Publisher's Synopsis
There are specific rules that govern how change can successfully occur in a given industry. Companies whose growth strategies follow the rules of their industry succeed; those who break the rules fail. This book shows how to align strategy with the principles of industry change to achieve sustainable growth. Growth and innovation are essential for the long-term survival of every company and they are also the two arenas in which companies most consistently fail. This book offers a compelling reason for why this is happening and a breakthrough framework for turning it around. From Xerox to K-Mart to Sotheby's great companies have failed to translate extraordinary innovation into better profitability. Why does this happen? Anita M. McGahan argues that great companies fail to profit from investments in innovation when they break their industries' rules for how change can take hold. In this book, she shows how to develop a strategy that is aligned with the rules of industry change.;By understanding and operating within the rules, executives can better appreciate the tradeoffs that are unique to each company's evolutionary path - and consequently improve performance by making smarter, more profitable strategic bets. "How Industries Evolve" is based on extensive statistical studies of 700 global industries and more than 25 case studies. McGahan identifies four models of industry evolution - progressive, creative, radical, and intermediating - and shows how a company can diagnose which model most closely describes the trajectory of change in its industry. The book then explains how company strategists can use their understanding of this model to carefully coordinate choices about R&D, alliances, internal venturing, leadership style, compensation, modularization, and time-to-market. By supporting executives' efforts to recognize and respond to shifts in industry structure, this book will ultimately help companies to achieve and sustain superior performance.
