Differences in competitive aggressiveness between growth and meltdown periods

The objective of this research is to identify similarities and differences in the relationship between firm-level factors and competitive aggressiveness and the relationship between competitive aggressiveness and company performance during periods of market growth and market meltdown. Using 142 company years drawn from 33 suppliers of telecommunications equipment from 1998 to 2003, a set of seven hypotheses was examined. Results suggest that: the relationship between firm-level factors and action volume during market growth is similar to that during market meltdown; action diversity is negatively related to performance during market meltdown but not related during market growth; there is a negative relationship between action volume and action diversity; and action diversity during market meltdown is greater than action diversity during market growth.