Wharton Chapter 8

This chapter was a very short one, but also very important. It focuses on commercialization strategies for companies that emabrk upon developing and marketing emerging technologies. It uses half the chapter using Mergenthaler and typesetting evolution examples, and th eother half uses photography to rationalizes the author's rationale. Essentially, the chapter explains how sometimes having a superior technology does not guarantee success in the market place. It also explains how sometimes an incumbent company can have inferior technology, yet still become the survivor in the market. This is accomplished by recognizing four changing components to change their overall strategy: Change in Customers, Change in Competetors, Change in Complementary Assets, and Change in Technology. These components establish the facts that a successful comapny must realize the value in creating customer realtionships and giving customers what they want. There was also a significant focus on the value of complementary assetss. If a firm wants to get a foothold on a market, they may be able to do so with inferior technology if they offer other components to that technology to give it added value. Would iTunes be the number one online music retailer if the iPod did not exist? Or would the iPod be so popular if iTunes never existed? These two technologies face still competition from such powerhouses as Wal-Mart and Microsoft, yet still emerge successful because of the relationship they have with each other. The end of the chapter recognizes the entirely new market segments that have to be explored when introducing new technology, and what technology these new segemtns may replace. The increasing popularity of the digital camera reduced the need for film, and these digital camera users typically had different requirements that did the traditional camera user. Even Polaroid, who started instant film in 1937, will finally retire this technology in 2008 due to the market transition to digital photography.

Sources:
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/02/16/POLAROID.ART_ART_02-16-08_A1_AH9CHQJ.html?sid=101
and
http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/04/03/itunes-now-number-one-music-retailer-in-us-npd-numbers/