Emerging logics of competition: paradigm shift, fantasy, or reality check?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to elicit the subtle but progressive shift in organizational/institutional interaction with its rivals within a competitive framework, and thereby discusses and analyses paradigm shifts in competition and competitiveness. The paper argues that interorganizational networks and the recent concept of supply chain management may have induced a change in how competitiveness is viewed at the national, industry, and firm levels of interaction. Design/methodology/approach – The paper conceptualizes extant literature into distinct themes of (organizational and institutional) analysis – micro, macro, and meso – and based on this review the paper seeks to identify emerging logics and shifts within mainstream competitiveness literature over the last decade. Findings – The paper suggests that the micro‐macro theme of competition and competitiveness remains dominant in mainstream literature. Results from the analysis also support the notion of emergent logics of competition and competitiveness, which could then imply that a paradigm shift may well have begun within the area of competition and competitiveness. Research limitations/implications – The limited findings point towards more detailed forays into competition of interorganizational forms such as networks and supply chains, before a paradigm shift may be claimed. Practical implications – The paper serves to trigger the consciousness of stakeholders to think realistically with regards to claims that competition and competitiveness are carried out on the network level, e.g. a supply chain vs supply chain playing field. Originality/value – While networks and supply chains have generally been inferred as new frontiers for contemporary competition in different functionally‐oriented literature domains, analysis and performance of such emergent logics is yet to be shown. The classification of different competition logics put forth in this paper aid in systemizing the competitiveness/competition rhetoric.