In this space we regularly review some trends related to competitive intelligence, a subject that includes some disciplines such as technology watch and customer experience. Without tools for observing the environment, there is no intelligence that can be called such, and without an adequate customer-centric approach, any strategy to overcome the competition will be erroneous.
Además de ese factor orientado a vender más y mejor que los agentes que compiten por nuestro espacio de mercado, es importante detenerse en qué implica el concepto mismo de competitividad, concepto íntimamente ligado a uno de los grandes «ogros» de los planteamientos económicos más caducos: la competencia. Tener competencia no solo no es malo, sino que un reciente estudio dirigido por McKinsey y difundido por la prestigiosa Harvard Business Review, ha establecido que aquellas economías que fomentan la competencia no solo tienen empresas más potentes, sino que registran unos incrementos porcentuales del PIB más abultados. Fomentar la competitividad es sano, de entrada, para los entramados económico cuyas empresas poseen un inequívoco sesgo competitivo.
Para dicha investigación , analizaron 71 economías emergentes, de las que identificaron 18 que han conseguido un crecimiento rápido y constante del PIB en los últimos 50 y 20 años. Entre ellos se encuentran «los sospechosos asiáticos habituales», como China, Corea del Sur y Singapur, pero también países «menos obvios», como Etiopía y Vietnam.
What did they find in these 18 economies? Many more companies with a turnover of more than 500 million dollars, which precisely because of the competitive factor find it more difficult to stay at the top for a long time, to the point that more than half of the companies reaching the top quintile in terms of economic profits between 2001 and 2005 had disappeared 10 years later. This fact can be seen in two ways: in the old way, thinking that companies are life projects of their owners, so these disappearances are sadness and frustration; or in line with the new economy, where companies are nothing more than tools to take advantage of market segments and opportunities at specific moments in time, in a context of dynamism and wealth generation.
Mientras esas herramientas útiles están vivas, su rendimiento en mercados emergentes en contexto innovador es espectacular: el 56% de sus ingresos proviene de nuevos productos y servicios, 8 puntos más que sus pares en las economías establecidas. Estas empresas también invierten casi el doble, si medimos «la relación entre el gasto de capital y la depreciación; y son más ágiles a medida que lo hacen: en promedio, toman importantes decisiones de inversión de seis a ocho semanas más rápido, o en un 30-40% menos de tiempo«.
Their total shareholder returns are also higher, to the extent that their impact is evident in rankings such as the Fortune Global 500: more than 160 of these firms have joined the list since 2000.
Hence some of the lessons that seem clear from this research:
- Allowing and, indeed, stimulating internal competition brings results not only for the firms that survive it, but also for the economy as a whole.
- Successful large companies in the best performing economies act as catalysts for change, through investment and capacity building among their suppliers.
- Many of these suppliers are small and medium-sized enterprises that tend to be less productive than large firms, but are nonetheless crucial for employment.
- By incorporating them into their ecosystems, larger competitive firms help instil operational and management best practices, and can accelerate and incentivise technology adoption.
Fear of competition? Being competitive, as well as being able to function in a multi-player environment in a global market, also means being better than before, surpassing oneself. If you are not competitive, you will not be able to compete; and if you cannot compete, you will not be at the top of the economic activity. Invest in competitive intelligence, and you will be investing in the future not of your company, but of your future companies.
Photo by Anna Samoylova on Unsplash
