Introduction to the process of competition

This book that follows this introduction is dedicated to the analysis of the process of competition. Considering competition as a process implies at first that competition is intrinsically a dynamic and complex phenomenon. In the real world, competition is taken to mean that range of actions aimed at ensuring the realization of the choices of a given firm while restraining at the same time the sphere of actions of its rivals. In the current sense of the word, competition is associated with the verb ‘to compete' which involves a process of rivalry between firms for a market or for a productive resource (human, material or financial). This includes rivalry in prices, in improved techniques of production or products, in R&D or in advertising expenses, in the engagement of new productive or distributive activities or in the imitation of existing activities, in the implementation of new forms of organization in which customers, suppliers, partners or even competitors may be involved.