The article provides an overview of the main directions and stages of development of economic science in the context of competitive relations, and proposes the author's version of systematization of economic schools, theories and concepts. In particular, the retrospective analysis carried out by the authors of the article covers the main economic schools and theories from the mid-15th century and ends with modern research. The authors of the article conduct a comparative analysis of approaches to the classification of economic schools depending on the contribution of a particular direction to the development of the “theory of competitiveness.” The following classification criteria are proposed in the article: schools and theories that served as the basis for modern concepts of competition and competitiveness; schools and theories that consider competitive relations in the context of studying various economic phenomena and processes; schools and theories whose subject of study is competition or competitiveness. The problems of competition and competitiveness in one form or another have been considered by representatives of almost all economic schools, but they have become the main subject of research since the mid-twentieth century. The main material of the article is devoted to this period. A characteristic feature of domestic research on competitiveness and the competitiveness of the region, which begins at the end of the twentieth century, is its applied nature and a high degree of adaptation to specific economic conditions. At the end of the article, the author’s version of defining the competitiveness of an educational organization is proposed as a comprehensive characteristic of its potential, which, using a set of quantitative and qualitative indicators, allows not only to assess the achieved level of development, but also potential growth opportunities, taking into account the influence of a set of specific factors.
competition
competitiveness
competitiveness of an educational organization
competitive advantages
clusters
the quality of life
quality of economic growth
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Representatives of various economic schools showed interest in studying certain aspects of competition and competitiveness. Methods for achieving a predominant position for companies in the market, strategies for achieving leadership and ensuring influence on global economic processes characterize research in the second half of the 20th - early 21st centuries.
The Large Encyclopedic Dictionary considers competition (from the Latin concurrere - to collide) as “...rivalry, competition of people, groups, organizations in achieving similar goals, better results in a certain public sphere. Competition is an essential feature of various types of activities in which there is a clash of interests...”
The Great Economic Encyclopedia defines competition as “... the struggle of entrepreneurs to make a profit by using the most favorable conditions for production and sales of products, ... characteristic of commodity production, the basis of which is private ownership of the means of production.”
The problem of economic rivalry aroused the interest of many authors at various stages of the development of economic science. Certain aspects of competitive relations were considered, including in the early stages of the development of scientific thought, information about restrictions on the loan market is set out in the code of laws of King Hammurabi, ancient Chinese and ancient Greek sources, and the concept of a fair price was considered in the works of Augustine the Blessed and Thomas Aquinas.
The development of international trade and the emergence of the world market led to increased attention to the study of competitive relations on the part of representatives of mercantilism. Its representatives (T. Man, A. Montchretien, W. Stafford and others) paid great attention to limiting competition from foreign producers through state protectionism. Nevertheless, the fragmentary and exclusively applied nature of the work of mercantilists in the field of competition determines the interest in their research only in a historical context.
The active development of capitalist relations and the intensification of competition for factors of production led to the interest of representatives of classical English political economy in the problem of competition. Adam Smith's Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations served as the starting point for the theory of competition. Despite the fact that A. Smith in his work does not give an unambiguous definition of competition and uses the definitions “rivalry” and “competition” to characterize the relationships between market participants, he formulates the main function of competition, which is realized through the “invisible hand”. Commercial interests are decisive for market actors; the role of competition is that it “directs” the actions of market participants to achieve the greatest benefit for all.
More efficient allocation of resources results from competition, which is a public good.
As the main mechanism of competition, A. Smith considers prices, which, in turn, have a direct impact on the dynamics of supply and demand, which leads to competition among buyers in the event of a shortage of goods, and competition among producers in the event of a surplus. In this case, the equilibrium price is formed in the process of interaction between buyers and sellers.
D. Ricardo, considering competition, does not take into account such factors as government regulation, monopoly power, geographical features of the market, equilibrium price, in his opinion, the result of exclusively free competitive struggle of market participants.
As the antipode of free competition, D. Ricardo considered a monopoly, the emergence of which on the market leads to an increase in price to the maximum value at which the buyer is ready to purchase the product.
