Introducing Technologically Advanced Products: Strategies in the Commercial Aircraft Industry

摘要

This article studies the strategic decision making involved in introducing technologically advanced commercial aircraft. It compares the decisions made by McDonnell-Douglas Corporation with those of Boeing Aircraft Company in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The study concludes that strategic decisions were made based on each company's vision of its core business. This article examines the decisions of two commercial aircraft firms as they decided whether or not to introduce new technologically advanced airliners. By contrasting the decision-making process of two competitors that faced the same external and objective situations, we can determine some of the factors that explain why new technologically advanced products are or are not introduced into the market place. The time frame of this study covers the late 1970s and the early 1980s. The next section introduces the questions we ask. This is followed by a discussion of the external environment faced by the firms. Then we provide a brief history of the two companies, discuss the opportunities and risks that were involved in the decisions, and analyze those decisions. The final section presents our conclusions.