The product life cycle trap

Many of America's most successful companies have gone through a life cycle similar to the product life cycle. They began as innovators, and then grew to be giants in their markets. But, as their products mature, they need new products to continue company growth. However, the organizational structure of an established company is no longer suited for innovation. The authors provide some insight into this cycle, and offer some solutions for big companies which need new products.     

An optimal control contribution to product life cycle theory

This article is aimed at analysing some determinants of the life cycle theory using an optimal control approach. A dynamic model of a monopoly facing demand saturation effects is presented and the optimal sales trend is compared with the classical product life cycle curve. Some strategic implications are derived.     

Is market orientation affected by the product life cycle?

Considerable scholarly interest has been shown in the relationship between market orientation and business performance. Although a number of environmental moderators have been postulated to influence the market orientation–performance link, extant findings are inconclusive. This study takes a different approach by conceptualizing product life cycle stages in terms of variations in competitive intensity, market and technological turbulence. Data collected in Hong Kong reveal that Atuahene-Gima's [Atuahene-Gima, K. (1995). An exploratory analysis of the impact of market orientation on new product performance: A contingent approach. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 12: 275–293] product life cycle measure successfully discriminates stages in terms of market and technological turbulence, but fails to capture variation in competitive intensity. Market orientation is also found to be more highly valued by firms in growing and mature markets than firms in introductory and declining markets. Finally, the link between market orientation and firm performance is found to be strongest for firms in the growth stage and weakest for firms in the introductory stage of the product life cycle.     

低碳旅游产品生命周期评价的初步构建

旅游产品是旅游业的核心要素,低碳旅游经济的发展其实就是旅游产品生产和消费的低碳化发展,但其组成的复杂性和碳排放的多元性决定了其生产难以采取单一的碳排放标准,因此,本文采用低碳旅游产品生命周期评价来统一旅游企业的经营理念,将旅游企业的经营行为分为面向环境的设计--低碳营销--清洁生产和绿色消费--碳中和四个阶段,并引用生命周期矩阵对各阶段环境影响进行评价,从而减少旅游产品生产过程中的碳排放,促进旅游业的可持续发展.     

Comparing sustainable consumption patterns across product sectors

In this paper, we present findings from two qualitative studies where we explored sustainable consumption practices through examining consumers' information search and decision-making processes for recent purchases of five categories of goods/services: fast moving consumer goods (such as foodstuffs and household products), white goods (such as fridges and washing machines), small electrical products (such as TVs and computers), green energy tariffs (such as electricity from renewable sources) and tourism (such as flights). This research has provided us with a set of rich data which explores the nature and extent of sustainable consumption practices across different product sectors. A comparative analysis has allowed us to draw out patterns of consumer behaviour for different product and service types. Our findings suggest that even the same green consumer will not use the same information sources or decision-making criteria, consider the same options or focus on the same industry actors, for products in different sectors. However, we have identified some degree of consistency in purchases within sectors. We present these sector-specific patterns of consumer behaviour and highlight differences in the criteria utilized and the research norms in each sector.     

Product life cycle patterns for pharmaceuticals and their impact on R&D profitability of late mover products

This study describes a cross-sectional and time series analysis of sales data over one decade in four major segments of the market for cardiovascular drugs. We estimate over 200 product life cycles (PLC) using a very flexible mathematical model to account for a variety of PLC shapes. Life cycles are then clustered on the basis of estimated regression coefficients. As a result this analysis leads to the detection of an international PLC classification. Moreover, it turns out that the order of entry is not only crucial to achieve a certain market share level but also to the shape of the drug life cycle and therefore for the long-term economic evaluation of innovative products. The paper provides the initial findings on this subject through a simulation study which is in line with previous research designs and shows the impact of the PLC shape on the net present value (NPV).     

A life cycle model of multi-stakeholder networks

In multi-stakeholder networks, actors from civil society, business and governmental institutions come together in order to find a common solution to a problem that affects all of them. Problems approached by such networks often affect people across national boundaries, tend to be very complex and are not sufficiently understood. In multi-stakeholder networks, information concerning a problem is gathered from different sources, learning takes place, conflicts between participants are addressed and cooperation is sought. Corporations are key actors in many networks, because the problems addressed are frequently related to business activities. The aim of this article is to conceptualise multi-stakeholder networks by proposing a problem-centred stakeholder definition. From an analysis of several case studies, a life cycle model is deduced that distinguishes seven phases: initiation, acquaintance, first and second agreement, implementation, consolidation and institutionalisation.     

Stochastic service life cycle analysis using customer reviews

This study proposes a stochastic service life cycle analysis to gauge where a service is in its life cycle and to give forecasts about its future prospects. We employ customer review data to measure customer-oriented service maturity and use a hidden Markov model to estimate the probability of a service being at a certain stage of its life cycle. Based on this, we also develop three indicators to represent the future prospects of a service’s life cycle progression. The main advantages of the proposed approach lie in its ability to model different shapes of life cycles without any supplementary information and to examine a wide range of services at acceptable levels of time and cost. We believe our method will assist firms in building stage-customised post-launch service strategies. A case study of mobile game services in the Apple App Store is presented.     

