Identify and briefly provide examples of the most common drivers of industry change.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The most common drivers of change in an industry include (see Table 3.3):

• Changes in the long-term industry growth rate 
• Increasing globalization 
• Emerging new Internet capabilities and applications 
• Shifts in buyer demographics 
• Technological change and manufacturing process innovation 
• Product and marketing innovation 
• Entry or exit of major firms 
• Diffusion of technical know-how across companies and countries 
• Changes in cost and efficiency 
• Reductions in uncertainty and business risk 
• Regulatory influences and government policy changes 
• Changing societal concerns, attitudes, and lifestyles  

Examples include mushrooming use of high-speed Internet service and Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) technology, growing acceptance and profusion of online shopping aided by rapid delivery using drones, and the exploding popularity of Internet applications ("apps"). The Internet has given rise to a plethora of online discount stockbrokers, such as E*TRADE, and TD Ameritrade to mount a strong challenge against full-service firms such as Edward Jones and Merrill Lynch.  The print newspaper/magazine industry has yet to figure out a strategy for surviving the advent of online news. Profoundly affecting higher education are massive open online courses (MOOCs), facilitated by organizations such as Coursera, edX, and Udacity. Finally, the "Internet of things" will feature faster speeds, dazzling applications, and billions of connected gadgets in the household and the workplace, all performing an array of functions, thus driving further industry and competitive changes.