12 January 2008

Imitation Barriers to Blue Ocean Strategy

Blue Ocean Strategy is a systems approach that requires not only getting each strategic element right but also aligning them in an integral system to deliver value innovation. Imitation such a system is not an easy feat.

Below shows a snapshot of these barriers to imitation:

  • Value innovation does not make sense to a company's conventional logic.
  • Blue ocean strategy may conflict with other companies' brand image.
  • Natural monopoly: The market often cannot support a second player.
  • Patents or legal permits block imitation.
  • High volume leads to rapid cost advantage for the value innovator, discouraging followers from entering the market.
  • Network externalities discourage imitation.
  • Imitation often requires significant political, operational, and cultural changes.
  • Companies that value-innovate earn brand buzz and a loyal customer following that tends to shun imitators.

Source: Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant, W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne, 2005, Page 118.

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