Firms Faced with Rivals and Advantage of Location

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Firms Faced with Rivals and Advantage of Location

The location of firms depends on factors such as cost, quality of

inputs and even their availability. These factors can vary from place

to place so this gives firms an incentive to locate in the lowest cost

locations with other things being equal. The location for most firms

is highly dependent on labour costs and raw material costs as these

are naturally less mobile place to place and almost completely

immobile country to country, capital does not have as much effect on

the location of a firm. Differences in labour costs are one

determinant of location but on a regional scale in the UK there is not

a substantial difference. The importance of raw materials as a factor

determining location can be a problem as on some occasions the

availability of raw materials dictates the location of a firm e.g.

coal mining. With the improvement of transport systems and with raw

materials accounting for a smaller proportion of total costs, firms

are now more able to choose locations based on other criteria. Lower

costs enable firms to make more profits, these lower costs also allow

for firms to be more competitive to gain a greater market share.

Another factor which influences costs of operating in different

locations is the presence or absence of agglomeration economies.

Agglomeration economies are a form of economies of scale. If a group

of firms are in the same industry or involved in similar types of

activity are located near to each other they may be able to secure

cost saving which is available to all firms but cannot be exploited by

one single firm. These savings can arise from many sources one ...

... middle of paper ...

...rences, a Nash equilibrium

is unlikely to occur in this situation.

Location can give firms a competitive advantage but not on entirely on

its own, a location can initially give a firm an advantage but in the

long run other firms are likely to follow. If firms want to be

competitive they need to consider other strategies such as trying to

be cost leaders or try and produce a better quality product, advertise

or differentiate their product from other products. Firms end up

satisficing, unless inside information is known. If one firm acts

first others tend to follow and crowd out the market.

Bibliography

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1) Evan. J. Douglas, Managerial economics, analysis and strategy,

Fourth edition 1992

2) Howard Davis, Managerial Economics for Business Management and

Accounting, second edition, 1991

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