On the playing field of companies:

Imagine that this is the WWF (or the extinct WCW, or the WWE, or whichever you fancy). And we are about to see a match. Two guys get into the ring. One is The Undertaker, and the other is Some blonde from the De-Generation X. The match begins, and there are thousands of things affecting the match and affected by the match.

Of course, there are some things affecting the match that are completely internal to the two wrestlers (size of heart, size of the lungs, dosage of steroids taken, amount of previous training and workout), some of them are internal to them, but bear interaction with the outside world (mouth to shout, arms and legs to use). Then are the real external ones, like fighting style, number of moves known, et cetera. Some are in the environment, like metal chairs, or the poles of the ring (and how masterfull is each fighter using them). And ¡hey! ¡if you thought there were just two contenders, you are wrong! there is Yokozuna, who "happened" to be in the arena, and this guy Hulk Hogan who refuses to let go and passes the chair to one of the guys. Then there are other stakeholders, like girlfriends and friends of the wrestlers... But it does not stop there, there is the regulator (the referee, McMahon), then there is the paying (per view) customers, and the guys who pay tickets and buy magazines and action figures. And the bookies. And then there are the horoscopes of the guys...... You get the idea....

So ¿What are the things that affect a firm, any firm?

Well, first there are some internal thing like the Core Beliefs, Mission, Vision, Strategy and what not. Then there is Recruiting, Compensation plans, Evaluation Policies, Financial Position, Production methods and capacity and what not, that are internal, but bear some relation with the external world

Then we have the Product's Technical Merits (real and perceived), Product Quality (conformance and customer defined), Marketing, Public Relations, Brand Image, Industry relationships...

But wait, it does not end there, some players may be interested in the outcome, producers of complementary products, for example (chipsets im the µProcesor industry, hotdogs in wrestling).

The market as well is interested. You, as a father, do not want to buy for your children the action figure of the guy that looses all matches (unless the child specifically asks for it); and you do not want to buy a Betamax either.

But wait, it gets better: ¿Are you polluting? ¿Creating jobs? ¿Saving the Wales? ¿Paying your taxes? ¿Abusing your Dominant position? ¿Using Predatory Pricing? ¿Are your products made by 12 Year old children in sweatshops in Asia? ¿Are you showing nipples in prime-time in the USA (in Europe is not such a big deal)? These are called non market issues.

But it gets even better, if you are in the Electricity or Telecommunications Business, you may have Solar System Issues (solar flares, solar storms and solar spots come to mind), if you are in Satellites, add to that asteroids....

But it gets even better than ever before: You can have Galactic / Universal issues: If you are a chip maker, ¡Cosmic rays can wreak havoc with you! ¿You do not believe me? Well, check the link

(This is the first link I post because this is so obscure that googling for this is hard. I assume that the audience can use google for some of the things / people / theories / facts I mention , if not, this is not the right blog for you)

In the coming weeks, we will analyze one by one all those factors, in our attempt to understand what is happening in the Intel vs. AMD struggle.

¡Salud!

Howling2929