According to Michael Porter (‘Industry evolution’, in De Wit & Meyer, 2010, Reading 8.1), what is the most significant problem, when applying the product life cycle?
The duration of the stages varies widely from industry to industry
The wide adoption of the model implies that all firms will be using it to guide their strategy making, and thus will produce similar strategies
There is nothing in the concept that will allow one to predict when it will hold, and when it will not
Companies are unable to affect the shape of the growth curve, even through innovation and repositioning.
As an industry grows, it will move from an initial structure towards its potential structure. According to Porter (‘Industry evolution’, in De Wit & Meyer, 2010, Reading 8.1), how are these two structures related?
Both structures are the same – they are only different in the number of times that they occur, at different stages of the product life cycle
The potential structure is usually very different from the initial structure
The initial structure sets the boundary of the potential structure
The potential structure is a less competitive form of the initial structure.
As industries evolve, does Porter (‘Industry evolution’, in De Wit & Meyer, 2010, Reading 8.1) believe that they will consolidate over time?
No, regardless of the industries future structure
Yes, if mobility barriers increase
No, if there are high exit barriers
Yes, if mobility barriers decrease.
According to Porter (‘Industry evolution’, in De Wit & Meyer, 2010, Reading 8.1), can the firm influence industry structure?
Porter argues that an individual firm cannot influence the industry structure
Porter argues that there are circumstances where an individual firm can influence the industry structure
Porter argues that the forces that drive industry evolution, and thus structure, are highly interrelated and thus no one firm can influence them
Porter argues that a single firm, depending on the industry’s mobility barriers, can influence the industry structure.
According to Porter (‘Industry evolution’, in De Wit & Meyer, 2010, Reading 8.1), what are evolutionary processes?
Stages of the industry life cycle: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline
Controllable stages, through which industry dynamics can be manipulated
Dynamic forces that create incentives, or pressures for change, in the industry
The processes of innovation and diffusion of the new product.
According to Porter (‘Industry evolution’, in De Wit & Meyer, 2010, Reading 8.1), how do industries change?
Industries do not change in a radical fashion. An industry is a complex system, and major changes in all parts of the system can produce chaotic developments
Industries change in a chaotic fashion. An industry evolution focuses on massive, industry-wide efforts to implement agonizing changes in a short period of time. To be attractive, industries have to keep this change momentum
Industries change in an incremental fashion. Industry evolution focuses on convergent periods, punctuated by reorientation - discontinuous upheavals. The attractive industries take advantage of relatively long convergent periods
Industries do not change in a piecemeal fashion. An industry is an interrelated system, and change in one element of an industry’s structure tends to trigger changes in other areas.
According to Porter (‘Industry evolution’, in De Wit & Meyer, 2010, Reading 8.1), structural change in an industry is often accompanied by changes in: