Taking market structure as given, much as military strategy takes land as given, such a view drives companies to try to carve out a defensible position against the competition in the existing market space. 3 The academics call this the structuralist view, or environmental determinism. 2 Here, market structure, given by supply and demand conditions, shapes sellers' and buyers' conduct, which, in turn, determines end performance. IO economics suggests a causal flow from market structure to conduct and performance. 1 Industrial organization (IO) economics gave formal expression to the prominent importance of competition to firms' success. The very language of corporate strategy is deeply imbued with military references-chief executive ' officers ' in ' headquarters, ' ' troops ' on the ' front lines, ' and fighting over a defined battlefield.

Such focus on the competition traces back to corporate strategy's roots in military strategy.

Today, one can hardly speak of strategy without involving the language of competition: competitive strategy, competitive benchmarking, building competitive advantages, and beating the competition. F or twenty-five years, competition has been at the heart of corporate strategy.

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