<P> In economics , `` competition '' is the rivalry among sellers trying to achieve such goals as increasing profits , market share , and sales volume by varying the elements of the marketing mix : price , product , promotion and place . Merriam - Webster defines competition in business as `` the effort of two or more parties acting independently to secure the business of a third party by offering the most favorable terms '' . In his 1776 The Wealth of Nations , Adam Smith described it as the exercise of allocating productive resources to their most highly valued uses and encouraging efficiency , an explanation that quickly found support among liberal economists opposing the monopolistic practices of mercantilism , the dominant economic philosophy of the time . Smith and other classical economists before Cournot were referring to price and non-price rivalry among producers to sell their goods on best terms by bidding of buyers , not necessarily to a large number of sellers nor to a market in final equilibrium . </P>
<P> In economics , `` competition '' is the rivalry among sellers trying to achieve such goals as increasing profits , market share , and sales volume by varying the elements of the marketing mix : price , product , promotion and place . Merriam - Webster defines competition in business as `` the effort of two or more parties acting independently to secure the business of a third party by offering the most favorable terms '' . In his 1776 The Wealth of Nations , Adam Smith described it as the exercise of allocating productive resources to their most highly valued uses and encouraging efficiency , an explanation that quickly found support among liberal economists opposing the monopolistic practices of mercantilism , the dominant economic philosophy of the time . Smith and other classical economists before Cournot were referring to price and non-price rivalry among producers to sell their goods on best terms by bidding of buyers , not necessarily to a large number of sellers nor to a market in final equilibrium . </P>
the contest among businesses to win customers is called
the contest among businesses to win customers is called
competition
competition