ANALYSIS OF THE CATEGORIES "COMPETITION" AND "COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE" AS ENHANCING FACTORS OF ENTERPRISES’ COMPETITIVENESS
Background. In modern conditions academic economists pay greater attention to the nature of competition as an important mechanism for the functioning of market economy. In market economy the question of enterprises’ competitiveness determining is actual. A well-formed enterprise’s development strategy is possible only on the basis of objective knowledge of its position in the market and the problems analysis in relations with competitors. The aim of the study is to analyze the categories «competition» and «competitive intelligence» in new concepts of strategic management. Materials and me- thods. The aim of the study was achieved by studying and analysis of scientific papers on the particular subject, generalization and systematization of the obtained results. Results. The article presents the current definition of such economic category as "competition" on the basis of regulatory documents and research papers analysis of leading scientists in the field of competitiveness theory. The systematization of modern methods of competitive intelligence as an enhancing factor of enterprises’ competitiveness was done. Conclusions. Today, competitive intelligence has been significantly enriched by new methods, which allows, if necessary, to carry out a comprehensive comparative analysis of business processes with the selected competitor in order to enhance the competitiveness of enterprises. Modern approaches to the study of the nature of competition are embodied in new concepts of strategic management when developing different ways to achieve the company’s leadership in the market. The concept of identifying the advantages of cooperation over competition and their mutual combinations is among them.