Resource Defense Theory
Companies should only defend market territory when the economic equation favors defense.
Territory is defended when benefits exceed costs. When it doesn't, organisms abandon territoriality entirely. The optimal strategy isn't fixed - it adapts to resource density.
Not all animals defend territories. Territorial behavior emerges only when specific conditions are met. In 1964, Jerram Brown formulated the economic defendability model: Territory is defended when benefits exceed costs. Brown's original formulation has been expanded to include predation risk and information asymmetry (Maher & Lott, 2000), but the resource-defense principle remains fundamental: organisms defend territories when the economic equation favors defense over alternative strategies.
The mathematical threshold: Benefits = Resource value × Exclusive access. Costs = Boundary length × Defense frequency × Energy per defense. Territory emerges when Benefits > Costs. Territory collapses when Costs > Benefits.
The golden-winged sunbird demonstrates this threshold precisely. In high-density flowers (>100/acre), territory is vigorously defended with 33% surplus. In medium-density (30-100/acre), territory is weakly defended with 7% surplus. In low-density (<30/acre), defensive costs exceed possible benefits - no territory, nomadic feeding instead. The critical insight: Sunbirds don't defend 'their' flowers out of principle. They defend when math works.
Business Application of Resource Defense Theory
Companies should only defend market territory when the economic equation favors defense. Defensive Intensity Ratio (total defense costs / total territory value) below 15% indicates under-defense, 15-30% is sustainable, 30-50% is marginal, and above 50% is unsustainable requiring territory reduction.