Augmented reality or any new industry presents an interesting strategic dilemma. How does one analyze the competitive forces in an industry and develop a strategy when the industry and its players do not exist yet? Let’s look to the past. Throughout history, the largest and most profitable companies have consistently followed a pattern. They entered a new industry and overtime built an extensive network that allowed them to achieve something akin to a monopoly. This was true with Standard Oil as well as Facebook and Amazon. It even held true for the East India Company, the main force of the slavery economy. These companies eventually wielded so much power that neither their suppliers nor buyers could bargain with them. Yes, they might in fact have had competitors, so technically they might not have been a monopoly, but at the end of the day the customers chose the larger network.
The Power of a Network
The Power of a Network
The Power of a Network
Augmented reality or any new industry presents an interesting strategic dilemma. How does one analyze the competitive forces in an industry and develop a strategy when the industry and its players do not exist yet? Let’s look to the past. Throughout history, the largest and most profitable companies have consistently followed a pattern. They entered a new industry and overtime built an extensive network that allowed them to achieve something akin to a monopoly. This was true with Standard Oil as well as Facebook and Amazon. It even held true for the East India Company, the main force of the slavery economy. These companies eventually wielded so much power that neither their suppliers nor buyers could bargain with them. Yes, they might in fact have had competitors, so technically they might not have been a monopoly, but at the end of the day the customers chose the larger network.