Final answer:
Serious competition in an industry is evidenced by aggressive pricing, advertising, and market strategies like in the smartphone and airline industries. Successful market entry often involves unique features or partnership strategies, particularly in markets with high barriers to entry. Perfect competition is rare, but some markets like agriculture and forex trading come close.
Step-by-step explanation:
Evidence of Serious Competition and Competitive Industries
Evidence of serious competition between firms in an industry can be seen in aggressive pricing strategies, advertising campaigns, product innovations, and market share battles. Two examples of highly competitive industries are the smartphone industry and the airline industry, where companies continually compete on price, features, and customer service.
Predatory Pricing and Market Entry Strategies
An example of successful predatory pricing is hard to identify due to legal constraints and ethical considerations; however, there have been accusations in various markets such as the airline and telecommunication industries. When developing a product with high barriers to entry, like a web browser, market penetration strategies could include forming partnerships, offering unique features, leveraging established platforms, or even initially providing the product for free to build a user base.
Perfect Competition
While few markets exhibit perfect competition, agricultural markets and foreign exchange markets are closer to this ideal because they have many sellers, a standardized product, and free entry and exit for firms. In perfect competition, firms may rely on non-price competition such as aggressive advertising to differentiate themselves and temporarily increase sales. However, in the long run, the market dictates the price and profitability.
Key Traits for Hiring Managers
Hiring managers seek candidates who exhibit traits such as adaptability, teamwork skills, and problem-solving abilities. As a consultant, recommending competitive and cooperative strategies should include measures to highlight these traits in order to drive organizational success.