In today’s fast moving technological world, successful companies will be those brave enough to invest in startups and create their own competitors. Taking the example of Kodak, who floundered in the face of emerging digital technologies, Dr Kamal Munir, Reader in Strategy & Policy at Cambridge Judge Business School, explains the importance of adaptation, but points out, that merely hooking new technologies into a business model to prolong the life of existing technologies is not enough:
“Companies need to invest equity into startups, they need to create their own competitors, they need to get over their fear of cannibalising their existing products. Importantly, in today’s climate of recession, this can be an inexpensive strategy and can give a company a new life line. Kodak, for example, should have really started up Facebook.”