Journal archive
Strategy and tactics |
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The Russian economy has now entered a pro-active growth stage. The various industries' development indicators go up and the per capita income increases, therefore the consumers' expenditure level inevitably rises. This is the reason why the Russian consumer good retail market sales volume grows by 23 % yearly. The indicator has been the same for the last few years and the growth pace is one of the highest in the world. However such a retail market sector growth brings about some new challenges. The retail companies have to answer the question: how can we maintain the market position and strengthen it? Using traditional sales techniques and technical instruments of competitive positioning (merchandizing tools and sales item format changes tools) are not enough for the company to operate successfully on the market. In order to become a success, the retail market sector companies should create their own brand names that could help the companies get the feedback from the consumers and add a human touch to their operations.
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It is well-known that the strategy chosen, management competences, valuable resource and a market niche availability are not the only factors any company's operations depend upon. A com¬pany's success is impossible without an access to the investment fund capital. It is necessary to be aware of the fact that the investors would not invest substantial funds into a company lacking an efficient management system and an operational monitoring system. The investors are ready to pay a big bonus sum for the shares of a company which has a clear-cut corporate management system. Corporate management quality is now one of the most important factors influencing the decision-making process when investment issues are concerned.
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Franchising is one of the forms of operation for the market chain operators. This is an effective way of building cooperation between the independent market players who, as a rule, represent some large and small enterprises. This is a popular form of building a business relation which is based upon the common use of a brand for the mutual profit of both companies. The brand is one of the most important intangible assets of a company and is an instrument used in the modern competition where the other-than-the-price factors make an impact. A franchise agreement guarantees some competitive advantages for both the buyer and the seller of the brand name use rights. This form of operation has not been used for long by the Russian market players, but its popularity is growing fast in spite of some existing barriers. As the franchising potential secures the national economy growth and makes the small businesses play a more important role in the market economy, this form of cooperation becomes a subject matter of the scientific research and a factor in the state economic policy development.
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The issues of theory |
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The main problems the economists are facing now are basically the same Adam Smith used to face 200 years ago. What is more, there are no breakthroughs in terms of their solving. This is the traditionalistic point of view upon the economic theory. The point was formulated by M. Friedman, a Nobel Prize winner, and it is appropriate to compare the economic concept and the modern physics concepts. According to R. Heilbroner, the economic systems which are a subject matter of economics, have a lot in common with the physics systems studied today.
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The economists give various definitions to the term competition. They show the reasons why it emerges, its development mechanisms, its social and economic consequences and describe its properties. In retrospect, we can analyze the competition theory and make a conclusion that despite the discrepancies in the definition of the term, there are ways to make a comprehensive classification based on the unified methodology the economists use when doing the research.
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Competitive Russia |
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The members of the academic and business community and the Russian politicians have often addressed the issues of the competitiveness level increase and the Russian economy revival concept development recently. Professor Fatkhutdinov describes his view of the problem in his article. He has been examining the competition and competitiveness concepts for a long time. He is an author of some popular manuals, monographs and articles. At the author's request we are publishing the article here edited by the author.
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Sustainable development and national economy competitiveness level increase are only possible if the macroeconomics development trends change and the very impact-making factors of the development change. Today it is impossible to raise the Russian economy competitiveness level, introduce some innovations and upgrade the Russian economy as it lacks a solid financial base that is linked with other necessary financial resources. The upgrade, innovation introduction and modernization that are the base for the competitiveness level increase are hampered for a number of reasons. Last but not the least, the fact that the role of the state in the development of the finan¬cial resources is played down is one of the above reasons.
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"The Russians, as far as the political economy is concerned, have been moving in the wake of the Western countries' development; therefore, in the light of the unfounded cosmopolitism that has been the czar of the public thought in Russia in the last few decades it is small wonder that the political economy rules and their meaning are incongruously understood by the public".
(Count Sergei Witte, Saint-Petersburg, 1912)
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Industry competition |
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Equipment or other items and articles production, as well as the service rendering is aimed at gaining the highest profit, if it is possible. It is necessary to bear in mind that several plants may produce the same things. The consumer is free to choose when buying a product or service. In this case the plants enter the competition aimed at getting the highest consumer demand.
The author of the article tries to find out what makes a market product or service attractive and what role the producer and the government bodies play in the competition the producers start for the consumers' attention.
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Few researchers raised the issue of increasing the Russian resorts and recreation centers' competitiveness level in the post-transition period as nobody considered it to be appropriate and nobody applied the competition theory to the recreation sector analysis during the Soviet planned economy period when there was no competition whatsoever. At present, an open tour operator services market has emerged in the new environment. The Russian and foreign tour operators compete when offering tours to the Russian and foreign resorts. The authors of the article touch upon the issue of increasing the Russian regional resorts competitive potential.
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