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Bcg Matrix Critique

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Marketing Critique: BCG Matrix
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Table of Contents Introduction 3 Concept Overview 3 Functional Critique 5 Intellectual Critique 6 Ethical Critique 7 Political Critique 8 Conclusion 8 Bibliography 9

Introduction This paper will attempt to provide a broad critique of the Boston Consulting Group Matrix in light of the ideas of Hackley (2009). In his book Marketing:A Critical Introduction, Hackley presents a framework for analysing marketing models. He suggests that well established marketing concepts should be re-evaluated from time to time, to determine if the marketing studies for that area are applicable to current practice, and revisit the functional, intellectual, ethical, and political relevance …show more content…

Further, market growth rate has been cited as an important driver of product development. Contrary to the advice of the BCG Matrix, market growth rate is viable only till the point of saturation, after which point it would be counterintuitive for the firm to be investing in a product that does not enjoy majority stake (Stalk and Stern, 1998). The critical view of the BCG Growth-Share Matrix was also shared by Morrison and Wensley (1991), who claimed that the model was “myopic” as it prescribed a set of strategic solutions, rather than encourage marketing executives to think creatively with respect to their product lines. On the contrary, Cooper, Edgett and Kleinschmidt (1999) found in their study that firms which centered strategy on the product portfolio model were not only more financially viable, but marginally outperformed other firms. Therefore, it is safe to conclude that where the applicability of the BCG model may be challenging, the results it produces are enough for strategists to continue using the model.
Intellectual Critique
Morrison and Wensley (1991) found that the BCG Matrix set a standard for strategic models, and that a plethora of similar matrix style models came about in the years after the BCG Matrix was introduced (Wind, Mahajan, and Swire, 1983). However, this is where the intellectual contribution of the BCG Matrix ends, they argue. They claim that the Matrix

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