网游生命周期有迹可循百度数据助力营销决策

国际金融危机逐渐波及实体经济。而网络游戏行业营收仍然保持了大幅增长．2008年我国网络游戏行业的销售收入达183．8亿元，比上年增长了76.6％.日前．百度数据研究中心近期发布的《2008百度风云榜网游行业报告》给了我们一些线索。     

Product life cycle research: A literature review

The purposes of this paper are threefold: to review the scope of product life cycle (PLC) research; to pinpoint areas requiring further investigation; and to provide guidelines for future researchers. Because of the paucity of empirical evidence, only tentative conclusions are advanced. For example, the most common PLC pattern is the classical, bell-shaped curve, but it is not the sole shape. The application of various forecasting techniques across the PLC have met with merely moderate success. Very little research has been conducted either on how different characteristics of the firm influence the PLC or on the actual use of various PLC-strategy theories by business planners. Finally, investigators have focused almost exclusively on validating the existence of the PLC concept among nondurable consumer goods. Industrial items, as well as major product changes, have been nearly ignored. The main conclusion is that additional research-more diversified and extensive in nature-is needed on many PLC topics.     

Branch plant location and the product cycle in computer manufacturing

This paper examines the implications of changes in product and process technology in the computer industry for the regional location pattern of production facilities. Emphasis is placed on the different locational needs of research and development activities as opposed to volume production of components. Using establishment data, the existing pattern of location is analyzed. A location model for branch plants is estimated across SMSAs; the results show that SMSA size and wage rates are repelling forces for branches. Agglomeration factors, educational level, and the supply of engineers, as well as the distance to headquarters, are positive influences on location.Manufacturing employment in the United States has grown faster outside than inside the traditional manufacturing belt for decades (Carlino 1984); this trend has accelerated in recent years. Causes of this redistribution may include surplus farm labor in the South (Cogan 1982), an attractive climate in the West, and unionization and high taxes in the North. Changes in product and process technology have also affected the location of some industries. This paper attempts to show how technology and the product life cycle influence the location of computer manufacturing.     

Small business strategy and the industry life cycle

This article proposes that individual small firms, just like large firms, use different approaches to make strategy. Three processes relevant to small firms are identified: simplistic, participative and adaptive. The article examines how these processes are related to performance, depending on industry life cycle stage. Empirical analysis indicates that all three approaches are related to small firm performance, but that the importance and impact of these relationships will change according to the industry life cycle stage. Markedly, and contrary to evidence from studies in large firms, small firms in mature industries are most likely to benefit from using adaptive strategy-making processes.     

Predicting green product consumption using theory of planned behavior and reasoned action

The extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) incorporates environmental concern, a critical variable in green marketing literature, intending to achieve triple bottom line (TBL). In this context, this study aims to validate TPB and its extended form (mediating role of TPB variables), as well as the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), to predict Indian consumers’ green product purchase intention. We collected primary data from 521 respondents as input, establishing validity through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Our empirical results of structural equation modeling (SEM) show that extended TPB has higher predictability than TPB and TRA in green marketing settings. Consumer attitude and perceived behavioral control significantly predicts purchase intention whereas subjective norm does not. Our findings also suggest that TPB mediates the relationship between environmental concern and green products purchase intention. An additional construct in the new model considerably contributes to improving the understanding of green products purchase intention formation and could become a sustainable mainstream variable.     

Online information search termination patterns across product categories and consumer demographics

While accessing information online, consumers exhibit differences in their patterns of search, that is, time spent per search episode and search frequency. The search patterns vary across both consumer characteristics and product categories. We empirically investigate consumer online information search termination patterns, and relate the differences to product categories and consumer characteristics. Findings of such an empirical study would be useful for planning communication strategies, website design, etc. The model is calibrated on empirical data collected through online surveys. We find that consumer learning occurs when consumers search across search goods, but not when they search across experience goods.     

从企业的生命周期解读企业的生存危机

本文从企业生命周期的角度出发,分析企业处于生命周期不同阶段的生存危机,从而为企业加强危机管理,预防和避免危机的发生,提高企业适应环境变化的能力和竞争能力,及时而有效地采取相关措施提供参考.     

以企业生命周期理论重新审视企业工作

企业如人,也有一个生命的周期。企业的发展大致分两个阶段:成长阶段和老化阶段。成长阶段包括孕育期、婴儿期、学步期、青春期、盛年期、稳定期;老化阶段包括贵族期、官僚化早期、官僚期、死亡。生命周期理论告诉我们两点:一是企业在生命周期的每一个阶段都面临着突然死亡的威胁,如刚刚辉煌几年的中国巨人集团、爱多公司、秦池集团在学步期或青春期就死掉了;拥有几十年历史的武汉长江音响在成熟期垮掉了;拥有230年历史的英国巴林银行在贵族期告别了人世。二是企业在生命周期的不同阶段其战略的重点、经营与管理的内容有所不同。如青春期重点…