Competitors' Strategic Heterogeneity and Firm Performance

  1. Gómez, J. 1
  2. Orcos, R. 2
  3. Palomas, S. 1
  1. 1 Universidad de La Rioja
    info

    Universidad de La Rioja

    Logroño, España

    ROR https://ror.org/0553yr311

  2. 2 Universidad de Zaragoza
    info

    Universidad de Zaragoza

    Zaragoza, España

    ROR https://ror.org/012a91z28

Zeitschrift:
Long Range Planning

ISSN: 0024-6301

Datum der Publikation: 2015

Ausgabe: 49

Nummer: 1

Seiten: 145-163

Art: Artikel

DOI: 10.1016/J.LRP.2014.09.006 SCOPUS: 2-s2.0-84923848742 WoS: WOS:000375350400010 GOOGLE SCHOLAR

Andere Publikationen in: Long Range Planning

Institutionelles Repository: lockOpen Access Editor

Projekte im Zusammenhang

Zusammenfassung

This paper explores intra-industry heterogeneity by proposing a new perspective. Whereas the strategic management literature tends to conceptualize strategic heterogeneity as the divergence between a focal firm and its rivals, we offer a complementary view in which we consider it to be the result of the differences among the strategic positions of the rivals of a firm. We argue that, when heterogeneity is examined from this perspective, vicarious learning and competitive alignment (instead of competition, collusion or legitimation) are the mechanisms that explain the impact of heterogeneity on performance. We also propose that the experience that firms accumulate by competing with the same rivals moderates this relationship. We test our hypotheses on the Spanish banking sector over the period 1999-2009. The results are consistent with them. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd.