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Сompetitive Advantages of IT Companies in the Digital Economy

The article touches upon topical issues of the development of the Russian segment of the web services market in online environment in the global economic space. The study of the modern market of IT companies seems extremely relevant today. More and more firms need to start working in digital in order to expand business opportunities, optimize ways of interacting with customers, as well as increase competitiveness and economic efficiency indicators. The use of information technologies in business processes is becoming extremely necessary in the conditions of coronavirus restrictions, which increases the demand for IT companies’ services. In this regard, it is important to understand their basic strategies and assess their tendency to monopolize. “Previously, economists assumed that competitive markets for digital services are less prone to monopolization than markets for standard products. Now, monopolization, information asymmetry, and external (network) effects can be observed in digital markets” [1]. The purpose of the study is to identify the type of structure of the Russian segment of the web services market online in the global economic space and to assess the intensity of competition. To achieve this goal, the following tasks were solved: the relevant market was identified, its main characteristics and composition of participants were analyzed, the trends of its transformation in the conditions of COVID-19, the choice of criteria for analyzing the structure of the Russian market segment on the Upwork online exchange platform was justified. The results are based on an empirical study of statistical information on Novosibirsk companies operating on the Upwork platform. Such market parameters as a large number of firms, the insignificant height of barriers to entry into the industry, the predominance of non-price competition make it possible to identify it as a market of monopolistic competition. The article identifies the problems of antimonopoly regulation of the market of web services operating on digital platforms, namely: the complexity of their analysis and identification of the «relevant» market, the “blurring” of geographical and product boundaries, growing demand. The factors determining the competitive advantages of firms in the web services market and clients’ package, which, in turn, indirectly influence the choice of strategy, are systematized. The authors attempt to describe the motives of buyers’ behavior in the web services market when remotely selecting sellers in an online environment. Read more...

Problems of Analysis and Evaluation of the Sound Recording Market for a Startup

The article outlines the problems of marketing research of a potential market for a startup entering the market. The complexity of analyzing potential demand lies in the lack of information and low reliability of evaluation methods, especially if the product is innovative. The purpose of the study is a comprehensive comparative analysis of methods for assessing the potential startup market, depending on the level of business innovation. The article shows the synthesis of the application of the methodological approach of the theory of industry markets and marketing tools for the study of consumer demand, assessment of the intensity of competition. To achieve this goal, the following tasks were solved: the definition of a startup was given, the boundaries of the local recording market in the city of Novosibirsk were determined; the market structure and competitive environment were assessed using various research methods; the level of economic concentration was calculated. The authors have attempted to systematize various methods of market research with an indication of their advantages and disadvantages to determine the potential niche of a startup. Based on the conducted empirical research, it was found that for existing and non-segmented markets, when a startup has innovative features, it is possible to use any research method. For new commodity markets (services), their circle is narrowing. It is recommended to use the analysis of key queries at the first stage, and TAM SAM SOM at the second stage. The methodology of the theory of industry markets allows not only to analyze the market by key structural parameters, but also to predict the behavior model of a startup company at each stage of its development. Michael Porter's methodology helps to understand the main driving forces, the main risks that can have a positive impact on business development. The right choice of marketing tools determines the success of a beginner in achieving economic targets. The scientific novelty lies in the synthesis of the application of the methodology of the theory of industry markets and marketing tools for the study of consumer demand, assessing the intensity of competition and justifying the feasibility of using each approach depending on the innovativeness of the startup. Read more...

Forms of Interaction of Participants in Supply Chains: Full Integration Versus Autonomous Functioning

The restoration of the production and economic potential of Russian enterprises in the conditions of an economic war necessitates the search for the most effective forms of organizing the activities of firms in supply chains, which make it possible to increase their degree of competitiveness in the markets. The urgency of this task has increased in the context of diplomatic isolation and the imposition of economic sanctions that have affected the collapse of the main technological and logistics chains. In these circumstances, the need to understand which industry structure will give the largest increment in production volumes and the lowest prices while maintaining the stability of supply chains is of particular importance. The purpose of the study is to determine the principles and optimal forms of organizing the activities of firms in supply chains from the standpoint of market efficiency and profitability of the participants themselves. The set goal predetermined the solution of the following tasks: a comparative analysis of two options for the interaction of chain participants was carried out – autonomous functioning and full vertical integration; the model of contractual relations of firms is identified, which allows them to receive maximum profit; the most attractive variant of the chain organization from the position of the consumer (output volumes and prices) was determined; an economic-mathematical model has been developed for calculating the optimal parameters of activity in the supply chain of an industrial enterprise for two opposite models of firms’ behavior. The methodological basis of the study is a synthesis of theoretical, methodological and applied research of foreign and domestic specialists in the field of supply chain management theory, as well as the theory of industry markets. The scientific novelty of the study is a methodical approach to considering the supply chain as a system oriented to the market function of demand, i.e. the activities of all participants in the chain are set up to produce and sell such a volume of goods for which demand is presented. The article proposes a formal model that allows one to analyze the incentives for vertical integration and evaluate the results of alternative strategies for the behavior of firms in the supply chain. Read more...

The Strategy of Interaction of a Focused Firm with Supplier and Consumer in the Supply Chain

The spread of globalization, and then the pandemic associated with COVID19, the beginning of ITS led to the need to revise the landscape of competition in national and global markets. The focus of researchers’ attention has shifted from the competitive interaction of individual firms to the rivalry between supply chains. Therefore, it is necessary to determine which structure of the supply chain is the most preferable for each of its participants. The article examines the economic behavior of a focus firm in relation to other participants in the supply chain. Three situations are analyzed. The first involves the fully autonomous functioning of all participants in the chain. The second is that the dominant firm integrates with the seller (integration forward), and the third – with the supplier (integration backward). The paper evaluates the strategies of a focus firm in the supply chain based on profit analysis. A formalized model is proposed that allows analyzing the incentives for the integration of a focus firm with other participants in various variants of the chain organization and assessing the conditions in which the supplier and the end seller will be motivated to cooperate. The value of the profit of the supplier and seller is also analyzed, representing the extreme links of the chain in the case when they will be more inclined to autonomous functioning. The methodological basis of the research is a combination of the paradigm of the theory of industrial markets, economic theory and supply chain management. The scientific novelty of the research is an original approach to considering the supply chain as a system focused on the market function of demand, i.e. the activities of all participants in the chain are configured to produce and sell such a volume of goods for which demand is presented. The supply chain is also considered from the perspective of optimizing its structure and motivating partners to cooperate based on an analysis of the profits of each participant. The proposed approach allows us to compare the results of the functioning of firms in the supply chain from the standpoint of the theory of industry markets and economic theory, which goes beyond logistics or strategic management. Read more...

Modeling the Operation of a Technological Chain with Vertical and Horizontal Relationships of Participants and Taking into Account Demand

The subject of the article is the study of production structures consisting of a set of independent firms (enterprises interacting with each other through the supply of products through horizontal and vertical links in a single production and technological chain. It is assumed that firms at different levels of the chain not only supply components up, but also sell them on the market, organizing interaction with wholesale buyers. The mechanism of interaction takes into account economic interests, the demand for the company’s products in the market and reflects the situation of equilibrium. The scientific novelty of the study is the deepening of the methodological basis for describing the interaction of participants in the technological chain using matrix modeling based on the principles of constructing matrices of intersectoral balance. Such characteristics of firms and the system as a whole as: final product, gross product, resource volumes are considered. On the basis of the obtained final formulas, the dependences of the economic characteristics of the activity of firms and the system as a whole on the decrease (increase) in prices for resources, on changes in demand are established. The proposed approach to determining the final product of the system seems to be quite reasonable: firstly, the output volumes of the system are linked through the interaction of the manufacturer and seller, taking into account market demand, and, secondly, the volume of sales reflects the economic interests of the parties. The ratio “the price of products on the market – the volume of supply” becomes justified on the part of the demand function (the end consumer), the seller and the manufacturer of products. Such an optimization approach to determining the results of interaction promptly takes into account changes in the market environment and adjusts the performance indicators of participants in the direction of their consistency, which makes it possible to increase the stability of the system. It is established that when the market situation worsens as a result of rising prices for factors of production or a reduction in effective demand, there is a percentage decrease in final output in value terms, but the rate of its reduction is lower. The case of a decrease in demand has a more negative impact on the economy of the firm and the entire system. Thus, the growth rates of the economy and the well-being of the population are determined by the efficiency of complex hierarchical structures with horizontal and vertical relationships. Read more...