Final answer:
In mature industries, intense competition often leads to strategies focused on niche markets, innovation, and cost leadership to increase profitability. The presence of price wars and high advertising levels can indicate strong competition. Examples of such competitive industries include smartphone and airline sectors.
Step-by-step explanation:
The competitive dynamics in mature industries often entail a struggle to maintain and increase profitability in the face of intense competition. Managers in these industries face the challenge of differentiating their products, securing customer loyalty, and seeking efficiencies to reduce costs. Strategies that can be developed to increase profitability may include focusing on niche markets, innovation, improving operational efficiencies, and implementing cost leadership strategies. Since gaining market share in a mature industry might be difficult, managers may also look into mergers and acquisitions to generate growth and expand market presence.
To identify evidence of serious competition between firms, one may look at indicators like price wars, high levels of advertising, innovation rates, and the number of competitors within the market. Two highly competitive industries where these indicators are evident are the smartphone industry and the airline industry.