J-B. This, considering various aspects of competition among commodity producers and regulation of the cost of goods produced, noted the negative impact of state protectionism on the development of free competition and the damage caused to consumers by such measures.
J. Stuart Mill had a significant influence on the development of competition theory by developing the equation of international demand, identifying “non-competing groups in the market,” giving a three-fold classification of price elasticity of demand, and developing the concepts of “economies of scale” and “opportunity costs.” From the point of view of J.S. Mill, competition acts as the only regulator of market prices, wages and rent; it itself is the law that establishes the rules for this regulation.
Further development of research in the field of competitive relations was found in the works of K. Marx, whose works represent a further development of classical political economy, but, of course, stand apart. The fundamental difference between the position of K. Marx and the position of the followers of A. Smith was the point of view on the subject of research. If representatives of classical political economy considered competition as a tool for ensuring balance in the market and a factor in economic recovery among producers, then K. Marx paid more attention to the social consequences of competition. In particular, larger producers initially have a more advantageous position in the market; the consequence of competition is the ruin of small producers, which leads to even greater concentration of capital and the dominance of monopolies.
Nevertheless, K. Marx views competition as a factor stimulating the development of capitalist production, determining scientific and technological progress and technical re-equipment of production. Ultimately, in his work, K. Marx draws a conclusion about the essence of competition, which he understands as “the law regulating the general rate of profit and the so-called production prices determined by it.”
The neoclassical school, the most prominent representative of which is A. Marshall, viewed the market from the perspective of perfect competition, which presupposes free access for buyers and sellers and the absence of a decisive influence of market actors on its dynamics (price level). The form of competition is crucial, since only perfect competition acts as the “driver of economic growth.”
Rightly believing that supply and demand depend on price, A. Marshall formulated the concept of equilibrium price, which is the result of the competitive struggle of market subjects, interpreting competition from a behavioral perspective and linking it with the struggle for rare economic goods, as a result of which an optimal division of labor is achieved and ensured economic efficiency.
Representatives of various areas of marginalism also consider various aspects of competitive relations in their analysis. In particular, L. Walras, when considering the general economic equilibrium model, proceeded from the presence of perfect competition in the market, which in turn led to a large number of assumptions.
The changes that took place in the market at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries could not be explained from the standpoint of the classical theory of competition; the growing degree of monopolization, the high dynamics of social relations, and the “squeezing out” of small producers were no longer consistent with the concepts of the “invisible hand” or perfect competition , which led to a new stage in the development of the theory of competitive relations.
The first step in the development of the structural approach was made by the American economist E. Chamberlin, who views competition as a dynamic process based on the idea of a synthesis of competition and monopoly, proposing the theory of monopolistic competition. Product differentiation serves as the basis for replacing the concept of the “competitive ideal” with an ideal that includes both competition and monopoly.
From the point of view of E. Chamberlin, each seller acts as a local monopolist, producing a differentiated product, he forms a specific market and regulates the price on it. Real prices do not gravitate towards extremes and are formed based on the strength of influence of both factors, which leads to the conclusion that a pure competitive price is artificial and there is no tendency to establish it. Thus, Chamberlin views competition in the market as competition between monopolists.
The author of the theory of imperfect competition, J. Robinson, in addition to price competition, considers as tools of competition: the company's reputation, the level of product quality, advertising, features of customer service, the possibility of obtaining and terms of a loan.
A key feature of perfect competition is the company's ability to influence the level of prices in the market. The absence of this opportunity allows us to recognize the market as a market of perfect competition; the presence of the ability to influence prices is a sign of an imperfectly competitive market.
Thus, the structural concept involves shifting the focus of research from the struggle of companies in the market to an analysis of the structure and conditions prevailing in the market.
The next stage in the evolution of economic views on the theory of competitive relations was the functional approach of J. Schumpeter, who considered the ability of a competitive market to initiate scientific and technological progress as a distinctive sign of its existence. The functional approach to competition involves shifting the subject of research from the essence to the study of its role in economic development. Innovation, the use of new combinations of resources and new technologies are a tool for competition.
