Abstract
In recent years, there has been a growth of interest in the study of business competition from a cognitive perspective. This paper reviews this rapidly expanding literature in order to synthesize key empirical findings and identify significant theoretical and methodological issues which warrant further investigation. It is argued that the notion of "competitive enactment" and the associated "cognitive life cycle" approach recently advanced by Porac and his associates (Porac, Thomas, & Baden-Fuller, 1989; Porac & Thomas, 1990; Levenhagen, Porac, & Thomas, 1993) represent a potentially major breakthrough in our understanding of the dynamics of competition in industries and markets. However, several important propositions are derived for which the currently available empirical evidence is found wanting. Furthermore, a number of methodological hurdles are identified which have yet to be overcome if the validity of these propositions is to be investigated with an acceptable degree of rigor.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 625-654 |
| Number of pages | 30 |
| Journal | Human Relations |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| Publication status | Published - Jun 1997 |
Keywords
- Cognitive mapping
- Competitive analysis
- Managerial and organizational cognition