Levitt got it wrong

Levitt (1983) made the assertion that "the world’s needs and desires have become irrevocably homogenized." Twenty three years ago it may have felt like that, but in 2005 we see resistance to standardized, one-size-fits-all global products in every corner of the world. It doesn't matter what dimension of a product you look at: price, packaging, distribution channel etc. they are usually very different from one country-market to another.

Even music, which is often viewed as the global product, is still in many ways local. Today I was looking for a track and ended up on one of Universal Music's Web sites in Italy.

If you are looking for innovations for your own country-market; start looking at other country-markets -- preferably country-markets where the competition is fierce, for it is in these markets that innovation blooms.




innovation, innovation management, China, Taiwan