Organizational Hostility: Why and How Nonmarket Players Compete With Firms

Competitive dynamics theory overlooks an entire class of players who pose a serious threat to commercial firms: nonmarket players (NMPs) such as activists, environmentalists, social entrepreneurs, and NGOs. Using an institutional perspective, this conceptual manuscript advances competitive dynamics theory by developing a framework of organizational hostility. The framework profiles NMPs according to their propensity to engage firms; it also classifies firms based on their vulnerability and initial reaction to NMP attacks. Corroborated with a mathematical model (detailed in the appendix), the conceptual framework explains why and which NMPs are most hostile to firms, why some NMPs issue threats while others strike out at commercial firms quickly and without warning, and which firms are most vulnerable to such hostility.