Acerca da concorrência imperfeita

"If we had a nickel for every executive who appeared on CNBC and blamed his or her company’s inability to grow on a weakness in the market, we’d be richer than Croesus. Of course, there’s a reason this explanation for uninspiring performance is so common: It’s readily available. At any given time, roughly half of all industries are growing below the level of GDP. And it’s only natural to blame something external for one’s problems. [Moi ici: Como podem ler, o comportamento não é típico de português, é típico de humano]
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The trouble is, a weak market isn’t a valid excuse. Plenty of companies that achieve above-average shareholder returns compete in average or below-average industries. [Moi ici: O tal fenómeno da distribuição das produtividades e rentabilidades que leva a que haja mais heterogeneidade dentro de um sector de actividade do que entre sectores de actividade entre si]
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There are always some companies that find a formula for growth and success in industries that aren’t doing anything special - that are just bumping along with the economy, or underperforming it. If you’re an executive in one of these industries, it’s your job to ignore the excuses and figure out how to join the ranks of overachievers.
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Between 2003 and 2013, for instance, 30 percent of companies with top-quartile shareholder returns (our proxy for success) were in industries growing at or below the rate of GDP. [Moi ici: Notável]
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[Moi ici: Primeiro o pântano para onde nos leva a concorrência perfeita] Equilibrium is the state that exists when a set of companies with fundamentally similar offerings compete within a market, getting similar returns and amassing market shares within a few points of one another. Not to put too fine a point on it, but equilibrium isn’t all that interesting.
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[Moi ici: Agora entra a promoção descarada da concorrência imperfeita] Disequilibrium is much more dynamic. The companies that create the conditions for it generally don’t follow a template, but discover a particular advantage they can use to tilt the market in their direction and keep it that way. [Moi ici: "to tilt the market in their direction and keep it that way" eheheh, quantas teses poderiam ser escritas, pelos bem-pensantes contra esta frase!!!! No entanto, é esta a nossa vida, é este o tema mais sexy com que trabalhamos com as PMEs, co-construir, co-desenhar situações de monopólio informal, de batota pura, de retornos e margens mais acima] These enterprises often become a source of fascination (and envy) among competitors because they offer proof that in business, true advantage can be created and sustained for years, or even for decades, when companies are especially shrewd—no matter the overall state of the industry.
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Executives who want to create disequilibrium should begin by asking themselves a few questions:

• What do we do that’s unique, that customers value?

• Can our competitors match this capability we have?

• Are there any coming technological or regulatory shifts that could transform our market, and if so, do we have a well-thought-out plan for addressing them?

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You can make those better returns come to you by figuring out where you have an advantage, or might gain one, in terms of cost, service, selection, or a disruptive new product." 

Trechos retirados de "Growing When Your Industry Doesn’t"