Criteria For Assessing Product Competitiveness: A Comparative Analysis Of Quality, Price, And Value Approaches

Product competitiveness is commonly discussed through three major lenses: quality superiority, price advantage, and customer value creation. In practice, firms often rely on one dominant lens, which can distort decision-making when markets are volatile, consumer expectations are heterogeneous, and competition is increasingly shaped by service ecosystems and brand trust. This article offers a comparative analysis of quality-, price-, and value-based approaches to assessing product competitiveness and proposes a coherent evaluative framework suitable for managerial diagnostics and academic research. Using a conceptual-analytical method supported by an illustrative index-building procedure, the study clarifies the philosophical and economic assumptions embedded in each approach, identifies their measurement logics, and explains typical sources of bias. The results show that quality metrics tend to capture product integrity and compliance but may overlook perceived benefits; price metrics capture market entry and cost discipline but may misrepresent competitiveness when total cost of ownership and risk are ignored; value metrics best reflect consumer choice mechanisms yet require careful operationalization to avoid subjectivity. The discussion argues that a robust competitiveness assessment should be multi-dimensional and context-sensitive, combining objective quality evidence, relative price positioning, and value indicators tied to willingness-to-pay and experience outcomes. The article concludes with implications for product strategy, standardization, and further research on digital markets where value is increasingly co-produced through platforms and services.