The Future Of Competition

The authors explore why--in a world of infinite choice, instant gratification, and unbounded opportunities for innovation--companies still can't satisfy customers or sustain growth and profitability.

In this visionary book, C. K. Prahalad and Venkat Ramaswamy explore why, despite unbounded opportunities for innovation, companies still can't satisfy customers and sustain profitable growth. The explanation for this apparent paradox lies in recognizing the structural changes brought about by the convergence of industries and technologies; ubiquitous connectivity and globalization; and, as a consequence, the evolving role of the consumer from passive recipient to active co-creator of value. Managers need a new framework for value creation. Increasingly, individual customers interact with a network of firms and consumer communities to co-create value. No longer can firms autonomously create value. Neither is value embedded in products and services per se. Products are but an artifact around which compelling individual experiences are created. As a result, the focus of innovation will shift from products and services to experience environments that individuals can interact with to co-construct their own experiences. These personalized co-creation experiences are the source of unique value for consumers and companies alike. In this emerging opportunity space, companies must build new strategic capital—a new theory on how to compete. This book presents a detailed view of the new functional, organizational, infrastructure, and governance capabilities that will be required for competing on experiences and co-creating unique value.

With today’s social and geopolitical order in significant flux this project offers vital insight into the future global order by comparatively charting national media perceptions regarding the future of global competition, through the lens of Ontological Security (OS). The authors employ a mixed-method approach to analyze 620 news articles from 47 Russian, Chinese, Venezuelan, and Iranian news sources over a five-year period (2014-2019), quantitatively comparing the drivers of their visions while providing in-depth qualitative case studies for each nation. Not only do these narratives reveal how these four nations understand the current global order, but also point to their (in)flexibility and agentic capacity for reflection in adapting, even shaping the future order, and their identity-roles within it, around an economic and diplomatic battleground. The authors argue these narratives create trajectories with inertial effects grounded in their OS needs, providing enduring insights into their behavior and interests moving into the future. The Future of Global Coopetition will help readers understand how influential nations typical aligned in opposition to the US, envision the drivers of global competition and the make-up of the future international system. Those engaged in the study of media, global politics, international relations, and communication will find this book to be a critical source.

The Future of International Competition Law Enforcement undertakes an original assessment of the EU's international cooperation agreements in the field of competition law and is uniquely focused on the bilateral sphere, often labelled as a mere 'interim-solution' awaiting a global agreement.

A proposal for moving from price-centric to innovation-centric competition policy, reviewing theory and evidence on economic incentives for innovation. Competition policy and antitrust enforcement have traditionally focused on prices rather than innovation. Economic theory shows the ways that price competition benefits consumers, and courts, antitrust agencies, and economists have developed tools for the quantitative evaluation of price impacts. Antitrust law does not preclude interventions to encourage innovation, but over time the interpretation of the laws has raised obstacles to enforcement policies for innovation. In this book, economist Richard Gilbert proposes a shift from price-centric to innovation-centric competition policy. Antitrust enforcement should be concerned with protecting incentives for innovation and preserving opportunities for dynamic, rather than static, competition. In a high-technology economy, Gilbert argues, innovation matters. Gilbert considers both theory and available empirical evidence on the relationships among market structure, firm behavior, and the production of new products and services. He reviews the distinctive features of the high-tech economy and why current analytical tools used by antitrust enforcers aren't up to the task of assessing innovation concerns. He considers, from the perspective of innovation competition, Kenneth Arrow's “replacement effect” and the Schumpeterian theory of market power and appropriation; discusses the effect of mergers on innovation and future price competition; and reviews the empirical literature on competition, mergers, and innovation. He describes examples of merger enforcement by US and European antitrust agencies; examines cases brought against Microsoft and Google; and discusses the risks and benefits of interoperability standards. Finally, he offers recommendations for competition policy. The open access edition of this book was made possible by generous funding from Arcadia – a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin.

Competition and Economic Regulation in Water: The Future of the European Water Industry reviews the main developments in economic regulation and competition in the European water industry and considers ways in which economic regulation and competition should be further developed. The book focusses on the best means of regulating or introducing competition into the industry in light of its present structure. Competition and Regulation in Water: The Future of the European Water Industry concentrates on the water industry, however, many of the conclusions are equally applicable also to the wastewater industry. Contents Introduction Water industry fundamentals: the rationale for regulation and the scope for competition A framework for evaluating different models of water industry regulation England & Wales: private ownership and independent regulation France: competition for the market and contract-based regulation Germany: public-private partnerships and multi-sector utilities Developing water sector regulatory frameworks in less developed countries Appendix: The legislative framework for the water industry in England & Wales

This book explores the nature of the music industries before and after the digital revolution from the point of view of the consumer, and explores the question of whether there is a role for competition policy intervention in the music industries. Considering the historically consolidated environment of the music industries, and their rapidly evolving business models in the twenty-first century, the author argues that there is a need for updated competition design to promote consumer welfare and competition in these markets. Opening a much-needed interdisciplinary dialogue across music studies, business, and law, the book applies business model literature to antitrust law in the context of the music industries. It offers a comprehensive history of encounters between the music industry and antitrust and regulatory authorities in the US, UK, and EU, from the payola scandals of the 1950s to the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster in 2010, showing how even as business models in the industry have changed, it has repeatedly moved towards consolidation with little regulation. Drawing on this history, it considers how competition policy can foster innovation and safeguard consumer interests in the music markets of the future. Offering new analytical and methodological tools, this book is relevant to those studying the music industries from business, legal, and cultural perspectives.