Competitive Actions in the Age of AI Agents: a Framework for Strategy Formulation Under Conditions of Technological Disruption

Abstract

Strategy formulation theory in engineering management has long rested on a foundational premise: that competitive actions are initiated, executed, and responded to by human decision-makers operating within human cognitive limits and institutional time horizons. Organizations across engineering management sub-fields are now deploying AI agentic systems capable of executing competitive moves autonomously, continuously, and at speeds that human-led processes were never designed to match. The result is a competitive environment in which the speed of rivalry, strategic positioning, and organizational conditions for advantage have materially shifted — while the theoretical frameworks guiding strategy formulation have not.