Konkurrenca

Konkurrenca is a concept used across disciplines to describe a situation in which two or more actors strive to obtain the same limited resources, rewards, or opportunities. It arises when parties’ goals overlap and resources such as customers, market share, attention, or prestige are scarce. Competition can take many forms, from market rivalry among firms to biological interactions over food or territory, and it can occur within a group (intra-species) or between groups (inter-species).

The term has roots in historical and linguistic development that trace back to Latin and other European languages, where similar words denote the act of striving or contending. In Albanian, konkurrenca is commonly used to mean competition in economic, social, or informal contexts, while in English and many other languages related terms carry closely aligned meanings.

In economics, competition is a key mechanism that influences prices, quality, innovation, and efficiency. Market competition exists when numerous buyers and sellers freely interact, reducing market power and distributing resources efficiently. Different market structures—perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly, and monopoly—produce different outcomes for prices and consumer welfare. Competition policy and antitrust regulation seek to preserve fair competition by preventing anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant position, and harmful mergers.

In biology, competition describes organisms contending for shared resources such as food, space, or mates, which can affect survival and reproduction. Competition can be direct (interference) or indirect (exploitative) and can shape ecological niches and evolutionary processes.

Culturally and institutionally, competition underpins sports, academia, procurement, and funding processes, where transparent rules and evaluation criteria aim to ensure fairness and merit.