Thirty Years Later, or The Biological Approach to Competition Revisited

The article discusses the effectiveness of the biological approach of generic strategies of competition by L. G. Ramensky – J. P. Grime to economic processes. Four main strategies are considered: violent, patient, commutant, and explorant. The competitive advantages of firms adhering to these strategies, as well as interactions within the population of firms adhering to different strategies as a single system are considered. The main methodological technique used in the article is to compare the competitive situation in Russia thirty years ago, i. e. at the dawn of the development of market relations in the country, with what is happening now. The main changes that have occurred with firms adhering to each of the four generic strategies are characterized. It is argued that an important reason of the recent high resistance of the Russian economy to external shocks that came as a surprise to most economists is connected with the high adaptability of the system of competitive relations that has developed in the country.