A Lotka-Volterra competition model for modelling market competition in the telecommunication industry: case study of Zimbabwe

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to use the Lotka-Volterra competition model to analyse the competition for market supremacy among the three Zimbabwean telecommunication companies namely, Econet, NetOne and Telecel. The parameters of the model are estimated using Genetic Algorithms. Firms’ market shares have been used to reflect the competition among them. Estimation of market equilibriums and testing of the stability has been performed in this study and it has been shown that the long term outcome of the competition is the coexistence of the three companies. Our research results show that Econet will be the superior company in the long term. Future research can improve on the current methodology by including the promotional strategies being used by the companies in the model. The study can provide valuable information to the players for strategic planning and also for making informed decisions.