Nevertheless, any innovation gives rise to tendencies of monopolistic competition. J. Schumpeter believes that monopoly is a consequence of innovation and highlights its positive features. Receiving monopoly profit, which is considered by an economist to be a fair payment for society for scientific and technological progress, entails that monopolists have a stronger financial position, inaccessible or hard-to-find production methods, and means to finance technical progress.
Subject to the influence of economic conditions and crises, a perfectly competitive market cannot serve as an example of efficiency. Thus, J. Schumpeter, through the category of innovation, improved the understanding of competition as a pattern of a market economy, justifying the process of monopolization of the economy.
The most significant contribution to the development of the theory of competitive relations in the second half of the 20th century was made by M. Porter. When exploring the theory of competition, the leading place is given to the ability to adapt to technological changes. As a source of competition, M. Porter considers its fundamental economic structure and makes it dependent on the possibility of new participants, substitute goods appearing on the market, the market influence of buyers and suppliers, and the characteristics of competition between market entities. In this context, M. Porter defines competition as expanded rivalry.
M. Porter advocates the formation of an appropriate competitive strategy aimed at achieving superiority in a particular market. As the basis of the strategy, he proposes to evaluate one’s competitive advantages, as well as deepen and improve them. M. Porter identifies “competitive advantages of the highest order,” the specific nature of which does not allow them to be borrowed by competitors. The condition for the formation of these competitive advantages, he calls long-term and intensive investments, specialized personnel training, research and development work in marketing, and not only in the development of production capacities.
Having formulated the characteristic features of competitive strategies (low costs, product differentiation, in-depth specialization), M. Porter makes the choice of a specific strategy dependent on the influence of two factors: the attractiveness of the industry and the market share of the company.
The above approach cannot be considered exhaustive, since in real economic practice the market is influenced by factors of the institutional environment, such as legislation, traditions, moral aspects, etc.
The merit of M. Porter is his proposed, based on a generalization of the approaches of various economic schools, a model of five competitive forces, the analysis of which allows us to formulate a reasonable competitive strategy.
The study of the essence and evolution of competitive relations continues to this day. In particular, G.L. Azoev, L.N. Kachalin consider competition as rivalry between specific market participants pursuing the same goal. Behavioral aspects of competitive relations between suppliers, commodity producers, and their struggle for the choice of buyers are reflected in the works of G.Ya. Kiperman, V.L. Luneva, E.I. Mazilkina, T.G. Panichkina. The works of I.A. are devoted to competitive relations in the global market and management approaches in competition. Spiridonov and R.A. Fatkhutdinova.
The study of competitive relations in an evolutionary aspect leads to the need for a quantitative and qualitative assessment of the competitive position of a company in a particular market, which can be characterized as the competitiveness of a business entity. Competitiveness in general can be defined as the ability of a certain object or subject to outperform competitors under given conditions.
When considering competitiveness as an economic category, one should take into account the lack of its unambiguous definition in the economic literature. Many authors present a wide range of points of view, considering competitiveness at various levels of economic interaction, which allows us to state the absence of a generally accepted concept.
Analysis of foreign sources allows us to conclude that the development is more profound compared to domestic science. The problem of assessing competitiveness was the subject of research by the following authors: P.J. Buckley, D. Bell, M. Porter, B.R. Scott, W. Behrens, B. Wernerfelt, R. Rumelt, D.H. Jacot, M. Colenso, T. Kono, R.C. Camp, S. Lodge, V.A. Lapidus, R. Fuhrer, J. Hein, P.M. Havranek, K. Chaharbani, et al.
Among domestic authors, various aspects of competitiveness were studied: G.G. Azgaldov, G.L. Azoev, R.A. Fatkhutdinov, I. Ansoff, I.P. Bogomolova, H.A. Faskhiev, M.I. Gelvanovsky, O.V. Aristov, S.G. Svetunkov, M.G. Dolinskaya, P.S. Zavyalov, M.I. Knysh, I.P. Faminsky, A.P. Chelenkov and others.
