Assessment of the structure of competition involves an analysis of the position of competitors in the market. One of the methods for comparing the competitive positions of companies is the development of a map strategic groups, which allows you to compare the market positions of companies, combine them into homogeneous groups and identify your closest competitors. A strategic group is made up of companies with similar strategies and positions. An industry can contain a single group or multiple strategic groups. The closer the strategic groups are to each other, the more intense the competition. Below are the steps in the procedure for constructing a strategic grouping map.

1. Distinctive competitive characteristics are identified.

2. The position of the companies is plotted on a two-coordinate graph.

3. Companies that fall into one area are marked.

4. The share of each group in the sales volume of the industry is noted.

Building a map of a strategic grouping requires the following rules:

Variables along the coordinate axes should not be correlated;

Variables should reflect differences between competitors;

Variables must be discrete;

The areas of the figures correspond to the relative share of sales;

If there are more than two significant variables, it is advisable to build several maps.

Rice. 6.2. Strategic grouping map

After analyzing the map, the stage of studying the behavior of competitors follows. Companies may try to move to another group that is in a more favorable position. These actions increase competition. The effectiveness of the movement depends on the barriers to entry into the selected group.

One of the tools for comparing the competitive positions of firms in an industry is the development of a map of strategic groups.

This strategic technique links the analysis of the industry as a whole and the assessment of the position of each firm separately.

Its use is most effective when there are so many competitors in the industry that it is practically impossible to study each of them comprehensively.

Strategic group consists of competing firms with the same style of competitive activities and the same positions in the market.

Companies in the same strategic group may have resemblance to each other in various ways:

• Can produce similar products
• Implement vertical integration to the same extent
• Provide buyers with similar services and technical assistance
• Offer the same type of customer the same or similar products
• Use the same distribution channels
• Be dependent on using the same technology
• To carry out the sale of goods in the same price and quality range.

An industry has only one strategic group if all sellers enter the market with the same strategy.

However, there will be as many strategic groups as competitors, if each of them applies its own competitive methods and takes a separate position in the market.

Algorithm for Mapping Strategic Groups and making a decision on whether a company belongs to a competitive group can be represented as follows:

• Set the full range of characteristics that distinguish firms in the same industry from each other.

Typical characteristics are:

Price / quality level (high, medium, low);

Geographic scope of activities (local, regional, national,

global);

Degree of vertical integration (none, partial, complete);

Assortment set of products (wide, narrow);

Use of distribution channels (one, several, all);

A set of services offered (none, limited, full)

• Map firms with two variables(along the axes of the map) using pairs of these different characteristics.
• Merge firms, which fell into approximately one strategic space in one strategic group.
• Draw a circle around each strategic group, which should be proportional in diameter to the share of this group in the total sales of the industry.

Using the above algorithm, it is possible to compile a two-dimensional map of strategic groups.

Example: industry is taken as an example retail jewelry.

The size of the circle roughly corresponds to the market share of each of the competitor groups.

I - Specialized items (gold, diamonds, watches)

II - Full range (gold, diamonds, porcelain, crystal, silver, watches, gifts)

III – Limited range, mostly retail

IV - Full range of mass demand

Names of firms belonging to different strategic groups:

1. National, regional and local business and store alliances jewelry special quality (about 10,000 firms), including such well-known stores as Tiffany and Cartier.

2.1. National networks of jewelry firms. (Carlyle & Co Gordon's).

2.2. Local jewelry firms (about 10,000 stores).

3. Small independent firms - manufacturers of jewelry.

4. Credit firms: Lorch's, Kay's, Busch's.

5. Prestigious general retailers: Saks, Fifth Avenue, Neiman-Marcus, Nordstrom's Parisian.

6. Super large department stores: May's Jordan Marsh, Dillard's, Bloomingdale's, May, Marshall-Field's Rich's, Dayton-Hudson, Lazarus.

