Managing in a Time of Great Change

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Where the New Markets Are

FOR FORTY YEARS, SINCE the repair of the destruction of World War II was finished in the 1950s, an unprecedented expansion of the world economy has been propelled by consumer demand, culminating in the developed countries’ great shopping spree of the 1980s. But there is mounting evidence of a deep structural shift—namely, economic growth and expansion can no longer be based on consumer demand.

One symptom: Ever since the first TV set appeared on the market, each new consumer-electronics product has immediately set off a buying explosion, especially in Japan. Yet when several technically very exciting consumer-electronics products were introduced in the Japanese market last year, they produced little ...