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Product strategy and size of firm in the UK fertilizer market
Author(s) -
Shaw R. W.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
managerial and decision economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.288
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1099-1468
pISSN - 0143-6570
DOI - 10.1002/mde.4090030410
Subject(s) - rivalry , product (mathematics) , competition (biology) , oligopoly , matching (statistics) , industrial organization , product differentiation , product type , economics , product proliferation , new product development , product market , business , competitive advantage , microeconomics , marketing , product management , computer science , mathematics , cournot competition , statistics , ecology , geometry , incentive , programming language , biology
The paper analyses three aspects of product strategy: the size of product range offered, the extent and type of product differentiation and product matching, and the role of new product innovation in firms' competitive strategies. In essence the paper is concerned with competitive behaviour where the product is treated as a variable. Three conclusions emerged. First, there was no significant correlation between the size of product range offered and the size of firm. Second, while the three main oligopolists almost always tried to differentiate their products the competitive fringe showed a strong tendency to match the major firms' products. Third, new product competition was a persistent feature of oligopolistic rivalry, though the competitive fringe was required to stimulate some developments.