7. Chain stores of the same type of retailers: J.C. Penny Sears, Montgomery-Ward.

8. Catalog sales stores. Mervyn's, Cohoes (N.Y.), Marshall's.

9. Stores more low prices, focused on the mass consumer: Kmart Target, Wal-Mart, Venture.

10. Outlets (a place of sale in which stores selling goods at low prices are collected under one roof).

In order to map the location of strategic groups in the overall strategic space of an industry, one should execute a number of recommendations:

1. The two variables serving as axes of the map should not be highly correlated. In the case of a strong correlation, the circles on the map will be located diagonally, and one of the variables will not be used at all (when estimating the second variable, the researchers will not receive any new information about the competitive position of firms). For example, if a company with a wide range of products uses an extensive network of distribution channels, while a company with a narrow range of products uses one channel, one of the variables becomes redundant. Taking into account a wide range of products, as opposed to a narrow set, in determining the position of firms provides the same information for mapping as taking into account the number of distribution channels.
2. The variables chosen as the axes of the map should show large differences in the positions taken by firms in the competition for the market. This means that it is necessary to determine in what characteristics competing firms differ from each other, and use these characteristics as variables that serve as the axes of the map and as the basis for deciding whether firms belong to each competitive strategic group.
3. Variables used as axes must not be scaled or continuous. They may be discrete variables or defined as well-defined classes or combinations.
4. The use of circles of various diameters on the map (the diameter corresponds to the total sales of firms grouped into strategic groups) makes it possible to visually reflect the relative size of each strategic group.
5. If more than 2 variables can be used as axes, then several maps can be generated giving different insights into the competitive positions and existing interactions of firms in an industry. Since there is no need to choose the best map, it is recommended to experiment with different pairs of variables.

The analysis of strategic groups helps, first of all, to deepen the understanding of the essence of competition:

1. Driving and competitive forces often benefit some strategic groups and harm others. Firms that are part of strategic groups that experience Negative influence, often try to move to a group that occupies a more favorable position. The effectiveness of such a move depends on whether the barriers to entry into the group they choose are high or low. Attempts by competing firms to enter a new strategic group almost always lead to an increase in the intensity of competition. If some firms are known to be trying to change their competitive position, arrows can be drawn on the map indicating target direction movement, which will help to get an idea of ​​the development of competition.
2. The analysis of strategic groups allows you to determine whether differences in the potential profitability of individual strategic groups are associated with the strong or weak market position of each of them. Different profitability may be due to different levels of pressure from suppliers or consumers, and also from substitute products produced in other industries.

The closer strategic groups are to each other on the map, the stronger the competition between their member firms.

And although firms in the same strategic group are the closest competitors, no less close competitors are in neighboring groups.

Often, firms in strategic groups that are far apart on the map do not compete with each other at all. For example, Tiffany and Wal-Mart sell gold and silver jewelry, but the prices and quality of their products are so different that there is no real competition between them. For the same reason, Timex is not in any way a competitor to Rolex, and Subaru is not the closest competitor to Lincoln or Mercedes-Benz.

The Five Forces of Competition Model

The most intense competition takes place between competitors in an industry. As a rule, the struggle is for the size of the market share (especially at the stage of industry growth), since in most cases it is this parameter that determines the others in " long term.

In some cases, products offered by a firm have similar functional characteristics to products manufactured by other organizations in the same or another industry. So there are goods - substitutes. The result is competition this product(service) from substitute goods. An important concept here is “switching”, i.e., the transition of an average consumer from one product to another with a similar functional purpose (for example, tours to southern countries). Switching probability correlates with switching cost and is a function of a number of parameters. In cases where there is a monotonous switching of consumers from one product to a substitute product (which often happens in practice), they use graphic representation, which describes this process in time in the form of the so-called logistic replacement L-curves. On fig. 2.5 shows a hypothetical l-curve. On the L-axis "time is represented, on the Y-axis - the capacity of the market for goods with a given functional purpose. Curve B displays the process of switching over time, and it should be noted that

Fig 2.5. Substituting. B-curve of a hypothetical market for a product with a given functional purpose

Competition from potential competitors occurs when there is a possibility that organizations from other industries may enter this one. The threat from potential competitors correlates with the value entry barrier in the industry, the specificity of relations in it. The "height" of the entrance barrier can be determined by the following parameters:

Production and marketing effects scale and development (see paragraph 2 of Chapter 4);

Existing preferences of consumers, availability of distribution channels, supplies or the cost of their creation;

Rigidity of state regulation.

