ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses how to undertake competitor analysis in the globalised digital business environment. It explores the need to turn the observation of success among competitors into an internal driver for innovation rather than simply copycatting and blindly adopting cargo cult thinking. Contrary to popular media depictions of never-ending cutthroat corporate battles, in many sectors there is an active practice of clustering and collaboration. This is particularly true in the digital and creative sector. Collaborations and joint ventures are commonplace and drive collaborative learning and sharing of ‘best practice’ across the industry. Competitor analysis in a digital age offers myriad ways to understand the marketplace, products and services and new technologies. The question, therefore, is when to follow or when to lead in a new direction when identifying market opportunities and competitor moves. When conducting evaluations it can be easy to get confused with the range of different aspects to evaluate and rank them.
