Competitive Advantage

Backward Integration
Backward Integration is the process whereby a firm purchases or creates production facilities needed to produce its goods, such as an automobile manufacturer that buys a steel mill.
Barriers to Entry
Barriers to entry refer to the conditions or obstacles that make it difficult for new competitors to enter a particular industry or market. These barriers can be financial, regulatory, technological, or cultural, and they protect established players from new competition.
Capture Rate
Capture rate refers to the portion of total sales in a market that are achieved by a specific entity or project. This concept is commonly used in real estate, retail, and other industries to determine market performance and analyze competitive advantage.
Competitive Advantage
A competitive advantage is the measure of an organization's product, service, or unique capability that allows it to outperform its peers within the market. It signifies the unique position and value proposition that a company holds over its competitors.
Competitor Analysis
The gathering of data about a competitor's products and prices to identify actual or future sources of competitive advantage. Understanding a competitor's strengths and weaknesses helps an organization develop its own strategy.
Core Competence
Core competence refers to a distinctive employee, product, or service capability that leads to a long-term organizational advantage.
Differential Advantage
Differential advantage refers to the unique benefits or characteristics of a firm's product or service that set it apart from competitors and provide a superior value to customers.
Differentiation Strategy
A differentiation strategy is a marketing technique used by manufacturers and businesses to establish a strong identity in a specific market. This involves positioning a brand in a unique way that distinguishes it from its competitors.
Eating (A Competitor's) Lunch
Eating a competitor's lunch refers to aggressively outperforming and gaining market share from competing firms through strategies like aggressive pricing, superior product offerings, or enhanced customer service.
Economies of Scope
Economies of scope refer to cost efficiencies that a business achieves by diversifying its product lines, leveraging shared resources and capabilities to produce a wider array of products.
Entrepreneurial Profit
Entrepreneurial profit refers to the compensation for the expertise and successful effort of a skilled businessperson, encompassing the portion of profit exceeding the normal profit for typically competent management.
Horizontal Integration
Horizontal integration refers to the strategy where a company acquires or merges with other companies operating at the same level in an industry. It aims to consolidate resources, reduce competition, and increase market share.
Innovation
Innovation refers to the use of a new product, service, or method in business practice immediately subsequent to its discovery. It plays a critical role in the growth and success of businesses by fostering competitive advantage, enhancing productivity, and driving industry evolution.
Milking
Milking refers to the act of taking full advantage of a situation for personal or corporate gain, often to the detriment of another party.
Niche
A niche represents a particular specialty in which a firm or person finds that they prosper. In marketing, a niche strategy involves targeting a small but lucrative portion of the market, ensuring efficient marketing efforts and minimal direct competition.
Outsourcing
Outsourcing refers to the business practice where an organization contracts out a business process or operation to a third-party provider. This can involve services, manufacturing, or handling specific operations to leverage expertise, cost efficiency, and other benefits.
Positioning
Positioning refers to the strategic process by which a brand or product is marketed in a specific manner in order to achieve a unique, desired perception in the target audience’s mind, relative to competitors.
Product Differentiation
Product differentiation is a strategic process employed by businesses to set their products apart from competitors through unique features, branding, and quality.
Research and Development (R&D)
Research and Development (R&D) refers to the investigative activities a business conducts to improve existing products and procedures or to lead to the development of new products and procedures. Key components are innovation and technological advancements.
SCOOP
A news story published before one by a rival news organization, often containing exclusive content or significant information.
Strategic Alliance
A strategic alliance is a long-term partnership between two or more organizations that collaborate to achieve mutual benefits and gain a competitive advantage.
Strategy
A strategy in a business context refers to a comprehensive plan designed to achieve long-term goals and objectives. It involves the allocation of resources and the implementation of actions to gain a competitive advantage.
Total Quality Management (TQM)
Total Quality Management (TQM) is a comprehensive organizational approach that seeks to enhance quality and productivity through a participative culture, continuous improvement processes, and focused customer satisfaction.
Value Chain
The value chain is a series of processes involved in the production, distribution, and marketing of a good or service, each adding value for the consumer.

Accounting Terms Lexicon

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