All else being equal I agree with focusing on companies that have a long track record of success -- due to the Lindy Effect they're also more likely to be successful in the future.

> in an industry where there is not much competition

This hasn't matched my experience so far. The less external competition there is to align the company, the more employees seem to channel that drive into internal competition for resources and petty office politics.

That doesn't sound quite like what I'm talking about. That sounds 'cushy', which isn't bad, but doesn't necessarily make for a very interesting job.