Title: Time-based hypercompetition

Authors: Chen H. Chung

Addresses: Department of Management, Gatton College of Business and Economics, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0034, USA

Abstract: During the past two decades, the notion of hypercompetition has challenged the conventional strategic thinking. Most of the essential concepts in hypercompetition are time-related. Although the importance of time-based competition (TBC) has been well recognised for decades, the high uncertainty and risk produced by hyperchanges further challenge the effectiveness of the 'traditional' TBC. This paper critically evaluates the feasibility of applying the traditional TBC to hypercompetition. Several themes of time philosophy are addressed in the discourse on the transition from the traditional TBC to the time-based hypercompetition (TBHC). Among them, we emphasise the importance of widening the here-and-now concept to go beyond its old 'present moment' connotation. We conclude the paper by proposing a new theory of hypercompetition: competition is really a non-issue in hypercompetition; firms simply challenge themselves to create new targets for others to follow.

Keywords: time-based competition; TBC; strategies; hypercompetition; change; time philosophy; hyperchange.

DOI: 10.1504/IJISCM.2020.112049

International Journal of Information Systems and Change Management, 2020 Vol.12 No.1, pp.53 - 70

Received: 11 Sep 2020
Accepted: 13 Sep 2020
Published online: 23 Dec 2020 *

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