Strategy as competitive moves: Extending competitive dynamics research to new markets and new moves

This dissertation examines how competitive moves influence the performance of firms in new and established markets. A competitive move is defined as a discrete action by a firm to improve or defend its position relative to that of its rivals within an industry. I contribute to competitive dynamics research in two ways. First, I confirm previous findings on market-oriented moves in established markets. Second, I extend competitive dynamics research by also examining: (1) product-oriented competitive moves in established markets, (2) market and product-oriented moves in new markets, and (3) multimarket competition across established and new markets. Utilizing longitudinal data from an experiential simulation game, I analyze the antecedent conditions, performance consequences, and temporal sequences of competitive moves. Key findings include the conflicting effects of environmental conditions on market versus product-oriented moves, the variance in success of competitive move characteristics in established versus new markets, and the unexpected behavior of high performing firms in multimarket competition.