Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Strategy in High-
Technology
Industries
Overview
• Technology
– The body of scientific knowledge used in the
production of goods or services
• High-tech industries
– Those in which the underlying scientific
knowledge that companies in the industry use is
advancing rapidly, and by implication so are the
attributes of the products and services that result
from its application
• Technical standards
– A set of technical specifications that producers
adhere to when making the product or a
component of it
• Format wars
– Battles to set and control technical standards
• The source of product differentiation is based
on the technical standard
• Network effects
– The size of the network of complementary
products is a primary determinant of demand for
an industry’s products
• Positive feedback
– Reinforcing network effects to encourage adoption
of a standard
• Lockout
– Occurs when the market settles on a standard and
companies promoting alternate standards are no
longer able to compete
• Switching costs
– The costs consumers must bear to switch from a
product based on one standard to a product based
on another
• If consumers are unwilling to bear switching
costs, a company will be locked out