The "height" of the entry barrier can be expressed in terms of money. The decision to enter the industry is determined on the basis of a comparison of the size of the entry barrier and the expected profits in the long run. Some components that determine the "height" of the entry barrier can vary significantly over time. For example, the expiration of critical patents tends to lower the barrier to entry; on the contrary, investments in advertising, creation distribution networks and others, carried out by industry organizations, increase it.

The competitive power of suppliers is due to the fact that industry organizations are the main consumers of raw materials and components, technologies, personnel, so suppliers have the opportunity to directly influence the efficiency of their functioning. The strength of the influence of the supplier on the consumer is determined by a number of factors, in particular:

Supply-demand balance;

The share of purchases of the consumer from the supplier in the total volume of purchases;

Degree of specialized™ purchased objects;

The ability of the consumer to start creating an analogue or substitute product produced by the supplier;

The interest of the consumer's competitors in this supplier;

Availability of substitute goods for purchased goods produced by other suppliers.

The influence of all these factors can be expressed in monetary terms, reflecting the cost of switching to another

supplier. The higher it is, the greater the competitive strength of the supplier, and vice versa.

The competitive power of buyers lies in the fact that they determine demand.

The positions of industry companies can be assessed in different ways, depending on the prevailing type of industry competition (oligopolistic or monopolistic competition).

When oligopolistic market it is advisable to choose the evaluation parameters, describe the main industry organizations according to them, and then carry out the necessary analysis. This is not difficult to do, since the number of parameters is, by definition, small.

In the case of monopolistic competition more expedient application the so-called strategic group mapping technique.

This technique allows you to present a general picture of competition, to assess the place of each organization in it. Its effectiveness is greatest when the number of competitors is large and it is not possible to scrutinize each organization thoroughly.

A strategy group is made up of organizations with similar competitive strategies and positions in the market. The map construction algorithm is as follows:

Identification of parameters by which industry organizations differ, for example, price / quality (high, medium, low), scale of activity (local, regional, national, global), degree of vertical integration (none, partial, full), product line width (broad, medium, narrow), etc.;

Drawing on a map with axes of points corresponding to organizations;

Assigning organizations that are relatively close to each other to strategic groups and highlighting them graphically.

In the process of choosing the main parameters, it should be borne in mind that they should not be strongly correlated with each other, but at the same time be
informative, serve as reliable initial data for analysis. In cases where several pairs of weakly correlated parameters can be selected, a map should be constructed for each pair.

The map of strategic groups will help in predicting the competitive positions of companies in groups when external conditions change. For some groups these changes are favorable, for others they are neutral, for others they are dangerous.

The closer the strategic groups are located to each other, the more intense the industry competition between them. The strongest competition is observed between organizations belonging to the same strategic group. Less competition also takes place between the organizations of this group and organizations from the strategic groups closest to it. In cases where strategic groups are far from each other, competition between them may be extremely small. On fig. 2.6 is a map of strategic groups for a hypothetical industry.

Low Medium High

When evaluating competition, it is necessary to be able to assess changes in its parameters in the future. Especially important for conc -

G Scale of Competition

KchCh "^te L" 4na toe^

Fig 2.6. Map of strategic groups for organizations from a hypothetical industry

a private organization to know or anticipate what actions its closest competitors might take. It is extremely short-sighted to hope for victory without reconnaissance and without evaluating behavior and plans.
adversary-competitor. Predicting the actions of competitors can be carried out on the basis of compiling their strategic profiles. The following are some of the parameters by which an organization profile can be compiled.

Scale of competition: local, regional, national, international, global.

Strategic intentions: to remain the dominant leader; overtake the industry leader; be among the top five; enter the top ten; overtake a specific competitor; save the current position; survive.

Market share goals: expansion through internal growth; expansion through the acquisition of new organizations; preservation of the market share (growth in proportion to the growth of the market); loss of market share and increase in profitability.

Let us consider the features of using the model of the five forces of competition and building a map of strategic groups using the example of the company "8".

