Column 2 · Competition and Timing · Era 5, Assets and Accountability (2000s)
Market Driving
Formulation, content · Major · Cluster I, Strategic Choice
Description
They distinguished market-driven from market-driving approaches, the latter changing the structure of a market or the behavior of its players, and outlined the mechanisms by which firms shape markets.
Managerial Implications
Being market-driven means responding to customers and competitors; market driving means changing the structure of the market or the behavior of its players. Both have their place. Managers should ask when to follow customer preferences and when to educate or reshape them, such as by eliminating players, building new channels, or changing what customers expect. Driving markets is riskier and rarer, but creates the largest rewards.