Competitive analysis of the Turkish brick industry—a case study for developing countries

The aim of this article was to examine the factors affecting the competition in brick industries in developing countries. Turkish brick industry was analysed as a case study within the frame of Porterʹs five forces model. A questionnaire survey was undertaken with Turkish brick makers and the results were evaluated by using frequency tables, Likert scale of comparisons and hypothesis testing. Findings showed that competition between the existing companies in Turkish brick industry was fierce with many similar-sized companies, low entry and exit barriers, increasing threat from the substitute products, and increasing bargaining power of the buyers. Past experiences showed that potential developments in the industry due to integration with EU would additionally be increasing the competition. Depending on the literature and the questionnaire findings, a number of strategies were recommended to Turkish brick companies, which can also be adopted by the companies in other developing countries.