Catfish effect 鲶鱼效应

Catfish effect鲶鱼效应

Adding a strong competitor to a market can sometimes motivate others to compete. This phenomenon can be described by term “catfish effect,” coming from the supposed practice of Norwegian fishermen, who put catfish into containers with live sardines to keep them active. This keeps the sardines alive long enough to reach market, where they can fetch a higher price than frozen sardines can. The catfish effect can be used to describe a new employee prompting existing ones to work harder or a new and innovative market entrant challenging incumbents to improve. Supporters of new e-investment products appearing in China argue that they are the catfish to the banks sardines, forcing the established financial institutions to offer better services and products to avoid losing customers.

引进一个强有力的竞争对手能让其他人更有干劲，这种现象就叫做“鲶鱼效应”。这个词来自挪威渔民的一种做法。他们发现，将一条鲶鱼放进捕来的沙丁鱼里，会让它们拼命游动躲开鲶鱼，这样一来沙丁鱼就能活着到达市场，卖出更高的价格。一个干劲十足的新员工往往能带动老员工更努力工作，一家创新型的公司能刺激一个行业里的其他竞争者改善自己，这些都是鲶鱼效应在现实生活中的体现。再比如，支持者认为，互联网金融能带来高质量的竞争，正是强迫银行改善自己的那条“鲶鱼”。

Catfish Effect In the News

Yu E Bao and other similar services have created a significant catfish effect, motivating banks to better themselves in the face of competition, said Liu Shengjun, deputy executive director at China Europe International Business School. Internet finance and banks are both providers of financial services and fiercer competition among service providers will only benefit investors and borrowers, he said.

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