Problems of Competitive Strategy Choice According to Industry and Regional Factors

An essential condition for sustainable development and maintenance of long-term competitiveness of a company lies in the formulation of an adequate and appropriate strategy. Strategic decisions should be based on a correct understanding of the results of systematic analysis carried out by managers to form sustainable competitive advantages. The following aspects are contemplated: industry and regional conditions within the strategic areas of activity and interests of the organization, prevailing forms and types of strategic interactions, level of innovative potential of the industry and region, and specific influencing factors of macro and micro levels. However, not only the socio-economic significance (efficiency and rationality) of the decision itself is really important but also the speed, and even more precisely the timeliness of its implementation, predetermined by the dynamics of industry factors. This paper examines the relationship of innovative strategies recommended to companies with the stage of the industry life cycle, along with the specifics of territorial and regional factors. It is argued that the use of classical competition tools or the use of innovative ones, including radical strategic approaches depend on the specifics of industry and regional factors. As an example, the logic and directions of innovative solutions for an energy company are considered.

Business model; Competitive advantages; Radical competitive strategy; Strategic areas of activity; Territorial-regional factor

The result of the process of developing, adopting, and implementing strategic actions both at the corporate and individual business levels depends on many interrelated aspects of enterprise management (Porter, 2005; Mednikov et al., 2018). Within the framework of the modern sustainable development concept, it is recognized that the competitiveness of an organization depends upon the management's ability to competently and timely respond to changes in socio-economic, environmental, and political factors that are changing both at the level of an individual territory and on a global scale (Nikolova et al., 2017a; Gutman et al., 2018). Globalization and integration of resource and product market processes increase risks and accelerate the dynamics of the external environmental influence, which pushes companies to constantly and rapidly search for new innovative areas for the application of resources and knowledge (Dvas and Dubolazova, 2018).
        In the existing modern conditions, it is important to analyze the development of an enterprise from  the point-of-view  of innovative activity as  a modern form of competition. By focusing on innovation, companies have the opportunity to gain support from the government and consumers, which in turn will increase their competitiveness in the future. In the context of high dynamics of sectoral factors and ongoing social and technological transformations in society, it becomes relevant to identify the factors and principles of enterprise innovation policy formation (Shabunina et al., 2017; Berawi, 2020). The purpose of this study was to form a logic of approaches for justifying the choice of a company's strategic decision regarding tools of competition through innovation, with allowance for the influence of industry and territorial factors.

The growth rate and rate of industry consolidation show how critical it is for an organization to pursue an innovation strategy. In conditions when the industry is developing slowly, a company can afford to choose a classic strategy that will help maintain its position on the market thanks to the gradual modernization of products and technologies without diversion of funds for expensive development. With the rapid development of the industry, the decision to carry on a classic strategy will lead to lagging behind competitors and loss of profit.

At any stage of the industry's development, radical innovative solutions that create new industries can be developed and commercially implemented. However, as empirical data shows (Deans and Zeisel, 2004), in most cases, the maturation of radical innovative solutions and their commercial success most often fall on the stage of the industry balance.

      In the modern world, strategic decisions are considered and made from the point of view of efficiency, both in terms of economic and socio-ecological indicators, which among other things, are determined by regional conditions of the strategic area of company’s operation. In areas with a high population density and high income level, it is obvious that the demand for innovation will be high and rapidly changing, which will push companies to activate their innovation potential. At the same time, the speed of innovative solution adoption and implementation becomes a significant factor. Thus, the effective innovation policy of an enterprise in the conditions of the Russian economy should be differentiated, considering the specifics of regional factors.

This research work was supported by the Academic Excellence Project 5-100 proposed by Peter of the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University.

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