Description
Book SynopsisStunningly, strategy has never adequately defined one of its central institutions, the market. Old playbooks got away with a hodgepodge of assertions, assumptions and approximations.
But the undeniable complexity of modern markets confronts us with the truth. Markets are elaborate, evolving ecosystems – think biology, not machinery. Today, strategy must embrace complexity or die. Recognizing markets as complex adaptive systems spells strategic implications. Notably, as markets are partly socially constructed, they can be reconstructed. And while they cannot be predicted or controlled, they can be influenced.
Rooted in the richness of market systems, SMASH traces the three main resulting shifts in strategic thinking: (1) from firm focus to context focus, where the relevant context is our definition of the market; (2) from competing and winning to value creation and cooperation; and (3) from analysis, prediction and planning to non-predictive strategizing and experimentation.
Nenonen and Storbacka weave these three strands together into a cohesive strategic framework – Strategies for Market Shaping. Market shaping strategies acknowledge that much of firm performance is explained by the markets where a firm operates. Crucially, strategic choices go beyond market selection, entry and exit; firms should actively seek to adapt the market to the firm instead of the firm to the market, and open up untapped value in the process.
Market shaping is not new. What is new is systematizing an actionable framework for understanding and shaping markets. And the good news: It does not take market power and resources, or intuitive genius, to shape markets to your own benefit. SMASH offers tangible strategies that savvy market shapers of any size can implement, making it a must-read.
Trade ReviewViewing markets as complex systems of exchange for the purpose of co-creating value, this book details three resulting shifts in strategic thinking: from firm focus to context focus, where the relevant context is the definition of the market; from competing and winning to value creation and cooperation; and from analysis, prediction, and planning to non-predictive strategizing and experimentation. It integrates these shifts into a strategic framework of market shaping strategies, which acknowledge that firm performance is explained by the markets where a firm operates and that markets are malleable and firms should try to shape them in their favor by value-creating coalitions. It explains the elements and layers of market systems, including the need to be aware of and optimize one’s business definition; the exchange process by which the focal firm defines its product or services, prices, and finds customers; the network that supports the exchange process and customers’ use practices; the representations used to symbolize the market; the rules of the game that guide interactions in the market; and the leadership qualities of a market shaper. -- Annotation ©2018 * (protoview.com) *
Table of ContentsYour Strategy Playbook has expired Frame your market Shape your market Learn shaping principles and plays Leadership for market shapers
