Asymmetric competition

Asymmetric competition is a form of business competition where firms compete in certain markets or contexts but not in others. In such scenarios, a firm may decide to allocate competitive resources and marketing actions disproportionately among its competitors, rather than in direct correlation with their market share. This approach allows firms to focus their efforts strategically, targeting specific competitors in selected areas where they can gain a competitive advantage.

To visualize asymmetric competition, techniques such as multidimensional scaling and perceptual mapping can be employed. Multidimensional scaling helps in understanding the relative positioning of firms in a competitive landscape by representing similarities and differences in a geometric space. Perceptual mapping, on the other hand, provides a visual representation of how consumers perceive various brands or products in relation to one another, based on attributes that are important to them.

These visualization techniques enable firms to identify areas of competitive overlap and differentiation, thereby informing their strategic decisions on where to focus their competitive efforts. By leveraging asymmetric competition, firms can effectively concentrate their resources on markets and competitors that offer the most significant opportunities for growth and market penetration.

Forms

• Firm A competes with B in some markets, but not others.
• Firm A competes with B over certain attributes (such as reliability engineering and design) but not over others (price).
• Firm A considers B a competitor, but B does not consider A a competitor.
• Firm A does not consider B a competitor, but consumers see A's products as competing with B's products.

See also

• Coopetition
• Product differentiation
• Non-price competition
• Information asymmetry
• Multimarket contact
• Size-asymmetric competition
• Outline of organizational theory