGood luck
673915
competitive benchmarking.
124669
Not at all. It's just an indice and only the periodic variation matters. Each Indice (Cac 40, Footsie 30) gathers a different number of companies afterwards.
819406
If you try to excel in what you are doing and do it better than others, then you are a competitor.\n\ncc
1108881
Well, due to tough competetions, all are more or less, the same.\nBut before you buy connection of any company, make sure you evaluate them on their customer service and quality.
666404
Economics has both a quantitative and a qualitative nature. A simple understanding of comparisions, fluctuations and changes are necessary to comprehend the rudiments.
34500
Check out your competition. Find out what they charge, who their preferred suppliers are, etc. Do they do anything in-house or outsource?\n\nAlso, find out if they're all really busy. If they are, then there's enough room in the market for one more. (Heck, one might even mentor you if there's more than enough business to go around.) But if they're struggling to find business, you might want to look elsewhere.
819332
Competitive advantage comes from being vertically integrated, having brand recognition, and sufficient size to fund future development.\n\nCost advantage also may come from being vertically integrated.  They also may have cost advantage if they refine in newer plants using newer technology.  Newer plants extract more high value products at a relatively lower cost.
572757
1. The price of the competitor's product having same features.\n2. The demand of the product (Directly proportional).
407599
It is not a competitive advantage any longer. It is a matter of survival. The competitive advantage ended in the 70's. A modern enterprise can not be properly managed or run without an information system. The days of the rooms full of people with green eye shades is over.  Even individuals rely on information systems today. Quicken, MS Money, spread sheets. I have a gross of spread sheets. \n\nLet us take for example of just one business, the grocery store. Actually, today it is called the supermarket.  30 years ago, they had scores of clerks stamping prices on cans of beans, etc. Then they had scores of clerks keying those prices into cash resisters and other scores of clerks going through the isles trying to determine what they needed to restock. Then they had scores of clerks typing up purchase orders for more beans. Informations systems have eliminated all of that. The bar code on the product, tells the information system the product that was just bought. The information system calculates the price, deducts the item from inventory, and checks against the reorder point, and if that is reached issues an order for more of that item from the vendor and transmits the order to the vendors computer. \n\nDo you think that a company such as Walmart could even exist today without information systems?
559336
In my opinion...\n\nCommon size is most useful when comparing one company to another (or one part of a company to another part within the same company). I look at a lot of financials, and I don't have much use for common size - mainly because it's difficult to get true apples to apples when comparing one company to another.\n\nI suppose if one was comparing a bunch of different companies in the same industry, it could be useful for some limited comparisons - say like GP %, EBITDA/sales, or whatever is most meaningful in the industries you're looking at
145610
One, his answer is true, but, in competition, you loose money on one part, but make up profit in another.  Say like for instance in Wal-Mart.  Every customer needs household chemicals, foods, etc.  Not every item, will you be losing profit.  You still have your higher profit items, that a good merchant will push to make up for in sales.  For instance, if you are losing profit in paper towels, than you will cross merchandise a paper towel holder, that is at a 50% profit. Also, if you bring in the customer, there is still that high profit department, that a customer will shop.  A good business knows how to equal out the margin. The only downside to competion, is within the businesses.  If a business can't hang with another, or know how to manage, their money, staff, and most importantely, how to take care of the customer, than they will loose.  A good merchant doesnt see a loss, but see's profit.
360586
Um, it's just the size of the firm.  It's probably measured in terms of number of employees.