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The problem of competition in the UK petrol market
Author(s) -
Cohen Marcel
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
strategic change
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.527
H-Index - 16
eISSN - 1099-1697
pISSN - 1086-1718
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1697(199806/07)7:4<203::aid-jsc345>3.0.co;2-6
Subject(s) - competition (biology) , scope (computer science) , business , competitive advantage , industrial organization , product (mathematics) , economics , commerce , marketing , computer science , ecology , geometry , mathematics , biology , programming language
The UK petrol market is facing an onslaught by the grocery hypermarkets. The question is what strategies could oil companies adopt? We trace the reasons behind the dissipation of competitive advantage and why petrol companies have failed to regain competitive advantage. We suggest a framework which provides an opportunity to re‐establish competitive advantage through: attention to augmented features of petrol dispensing—pump design, site layout and payments methods—offering scope for product differentiation; re‐positioning of petrol consistent with today's consumer needs and exploiting the innate strengths of petrol companies. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.