Thriving in the global competitive landscape: competitive dynamics and longevity of emerging market firms

Abstract Drawing on the competitive dynamics perspective, this study examines how competitive aggressiveness and complexity affect the longevity of emerging market firms. In a longitudinal and survival analysis of 570 publicly listed Korean firms from 1998 to 2017, I theorize and reveal that emerging market firms pursuing competitive aggressiveness and complexity are more likely to survive longer, particularly those competing in industries with high competitive pressure stemming from industry globalization. Broadly, I contribute to the competitive dynamics literature by extending the scholarly understanding of the long-term survival implications of firms’ competitive initiatives, unveiling a new boundary condition—competitive pressure from industry globalization, and broadening the spectrum of competitive dynamics research from Western to non-Western contexts.