Deterrence, Reputations, and Competitive Cognition

Author

David B. Montgomery, Singapore Management UniversityFollow
B.H. Clark

Publication Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

1998

Abstract

An aspect of competitive interactions is examined that has attracted increasing research attention: the relationships between deterrence and competitive reputations. A conceptual model of the antecedents and consequences of a firm's reputation for being a credible defender of its markets is built. Theory and limited empirical evidence suggests a firm with this reputation should deter competitive attacks against it. How a manager's competitive cognition about her opponents' patterns of activity in the marketplace and previous success can lead her to perceive a competitor as a credible defender is explored. The framework is tested using MBA students in a quasi-field setting, the Markstrat2 simulation game. The results of this study suggest that reputation deters attack only when the potential attacker considers the target firm a minor competitor.

Discipline

Business

Research Areas

Organisational Behaviour and Human Resources

Publication

Management Science

Volume

44

Issue

1

First Page

62

Last Page

82

ISSN

0025-1909

Identifier

10.1287/mnsc.44.1.62

Publisher

INFORMS

Citation

Montgomery, David B. and Clark, B.H.. Deterrence, Reputations, and Competitive Cognition. (1998). Management Science. 44, (1), 62-82.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/2310