Competition Demystified: Chapter 18

The author of the excellent book for beginners, Value Investing: From Graham to Buffett..., is back, this time with a book about how to understand and analyze competitive advantages. Investors interested in better understanding what gives a company a competitive advantage must give this book a read.


In this final chapter of the book, the authors concede that competitive advantages are rare. They don't exist in most industries and for most companies, and therefore the strategies discussed in this book are not applicable to most.

But that doesn't mean there aren't gains to be realized in areas where no competitive advantage exists. The way this is accomplished is by increased efficiency as a result of policies instituted by management. The authors provide a great deal of evidence (including case studies) that competent management is the difference between success and failure in industries with no competitive advantages.