Know Thy Enemy: A Review and Agenda for Research on Competitor Identification

Competitor identification, a core element of competitive dynamics, has been of long-standing interest to researchers in management and related disciplines. This broad interest has resulted in various definitions and conceptualizations of competitor identification as well as various approaches to studying it, which impairs the integration of existing knowledge aimed at answering vital questions regarding its nature, processes, and implications. To help researchers confront the complexities underlying this phenomenon, we identify, review, and organize theory and research on competitor identification across the management, marketing, and industrial organization economics disciplines. Based on our review, we organize the identified literature into four perspectives on competitor identification labeled as industry-oriented, strategic groups–oriented, manager-oriented, and customer-oriented. For each of these perspectives, we also identify major research streams and these streams’ foci and contributions. Building on our review, we propose an agenda for future management research that addresses both unresolved debates in the reviewed literature and identifies new promising connections between competitor identification and specific areas of management theory and research. We organize this future research agenda into six main themes focusing on exploring the dynamics of competitor identification, building connections to research on interorganizational relations, building a practice and process perspective, expanding micro-oriented approaches, and exploring international and entrepreneurial dimensions of competitor identification.