Competitive Tension: The Awareness-Motivation-Capability Perspective

This paper investigates competitive tension, or the strain between a focal firm and a given rival that is likely to result in the firm taking action against the rival. Drawing on the awareness-motivation-capability perspective, we show how perceived competitive tension, as constructed from managers' and industry stakeholders' competitor assessments, is influenced by the independent and interactive effects of three factors: relative scale, rival's attack volume, and rival's capability to contest. Our results provide a new avenue for studying competitors and the relationship between competitor analysis and interfirm rivalry.