Competitive threats

Competitive Threats
A survey on the most and least significant threats to U.S. and European companies

White Paper | January 2012

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WHITE PAPER | Competitive Threats

In a year of financial crisis, no one is worried about the money…but they certainly have issues on their minds.
Introduction
Over the past 32 years, Fuld & Company has handled thousands of research assignments from around the globe, most related to competitive threats of one kind or another – new market entrants, price wars, a rival’s change of strategic direction, among many others. After all, we are a competitive intelligence firm. Given our natural slant, we thought when we surveyed a group of business executives about competitive threats that they would focus primarily on their competitors, their rivals. What we found instead was that executives are in fact worried about a wider array of threats – not just from rivals. Another surprise given the economic climate was the lack of concern about access to credit (more about this below). The competitive threats survey also revealed that there is not one single list of concerns for corporations globally but rather a series of lists that vary depending on the industry or region of the participants. However, one consistent concern across all industries is commoditization. In fact, this is the single greatest threat, whether it comes from a competitor or from a disruptive technology. We invite you to review the findings from this brief survey and compare the results with how you view your business both globally and within your own home markets.

Leonard M. Fuld, President Fuld & Company January 2012

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