Version 1.0, October 2026. 98 constructs in 18 families across 7 eras, with 18 imported theories below. Selecting a cell reveals its family, era, block, tier, and anchor works, each anchoring reference linking to the publisher’s page. Explore the 18 Family Deep Dives for granular sub-tables, or visit Resources to use the four interactive analytical tools.
Each cell: number, influence pips, block code, then symbol, construct, and anchor works
open frontier position
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Detached series · Theories imported from adjacent fields, each set near the families it feeds
Series
T
Imported Theories
14FC
Pk
Product-Market Definition
Family
2. Competition and Timing (I · Strategic Choice)
Era
Period 2: Planning, 1970s
Block
FC · Formulation, content
Tier
Major
Cell card
Description
They argued that product-markets should be defined from the customer's perspective, by patterns of substitution in use, rather than by producer characteristics, and reviewed customer-oriented approaches to identifying market boundaries.
Managerial Implications
Define your market by the customer's substitutes, not by industry codes. Ask which alternatives customers consider for the same use, and you will find competitors you were not watching and segments you were not counting. A narrow definition hides threats; a broad one dilutes focus. Revisit the definition when technology creates new substitutes, because that is when market boundaries move.
How to read. Down a column follows one research stream through time. Across a row shows what the field studied in an era. Color marks the strategy domain, after Morgan et al. (2019). Pips give an influence tier. Numbers run by era, then family. Placements, anchors, and tiers are editorial judgments, and anchors are entry points rather than a complete record of any stream. Anyone who uses or adapts this table is responsible for verifying its contents against the original works.
