In this piece, we will take a look at the five most competitive industries in the world. If you want to gain a deeper understanding of the determinants of competition in the corporate world, head on over to 10 Most Competitive Industries in the World.
5. General Electronics
Estimated Number of Firms: 1,457
General electronics are electronic devices that are made for use by the public. These include a wide variety of devices that are used in everyday life. Some examples include hair dryers, irons, induction cookers, shavers, and other products that most people use as a daily part of their lives. The growth of assembly operations, particularly in China, enables lots of firms to design their products and simply secure third party manufacturing for the products. This provides opportunities for lots of companies to enter the market and subsequently makes the industry quite competitive.
4. Machinery
Estimated Number of Firms: 1,463
The machinery industry is one of the most capitally intensive sectors in the world – particularly when it comes to big machines such as excavators. However, heavy duty equipment is not the only component of this sector. Instead, the sector includes a wide variety of smaller products such as gear parts, bearings, pumps, compressors, and numerous power tools such as drill machines, lathes, gear shapers, grinding machines, and milling machines.
3. Application and System Software
Estimated Number of Firms: 1,648
The application and systems software is one of the biggest industries in the world. It sits right at the heart of the modern day computing age. And while the operating system market is primarily dominated by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), there are countless application software companies that are both industry specific and user agnostic. Examples include engineering design software and antivirus. One key factor that makes the application and systems software market being competitive is the low entry costs as it does not require significant capital expenditure to produce new software.
2. Investments and Asset Management
Estimated Number of Firms: 1,660
Investments and asset management is a subset of the financial sector. While finance as a whole provides little incentive for competition due to low return on investment, investments and asset management, like software, have low set up costs. In fact, all you need is an office, legal and regulatory compliance, people who know what they are doing, and customers to set up a new business. At the same time, the lucrative cut asset managers take creates plenty of incentive for new entrants.
1. Metals and Mining
Estimated Number of Firms: 1,783
The metals and mining industry consists of different firms operating in their own sectors. It is a subsegment of the basic materials industry and requires large capital costs to not only operate the equipment but also to acquire the sites which the minerals will be dug out from. These range from simple products such as coal, to precious metals like gold, and the backbone of technology, lithium.
Disclosure: None. You can also take a look at Top 10 Generative Artificial Intelligence Companies to Invest In and 20 Best Airlines in the World in 2023.
