Market Trend Analysis

Most firms making efforts to gain competitive advantage build their marketing strategies on product improvements as impulsive changes to attract consumers and the market. Changes in existing products, services, or marketing strategies often face consumer resistance. This chapter defines market resistance as an opposition to traditions in the marketplace to create new behavior among consumers. Market shifts explore purposive behavior of consumers and attempt to recreate the modern social conventions that manifest positive impact on competitive differentiations in the marketplace. Many companies recognize that their dispersed global operations drive innovative ideas and build capabilities for introducing competitive market changes. This chapter explains the role of managers in successfully bringing innovations to an enterprise and expanding at the global scale. Arguments are illustrated with examples in reference to phases of innovations, behavioral metrics, the change-resistance cycle, critical success factors, opportunities, threats and disruptions, and chain reactions of innovation. The chapter also addresses the concept and practice of conceiving ideas and nurturing strategic business shifts in a competitive marketplace and suggests ways to increase effectiveness in managing innovations and corporate goals.