In order to assess competition between travel agencies in this industry, for example, in the direction of Thailand, you must first select the main characteristics, which are then used to build maps of strategic groups. Such characteristics are price, commissions, flexibility in the provision of services, in particular in terms of accommodation, transport, length of stay, service at the request of the client. By scoring these characteristics in conjunction with the types of markets in which competing firms operate (Table 2.2), you can evaluate their competitive positions and build a map of strategic groups using different combinations of features (Fig. 2.7).

Table 2.2

Main comparative characteristics firms

Characteristics Firm

Price (8 days/7 700 - 800

nights), at e.

The conclusion is that the firm is in a leading position because it has a high degree of flexibility, works with the general population - middle-income consumers, offers high commissions to travel agencies and lowers prices as much as possible to attract consumers with low incomes.

Based on these data, a map of strategic groups can be built (Fig. 2.7).

Fig 2.7. Map of strategic groups

Analyzing the competitive email of consumers on the example of the same company "8", one can trace the trend of transition from consumers with a high level of income to consumers with an average level of income. Due to the conservatism of customers, the company is forced to limit itself to a certain circle of them, and given the specificity of the business (seasonality), it also focuses on regional markets.

Strategic group consists of firms competing with each other, which are characterized by similar approaches to the conduct of competition and occupy approximately equal positions in this market of goods and services.

To analyze competition in the market and determine the competitive position of industry participants, strategic group mapping method. It is convenient for the analysis of industries consisting of a large number of companies, and when it makes no sense to study each participant separately.

Companies that make up one strategic group have similar features, namely: * comparable assortment; * the use of the same distribution channels, the same set of services and technical assistance; * have the same price and quality range.

To build maps of strategic groups, you need to go through the steps :

1) determination of signs of differences in the competitive positions of firms: * price-quality level (high, medium, low); * geographic scope of activities (local, regional, national, global); * assortment set of products (narrow, wide); * a set of services offered (none, limited, full set);

2) plotting firms in the industry on a graph, where a couple of selected features are used as variables;

3) association of firms in one strategic group, while the diameter of the circle is proportional to the share of this group of firms in the volume of sales revenues in the industry as a whole.

Analysis of strategic groups provides a deeper understanding of competitive processes. The closer the strategic groups are on the map, the closer the competition. Often firms located in different sectors may not compete with each other at all. An industry may have one strategic group or as many as there are manufacturers.

2. Conducting an assessment of the strategic attractiveness of the industry.

3. Key success factors in the industry. Evaluation of the competitive position of firms using kfu.

KFU- actions to implement the strategy, competitive opportunities that each firm must provide in order to achieve financial success. These are certain performance standards that a company should strive for while in a particular industry. Compliance with these standards ensures success in production and in the market and affects the profitability of the company. KFU- areas of business that should work perfectly.

Types of KFU:

* dependent on technology (the quality of scientific research, the possibility of innovation, the possibility of developing new products, the degree of mastery of technology);

* related to production (low cost, high product quality, high capacity utilization, advantageous location, access to skilled labor, ability to produce a large number of products);

* related to sales (wide network of dealers, wide presence in retail outlets, availability of own outlets, low implementation costs, fast delivery);

* relating to marketing (a variety of models and types of products, attractive design and packaging, the art of sales);

* related to professional skills (ability to quickly introduce new products, competence in the field of design, know-how, quality control);

* related to organizational capabilities (levels of information systems - air travel, credit cards, hotels; ability to respond to the market - decision-making process, know-how in the field of management);

* other factors (favorable image, patents, overall low costs, friendly employees).

One of the ways to use CFU - identifying the competitive position of competing firms in the industry. The technology of such managerial evaluation may include determining the CSFs themselves, giving them significance (weight), assessing the positions of competing firms for each CSF in points, calculating weighted estimates showing the relative strength of the company in competition.

SWOT-analysis: matrix, stages of construction, application, conclusions.

SWOT-analysis one of the most famous methods strategic analysis. The method is a widely recognized analytical approach that allows for the joint study of external and internal environment and establish lines of communication between the strengths and weaknesses that are inherent in the firm, as well as the threats and opportunities that arise in external environment.

