Product Adaptability: Assessment and Strategy
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/10610429310039759 |
| Published date | 01 February 1993 |
| Date | 01 February 1993 |
| Pages | 33-47 |
| Author | Daryl O. McKee,Sid Konell |
| Subject Matter | Marketing |
VOLUME 2 NUMBER 2
1993
Product
Adaptability:
Assessment
and
Strategy
Daryl
O.
McKee
and Sid
Konell
The pace of product-market change is
accelerating. Product life cycles are
shortening and product technologies are
changing rapidly (Jelinek and Goldhar,
1984).
Many firms are emphasizing new
product development, with increased
research and development spending
(Urban et
al.,
1987), accelerated rates of
product development (Stalk, 1988), and
targeted levels for revenue from new
products (Fraker, 1984). Meanwhile, shifts
in consumer markets are being driven by
a variety of forces, such as the passage
of the "baby boom" beyond middle age
and the consolidation of entire continents
into unified markets. These and other
factors have contributed to growing
uncertainty about product development
and commercialization (Johne and
Snelson, 1988).
Managers have reacted to this
increasing uncertainty from differing
perspectives (Jelinek and Goldhar, 1984;
Johne and Snelson, 1988). Some
managers have focused on predicting
environmental change. They see the
product launch as a high-risk
commitment to a fixed and irrevocable
product design. Inability to attain a
sufficient "launch velocity" (i.e. initial
sales),
in this view, results in product
failure. While these managers often rely
on marketing research to support their
predictions, competitive pressure and
abbreviated product life cycles often limit
research opportunities and increase risk.
From an alternative perspective, the
product launch can be seen as a tentative
commitment to a malleable product.
After launch the product may be adapted
to changing environmental or competitive
conditions. Inability to attain initial sales
targets, as well as emerging opportunities,
may trigger these adaptations. This
perspective places less emphasis on the
manager's ability to predict sales and
greater emphasis on product adaptability
(Ferdows et
al.,
1986; Fraker, 1984;
Gerwin, 1987).
Increasing environmental change has
resulted in a shift from predictability
toward adaptability as a dominant issue
in product strategy (Macbeth, 1985).
However, despite increasing recognition of
the importance of product adaptability,
little has been done to clarify what makes
a product adaptable.
This article develops such a framework
for assessing product adaptability in
terms of two underlying dimensions:
product domain (single versus multiple
product variations) and performance
criteria (internal versus external). This
Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 2 No. 2, 1993, pp. 33-47,
© MCB University Press,
1061-0421.
33
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