The company's position in the market is the result of a certain set of competitive advantages, which are formed under the influence of a number of competitive forces, the optimal combination of which, in turn, is determined by the company's competitive strategy. The market concept of forming a company's competitive advantages is reflected in the works of G.L. Azoeva, E.A. Broido, A.V. Gobozova, E.V. Lavrenova, A.V. Bugaya.
The resource approach is that competitiveness is determined by a unique combination of resources that are at the disposal of the company, which act as a source of economic rents or sources of cost savings. At the same time, the internal environment of the enterprise is the main reserve for increasing competitiveness.
The relational approach underlies the research of J.H. Dyer and H. Singh. Factors of relational rents are determined by relationship-specific assets, procedures for sharing knowledge, complementary resources and capabilities, as well as the effective management of inter-firm interactions.
Applied aspects of the competitiveness of business entities are considered in the works of R.A. Fatkhutdinova, L.V. Novak, G.L. Azoeva, E.G. Efimova, E.S. Podbornova.
Import substitution, innovation, management system efficiency, product quality management, tactical marketing, from the point of view of R.A. Fatkhutdinov, are the main tools for ensuring a competitive position. At the same time, the author pays attention to the factors of competitiveness, among which he highlights the quality of the product, the price of the product, costs in the sphere of consumption of the product, factors of synergy and time.
L.V. Novak in his work notes that the nature of the influence of the external and internal environment, the need to produce products with specified properties and low consumption costs determine competitiveness as a driving force and strategic goal.
A distinctive feature of the position of E.S. Podbornova is to highlight as the basis for the growth of the competitiveness of an enterprise: production, financial, personnel, management activities and flexible adaptability to external and internal influences.
According to G.L. Azoev, the main directions of ensuring the competitiveness of a company are market structure, level of monopolization, concentration of production and capital. The author pays less attention to the internal reserves for increasing competitiveness and does not analyze the tools for increasing the competitiveness of an enterprise in the market.
G.L. Azoev defines competitiveness as “the economic process of interaction, interconnection and struggle between enterprises operating on the market in order to provide better opportunities for marketing their products and satisfying the diverse needs of customers.”
The variety of approaches to the study of competitive relations also determines the presence of a large number of options for their classification.
One of the first domestic attempts to systematize various theoretical approaches to the problem of assessing competitiveness was undertaken by I.V. Pilipenko, who in his work identifies three foreign schools of competitiveness: American, British and Scandinavian. The author notes that the American school is focused more on the practical aspects of achieving competitiveness, the British school pays more attention to the features of ensuring the competitiveness of developing countries, and the Scandinavian school considers the subject of research from the standpoint of meeting the needs of the economy and society.
Yu.V. Savelyev, developing the position of I.V. Pilipenko identifies two among foreign schools. The first of which is American, focuses on the spatial and reproductive aspects of competition. The second - European, pays more attention to spatial-functional, as well as institutional and innovative mechanisms for increasing competitiveness.
From the point of view of classification, the position of E.A. is of interest. Sysoeva, who considers competitiveness at various levels of the hierarchy: country, region, industry, cluster, enterprise, product (service). At the same time, the author defines competitiveness as the ability of an enterprise to “maintain existing and gain new positions in the market based on the creation and provision of products to consumers that have a higher value in comparison with the products of competitors.”
The heterogeneity of the subject of research presents a certain difficulty for the classification of schools and theories in the context of studying various theoretical aspects of competitiveness and leads to some “artificiality” of the classification, which does not reduce the scientific value of the above studies.
All economic schools, theories and concepts that to one degree or another paid attention to various aspects of competition and competitiveness can be divided into the following groups:
The first is the schools and theories that served as the basis for modern concepts of competition and competitiveness, which include representatives of mercantilism, various theories of international trade, theories of perfect and imperfect competition, for example A. Smith, D. Ricardo, A. Marshall, J. Robinson, P. Krugman, B. Balassa.
The second is schools and theories that consider competitive relations in the context of studying various economic phenomena and processes. These include: some theories of spatial organization (A. Lesch, F. Perroux, J.B. Boudville), the electric OLE paradigm of J. Dunning, the theory of systemic innovations of M. Shimaguchi, the concept of the national system of innovations of B. Lundvall, the concept of territorial production systems and innovation milieu D. Mejia et al.
