Competitive dynamics across industries: An analysis of inter-industry competition in German passenger transportation

Whereas analyses of competitive dynamics have hitherto focused on analysing the effects of intra-industry interaction on firm performance, we explore and analyse competition between actors that stem from different industries. This inter-industry focus is novel and interesting, as it allows the exploration of competitive parameters between rivals that differ substantially in their resource endowments, organisational structures, practices and cognitive schemes. The inter-industry focus is also important, since many industries are converging and thus instil competitive interaction between actors that were traditionally separated by industry boundaries. The empirical context for this study is the competitive interaction between airlines and railways in Germany. Based on expert interviews and grounded theory analysis, we shed light onto hitherto neglected facets of awareness, motivation and capability as drivers of competitive actions. We thereby contribute to both competitive dynamics as well as transport strategy literatures.