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  • Winter 2021
  • Article
  • MIT Sloan Management Review

How Would-Be Category Kings Become Commoners

By: Rory McDonald and Keith Krach
  • Format:Print
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Abstract

Category creation is the holy grail in business, but more often than not, the very companies that establish lucrative new markets don’t end up being the category kings. Why? Many executives undermine their own ventures’ standing by misinterpreting and misfiring on strategies considered fundamental to creating new categories. Here, the authors spell out three common mistakes that turn would-be kings into commoners in the categories they create.

Keywords

New Markets; Innovation and Invention; Innovation Strategy; Business Model

Citation

McDonald, Rory, and Keith Krach. "How Would-Be Category Kings Become Commoners." MIT Sloan Management Review 62, no. 2 (Winter 2021): 76–82.
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About The Author

Rory M. McDonald

Technology and Operations Management
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    Productive Tensions: How Every Leader Can Tackle Innovation’s Toughest Trade-Offs

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    The Past Is Prologue? Venture-Capital Syndicates' Collaborative Experience and Start-Up Exits

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    • March 2022
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More from the Authors
  • Productive Tensions: How Every Leader Can Tackle Innovation’s Toughest Trade-Offs By: Chris Bingham and Rory McDonald
  • The Past Is Prologue? Venture-Capital Syndicates' Collaborative Experience and Start-Up Exits By: Dan Wang, Emily Cox Pahnke and Rory McDonald
  • Managing Innovation at Atrium Health: 'Never Let a Good Crisis Go To Waste' By: Derek van Bever, Rory McDonald and Anibha Singh
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