Starbucks
COMPANY: STARBUCKS
TEAM ASSIGNMENT 5: INNOVATION STRATEGY
_Where is your firm's industry on the life cycle as shown in Exhibit 7.2?_
The coffee brewing industry is in a maturity stage of its life cycle. It has been implanted a few decades ago, and now it's stable. There are a lot of different companies that are in this industry, a lot of local coffee shop gets into the market, but nothing threatening to the bigger firms.
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_What is the dominant technological design of the industry in which your firm is primarily located?_
The dominant technological designs for the coffee shop industry are espresso machines and other coffee machines. The coffee machines available at the moment are all quite similar and they all have the same goal that is to make as good coffee as possible for the consumers. There hasn't been any disruptive innovation in the industry since the coffee machines came and the thing that gives companies in the industry commutative advantages is more about the service and the quality of the coffee beans.
_Did this dominant technology develop quickly or more slowly? Can you identify what influenced the speed of diffusion?_
Through the last decades the dominant technology for the coffee industry has been developing slowly. Since the coffee machine was invented there have only been made some improvements from old versions. There is no particular need for the technology to develop quickly, the most important thing for the coffee shop industry is the knowledge of employees to make good coffee, the service and the quality.
_Where is the dominant technology on the S-curve in your focal industry? What alternative technologies could present a paradigm shift as shown in Exhibit 7.10?_
The current technology used in the coffee industry has reached its physical limit. It hasn't evolved since 2008. The technology itself hasn't evolved since then and it doesn't look like a new entrant will arrive on the market soon. As shown on the graphic below, the
TEAM ASSIGNMENT 5: INNOVATION STRATEGY
_Where is your firm's industry on the life cycle as shown in Exhibit 7.2?_
The coffee brewing industry is in a maturity stage of its life cycle. It has been implanted a few decades ago, and now it's stable. There are a lot of different companies that are in this industry, a lot of local coffee shop gets into the market, but nothing threatening to the bigger firms.
__
_What is the dominant technological design of the industry in which your firm is primarily located?_
The dominant technological designs for the coffee shop industry are espresso machines and other coffee machines. The coffee machines available at the moment are all quite similar and they all have the same goal that is to make as good coffee as possible for the consumers. There hasn't been any disruptive innovation in the industry since the coffee machines came and the thing that gives companies in the industry commutative advantages is more about the service and the quality of the coffee beans.
_Did this dominant technology develop quickly or more slowly? Can you identify what influenced the speed of diffusion?_
Through the last decades the dominant technology for the coffee industry has been developing slowly. Since the coffee machine was invented there have only been made some improvements from old versions. There is no particular need for the technology to develop quickly, the most important thing for the coffee shop industry is the knowledge of employees to make good coffee, the service and the quality.
_Where is the dominant technology on the S-curve in your focal industry? What alternative technologies could present a paradigm shift as shown in Exhibit 7.10?_
The current technology used in the coffee industry has reached its physical limit. It hasn't evolved since 2008. The technology itself hasn't evolved since then and it doesn't look like a new entrant will arrive on the market soon. As shown on the graphic below, the