Competitive Strategies by Enrico Valdani & Alessandro Arbore

Author:Enrico Valdani & Alessandro Arbore
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Published: 2013-03-18T16:00:00+00:00

Figure 4.15 The metamarket

As illustrated in Figure 4.15, the traditional boundaries of the sector include all firms that satisfy certain benefits for specific customers by means of a particular technology. The delineation of the market, meanwhile, transversally identifies all customers with a specific need, regardless of the technology used to satisfy it. Therefore this definition includes a set of complementary products with similar functions and benefits for customers.

Finally, firms positioned in asymmetric sectors and markets converge and coevolve in metamarkets. This coevolution process generates an aggregate without clearly defined boundaries that is undergoing a dynamic process of constant reconfiguration. In other words, sector boundaries tend to blur because they are constantly moving toward the creation of new metamarkets.

Through coevolutionary processes, new Movement Games begin that not only activate the transformation of individual sectors but also generate intersectoral convergence that gives rise to metamarkets. The progressive increase of knowledge that comes from coevolution accelerates the convergence process and erases the distinctions between the boundaries of traditional sectors. This is particularly relevant in sectors with higher levels of knowledge and information. The boundaries between computers, consumer electronics, telecommunications, and contents, for example, are increasingly transitory in the ICT (Information, Communication & Technology) metamarket. Other metamarkets include nutriceuticals (nutritional products and pharmaceuticals), cosmeceuticals (cosmetics and medicines) edutainment (education and entertainment), genetic diagnostic technologies (biogenetics and pharmacology), and so forth. Examples of unpronounceable neologisms are becoming increasingly numerous.

By soliciting new Movement Games, convergence and coevolution increase market hypercompetition and turbulence as it becomes more difficult to determine the boundaries of specialization on which to build defensible and durable advantages. At the same time, the boundaries of the firm’s internal resources expand (Section 4.7) as the knowledge it needs is much more extensive. This leads us to the next section.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.