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Coping with hypercompetition: Utilizing the new 7S's framework

1995; Academy of Management; Volume: 9; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.5465/ame.1995.9509210281

1943-4529

Richard A. D'Aveni,

Business Strategy and Innovation

Executive Overview This business is intensely, vigorously, bitterly, savagely competitive. —Robert Crandall, CEO, American Airlines Major sustainable competitive advantages are almost non-existent in the field of financial services. —Warren Buffett I don't believe in friendly competition. I want to put them out of business. —Mitchell Leibovitz, CEO of auto parts retailer Pep Boys Declare business war. This is the enemy. —Statement over a photo of Northern Telecom CEO Paul Stern on posters at an AT&T plant in Denver2 In the old days in science, the universe was fairly simple. Nearly every science museum had a huge, old model of the solar system in which all the movements of the planets were controlled with clockwork gears. Then we realized that reality was much more complex. All motion was relative. Business has also entered an age of new realities. It is essential to understand and take advantage of the dynamic motion and flux of our global markets and technological breakthroughs. Moreover, a fundamental shift in thinking is necessary for coping with these changes. While companies have struggled to try to sustain their advantages, in fact, no organization can build a competitive advantage that is sustainable. Every advantage erodes. So in this hypercompetitive environment, companies must actively work to disrupt their own advantages and the advantages of competitors. To cope with this new reality, managers must employ a new 7S's framework3 that can be used to analyze industries and competitors and to identify one's own strengths and weaknesses in meeting the challenges of hypercompetition.