The third is schools and theories whose subject of study is competition or competitiveness. These include: the theories of competitive advantages and industrial clusters by M. Porter, the theory of regional clusters by M. Enright, the concept of the “Quality Index” of economic activity by E. Reinert, the concept of the “region of learning” (B. Asheim, A. Isaksen), the theory interaction of clusters and value chains (J. Humphrey, H. Schmitz, R. Kaplinsky), as well as a number of modern domestic researchers in this area (G.G. Azgaldov, G.L. Azoev, R.A. Fatkhutdinov, I. Ansoff , I. P. Bogomolova, H. A. Faskhiev, M. I. Gelvanovsky, O. V. Aristov, S. G. Svetunkov, M. G. Dolinskaya, P. S. Zavyalov, M. I. Knysh, I .P. Faminsky, A.P. Chelenkov).
Fourth - theories and concepts that have influenced the study of various theoretical aspects of competitive relations. These include: geopolitical theories (F. von Ratzel, R. Kjellen, F. Naumann), classical theories of location (I.G. Thunen, W. Lundhart, A. Weber, D. Pick, T. Palander, V. . Christaller) and theories of spatial organization (N.N. Kolosovsky, N.N. Baransky, T. Hagerstrandt, P. Haggett, W. Isard, B.B. Rodman, I. Vogt, N.F. Fischer, J. Friedman, H. Richardson, M.K. Bandman) and others.
Despite the large number of studies in the field of competitive relations at various levels, the developed theories and mechanisms for ensuring competitiveness cannot be considered unambiguous.
One of the attempts to add certainty is the methodology of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which interprets competitiveness as the ability of companies, industries, regions and states to create a sufficient level of income and wages, while remaining accessible to international competition. At first glance, the definition seems exhaustive, but questions arise about the applicability of the methodology to domestic conditions and the universality of indicators and criteria for companies, regions and countries.
Another attempt to ensure universality is the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI, GCL), which is calculated according to the methodology of the World Economic Forum. Currently, the index is determined by 113 main indicators, which include both statistical data and the results of a survey of managers from various countries. These indicators are summarized into nine factor indices, and then a composite competitiveness index is determined, according to the values of which countries are ranked. An attempt to adapt the IGK was made in the work of A.Yu. Egorova, but it does not allow the use of the methodology at the level of specific business entities.
M. Porter interprets competitiveness as the productivity of the use of resources, primarily labor and capital, in comparison with other entities. But in this case, the question arises about the sufficiency of the indicator and the completeness with which it characterizes the efficiency of resource use and the quality of management.
In his work A.G. Granberg considers competitiveness as the ability of an entity to protect its position in the market.
G.Ya. Belyakova analyzes the problem of competitiveness from the point of view of the ability of a business entity to meet the requirements and demands of consumers. This approach is popular, but raises doubts from the point of view of ensuring the interests of other participants in economic relations, for example, the region, as an integral socio-economic and ecological system, and the state, as an arbiter of competitive processes occurring in the country.
An illustration of a similar approach is the work of T.V. Sachuk, in which competitiveness is defined as a set of individual competitive advantages determined for the consumer, i.e. The interests of the consumer in this case are primary, which is typical for the marketing approach.
Also interpreting the marketing approach is the work of Yu.V. Savelyev, who views competitiveness as the ability to create “unique combinations of production factors, external and internal environment, which are ultimately transformed into unique offers for potential consumers.” This definition places high demands on the “ability” of the management system to “create unique conditions...”, but the problem arises of defining and quantifying indicators, as well as identifying competitiveness criteria. The issue of comparability of indicators with the level of competitiveness of other economic entities is also of interest, because “unique conditions” may also imply the presence of completely specific characteristics and indicators.
Analysis of publications allows us to draw a conclusion about a certain “evolution” of theoretical approaches in defining such an economic category as “competitiveness”.
