Competition (comes from the Latin word “concurre,” which means “to collide”) is the rivalry of independent economic entities for their market segment and economic resources. Competitiveness, respectively, is the ability and ability of enterprises, industries, goods to fight for the clientele, position, place in the economic pyramid, etc., depending on the type of economic unit. Analysis of the competitiveness of products makes it possible to identify the strengths and weaknesses of competing companies and increase the competitiveness of their products by improving their quality, introducing innovative methods and technologies.
An analysis of the competitiveness of an enterprise shows that its level of competitiveness directly depends on the degree of support that it can receive from the state in the form of loans, insurance, tax exemptions, subsidies, providing up-to-date information on market conditions, etc. In the conditions of state support for the manufacturer, measures to increase the competitiveness of enterprises can be carried out on a national scale, taking into account the situation on the market, and in accordance with the current problems of the manufacturer.
There are such concepts as perfect competition and imperfect competition. Perfect competition represents a situation when there are many consumers and manufacturers in the product market; sellers (manufacturers) occupy such a small part of the market that they cannot dictate terms to others. Imperfect competition implies a significant quantitative difference between consumers and producers (some are few, many others); in this case, the competition is to suppress other manufacturers and their crowding out.
Imperfect competition is expressed in various forms: in the form of monopoly (monopolistic competition) and oligopoly. Monopoly - a form of ownership in which the right to own something belongs exclusively to one subject (object) or group of persons: the right to produce, sell, buy any product or product. It is realized by setting prices that are monopolistically high or low. As a rule, there are antitrust organizations. Oligopoly is a type of economic market when not one company dominates the industry of a certain type of product, but several (usually 3 or more participants).
The goal of any competition is to obtain the most advantageous position in the market for their products.
Analysis of the competitiveness of the enterprise is determined by the competitiveness of products, which is its ability to stand out against the background of similar products and be exchanged for money in appropriate conditions. The competitiveness of goods is determined by such factors as the production activities of enterprises, the efficiency of the design bureau, the work of foreign economic organizations involved in the sale of goods on foreign markets, etc. It is also necessary to take into account the close relationship between the competitiveness of a product and its quality and technical level (although these concepts are not equivalent).
Each product has several stages of its existence, which are schematically expressed as a “product life cycle curve”. The first stage is implementation, one of the most expensive periods in which the manufacturer must convince the consumer that the product is commercially useful. Further, the growth stage, during which the demand for goods is growing rapidly. And finally, the maturity stage, when the demand for the goods has reached its peak and is now gradually decreasing. The final period is the aging phase, when the demand for the product falls and as a result comes to naught. The correct calculation of the product life cycle helps to assess the competitiveness of the product in dynamics, which allows us to draw the necessary conclusions and avoid unnecessary costs, as well as to predict the further development of the market
.Analysis of enterprise competitiveness and analysis of product competitiveness is a qualitative or quantitative characteristic of a product. A single criterion is a simple characteristic, for example, the price of a product. The complex criterion, in turn, is divided into group and generalized. The group criterion includes the level of quality, level of novelty, image, price of consumption, information content of the product. The generalized criterion takes into account such factors as product rating.
In a market economy, an enterprise (company, firm) that is profitable for a long period of time can be considered competitive. Analysis of the competitiveness of the enterprise in this case includes indicators that determine its competitiveness:
- share in the global and domestic market;
- the amount of net income per person employed in production;
- total number of people employed in production;
- the number of main competitors.