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- Title
IS PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE A CAUSE OR A RESULT?
- Authors
Jadhav, Ragini; G., Kiran; Unakal, Prakash
- Abstract
Product Life Cycle (PLC) theory, a strategic marketing concept developed in the 1950s, has been criticized for its conceptual deficiencies and strategic shortcomings. This paper aims to answer whether the PLC curve acts as a guideline for companies in making appropriate strategies or a result of collective strategic efforts of competing firms. The theory prescribes generic strategies at different phases of product life, as market conditions vary across phases. Key strategies include market segmentation, product mix broadening, and improved services. However, the PLC theory has faced criticism from researchers like Dhalla and Yuseph (1976), who questioned the concept’s assumptions and empirical evidence that life cycle patterns of all products do not follow the classic PLC curve. Further research identified eleven unique curve patterns, including cycle-recycle patterns, increasing sales patterns, decreasing sales patterns, and stable maturity patterns. The adoption of a new product by the market from its inception to maturity is influenced by various factors such as market potential, technology, competition, and macroeconomic factors. The demand system, supply system, and supporting resource environment are the main forces that influence the penetration of new products in markets. Understanding the phases of the PLC curve helps managers acquire and use information about events, trends, and relationships in an organization’s external environment, enabling them to plan future actions and adapt to changing external forces. This optimizes the organizational learning process, allowing firms to better adapt to changing external environments and interpret changes. A firm’s understanding of the current phase of the PLC can improve foresight and strategy formulation, providing organizational criteria for interpreting information and insights from changing PLC characteristics. Effective PLC usage is crucial for establishing in-house foresight competence.
- Subjects
PRODUCT life cycle; LIFE cycles (Biology); MARKETING; MARKET segmentation; PRODUCT mixes; MARKET potential; ORGANIZATIONAL learning; PROFESSIONAL learning communities
- Publication
Aweshkar Research Journal, 2024, Vol 31, Issue 1, p113
- ISSN
0974-1119
- Publication type
Article