Recently, an increasing number of authors consider competitiveness in the complex of relationships between an enterprise and other business entities, taking into account the influence of regional and international factors, and the competitiveness indicator is considered not as a “mechanical” derivative of a number of factors, but as a qualitative, relative and/or integral indicator efficiency of the organization.
So, A.Z. Seleznev in his work considers competitiveness as a situation in the domestic and foreign markets determined by economic, social and other factors, reflected through indicators that adequately characterize such a state and its dynamics.
E.N. Bondarenko believes that competitiveness is the ability to produce products that are in demand in the domestic, interregional and international markets, which in turn makes it possible to provide business entities and the population with a high level of income and the required quality of life.
Thus, the authors make an attempt to reflect, within the framework of the definition of competitiveness, not only the quantitative characteristics of the achieved level of economic development, but also the relationship with the external environment, as well as the quality of economic growth.
Competitiveness in this case is presented as a system that includes: competitive potential, factors and conditions for the formation of a competitive environment, efficient use of resources, competitive advantages, competitive strategies of business entities, state and market mechanisms for managing economic potential.
The position of G.G. is interesting. Karachurina, who considers competitiveness in the system of indicators of sustainable development “as the ability of interacting entities to ensure progressive socio-economic development through the introduction and use of new technologies, organizational and other innovations to achieve sustainability in an innovative economy.”
A more complete and concise definition is given by I.P. Danilov, considering competitiveness as an expression of a set of multiple relations, regarding economic development in interaction with other economic entities.
A wide range of publications on the topic of research represent an attempt to build a “theory of competitiveness”, and if at the macroeconomic level some “clarity” can be observed, then at the microeconomic level there is no unambiguity in defining the object and subject of research, factors and mechanisms for ensuring competitiveness.
Thus, today there is no generally accepted theory of competitiveness and competitive advantages, despite the presence of an extensive arsenal of theoretical, methodological and methodological developments in this area.
Most authors consider competitiveness as a specific state of the socio-economic system, while indicators borrowed from methods developed for research objects of a higher or lower order are given as performance criteria. Thus, the problem arises of the inapplicability of the methodology and, as a consequence, the unrepresentativeness of the indicators and analysis results.
The specificity of the factors that determine the organization’s position in the market and the mechanism of interaction with the external environment is of a different nature from the state or region. In turn, various spheres of social production leave their mark on the characteristics of competitive relations and the competitiveness of organizations.
The nature of the activities of educational organizations and the high social significance of educational services do not allow us to consider the competitiveness of educational organizations of higher education solely as an indicator of commercial efficiency; such an approach leads to the “emasculation” of the educational process, reducing it to the task of maximizing profits, which neutralizes the criterion of social efficiency.
It is advisable to consider the competitiveness of educational organizations of higher education, like any other educational organizations, firstly, from the standpoint of social (public efficiency); secondly, as a complex (integral) characteristic of their activities.
The competitiveness of educational organizations of higher education is a qualitative characteristic of the effectiveness of their activities, while various participants in the educational process have their own specific interests and, accordingly, criteria for its effectiveness.
As a consequence, their “requirements” leave their mark on the assessment system and lead to the need to develop an integral approach, which consists of considering the competitiveness of an educational organization of higher education as a comprehensive characteristic of its potential, which, using a set of quantitative and qualitative indicators, allows not only to assess the achieved level of development , but also potential growth opportunities taking into account the influence of a combination of specific factors.
Bibliographic link
Voloshin A.V., Aleksandrov Yu.L. EVOLUTION OF THEORIES OF COMPETITION AND COMPETITIVENESS IN ECONOMIC SCIENCE // Fundamental Research. – 2017. – No. 4-2. – P. 330-338;URL: http://fundamental-research.ru/ru/article/view?id=41483 (access date: 03/31/2019). We bring to your attention magazines published by the publishing house "Academy of Natural Sciences"
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Competitive environment of markets: institutional and economic characteristics
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Absent
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Drobot Elena Valerievna, Candidate of Economic Sciences, Associate Professor, Head. Department of Customs Affairs and Foreign Economic Activity, Vyborg Branch of the Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation, Russia
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