Object of analysis - the internal state of the organization and external conditions for development.

SWOT Action Algorithm : 1. Determination of the main characteristics of the external environment; 2. Identification of current strategies, main strengths and weaknesses of the company; 3. Assessment of the main groups of influence; 4. Bringing all the data into tables; 5. Final grade.

Force- what the company has succeeded in or what will give it additional opportunities (skills, experience, resources, achievements of the company).

Weakness- the absence of something important for the company, something that it fails, something that can put it in unfavorable conditions.

Opportunities- those needs of customers, for the satisfaction of which the company can work with a profit.

Threats- a challenge that is thrown by unfavorable factors in the external environment, which can lead to a decrease in sales or profits.

5. Benchmarking as a method of strategic analysis. Types of benchmarking. Stages of implementation.

Benchmarking- a mechanism for comparative analysis of the performance of one company with the performance of other, more successful firms. Benchmarking is used in all areas of the enterprise (logistics, marketing, personnel management).

The following questions are asked during benchmarking: * Which firm is at the top of the competition? why own enterprise is not the best? what needs to be changed to become the best? how to implement a strategy to become the best of the best?

Generations of benchmarking: * product benchmarking; * competitive; * benchmarking processes (studying the experience of a company that is not a competitor); * strategic benchmarking (exchange of information between companies working together in strategic alliances).

6. Modern theories of competition and competitive advantage. Keyenterprise competencies as the basis of strategy.

7. Types of competitive advantages and competition strategies. Porter's strategic model.

Competitor analysis is a very important step. external analysis. The main objectives of the strategic analysis of competitors are: 1.Identification of significant and potential competitors; 2.Identification of strengths and weaknesses competitors; 3.forecast of future strategic decisions of competitors; 4. predicting the reactions of competitors to the strategy and actions of this organization; 5.determination of the influence of competitors on the advantage of this organization.

There are two main ways to identify competitors:

I .definition of competitors as strategic groups. The strategic group map is used to refine the analysis of the first strength of competition from 5 forces, allows you to identify the most obvious competitors and answer the question: “Which organizations have the strongest or weakest competitive positions?”. Strategic group of competitors - a set of competing organizations with the same ... .. competitive activity and the same positions in the market.

Firms that fall into the same strategic group may be similar to each other in the following main ways: 1. similarity of products; 2.same place position; 3.Activity in one price range; 4.using the same distribution channels; 5.using the same technology; 6. provision of similar services and the like.

The minimum number of strategic groups in an industry is one if all firms in the industry are similar to each other, and the maximum number of groups is the same as the number of firms in the industry if they are all similar to each other.

The algorithm for constructing a map of strategic groups: 1. establish the most important parameters that distinguish firms in the industry from each other. The minimum number of parameters required is two. 2. Put existing firms in the industry on a map with 2 variables plotted along the axes. 3. unite firms that fall into approximately one part of the map into one strategic group. 4. draw circles around each strategic group, which should be proportional in diameter to the share of this group in the total sales of the industry.

Requirements for the parameters selected for the construction of the map: 1.parameters plotted along the axes of the map should not normalize with each other, that is, they should not reflect the same thing; 2. parameters should have not a quantitative, but a qualitative scale of measurement; 3. If there are more than two important parameters, then several maps of strategic groups can be built. An example of a strategic group map for food retail in a major city.

Picture. Map of strategic groups of competitors.

Conclusions on the map of strategic groups: 1. The most obvious competitors for each other are in the same strategic group. 2. The more groups are located to each other, the stronger the competition between the firms included in them.

II .determination of competitors from the position of buyers. Sometimes it makes sense to identify competitors from a buyer's perspective, as they have needs that she is looking at alternatives to meet. To identify competitors from the point of view of buyers, they use: 1. a survey of buyers about which brand of a particular product they would choose if there was no familiar brand; 2. Identification of associations between products and specific situations for use or ways of using them. To compile a list of such situations, it is necessary to interview 20-30 people. For each use case, they will have to name all relevant products. For each product, all relevant use cases must be named. Then the 2nd group of buyers evaluates how appropriate each product is in a particular situation.