CEO Today Magazine March 2018 Edition

SPECIAL FEATURE www.ceotodaymagazine.com 16 We all knowwhat it’s like to feel the encroaching heat of competition, and the instinctive reaction we have as the result: perhaps a feeling of defensiveness, and the need to fight back. Companies and businesses have a history of attempting to squash out competition, especially in recent years. Through a variety of means, including mergers and acquisitions to consolidate and dominate the market, larger and well-known companies can leave smaller businesses and start-ups fending for their lives. Competition exists in every field and industry but can benefit a company if embraced properly. COMPETITION: To Be Fought or Embraced? By Louisa Rochford For example, competition produces a challenge, and a challenge makes changes mandatory to stay ahead. With this in mind, a healthy dose of competition can incite a need for innovation and keeps things moving forward, with every competitor striving for the same. It ensures that advancements are made in the industry. As with innovation, it will also inspire an improvement in the services provided, leading to more customers and revenue. What need is there to improve if there’s no one to compare against? This ensures that neither the company, nor its employees become complacent. From a consumer’s perspective, competition allows for a diverse and unique market. Running out of options is never a comfortable or appealing thing and being given the gift of choice is invaluable. At its core, it reflects poorly on a company if it were to attempt the complete annihilation of its competition. That’s where the competition law comes in, also known as antitrust law in the US, which aims to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive practices made by companies. Anti-competitive practices include fixing prices or selling product at lower quality rather than competing for business with variable prices and superior quality, with a monopoly forming when a company owns more than 25% of the market. Some competitions can come to a head in the form of theft. A rivalry