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Threaten your competitor's profit sanctuaries.
Profit sanctuaries are the parts of a business where a company makes the most money. The hardball player can influence a competitor's behavior and gain competitive advantage by attacking a competitor's profit sanctuaries.
However, this strategy is risky; it takes the player deep into the caution zone. Also, the competitor is likely to retaliate by attacking your profit sanctuaries. Classic example here would be that of Toyota, how it overran the profit sanctuaries of GM, Ford and Chrysler - light trucks and SUVs, where they earned between $10 and $15 thousand dollars per vehicle.

Take it and make it your own.
Often companies like to think that their bright ideas are sacred however, hardball players are willing to take any good idea they see (any one that isn't restrained by a patent or other legal protection) and use it to create competitive advantage for themselves. This isn't restricted to borrowing from competitors. Ideas can be picked from one geographic market and transplanted to another. Ideas can also transplant between industries. But the "making it your own" part is more important than "taking it." so that it's not just a me-too copy. An example in Indian context would be that of Priyagold biscuits who are matching almost the entire range of biscuits being offered by Britannia but at a lower price.

Entice your competitor into retreat.
Sometimes, based upon a superior understanding of business and industry, the hardball players can take actions that confuse their competitors and entice them to behave in ways that they believe will be beneficial to them but that actually will weaken them. This opportunity is contingent on the existence of certain customers that are not worth having because they are high cost to serve. These customers may be willing to pay a premium for the concerned offering, but it usually is not enough to be truly worth the effort. These are the customers that the hardball players want their competitors to have.

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* Contributed by: -
Bhawna Sikka & Vaibhav Hari,
PGDBM 2006,
IMT, Ghaziabad.