2 September 2010 | Paul Carter Hemlin
3 out of 5
Richard D’Aveni’s book describes the “commodity trap” as the corporate black plague, an insidious form of “hypercompetition” – a situation where companies find it hard to sustain competitive advantage for too long because of rapid change.
Following his 1994 book on hypercompetition, this new book aims to help identify and manage such problems, providing a framework to spot what “most managers deny or ignore”. The author claims most companies focus on short-term goals and most senior managers are not aware of long-term objectives.
The book’s foundations are sound, analysing more than 30 industries. It contains interesting case studies, such as the “Zarafication” of high‑street shopping. The first trap is the “deterioration trap” (how to beat low-cost competitors) and the Harley Davidson case study is excellent.
Harley worked out its bad‑boy, weekend rebel image was what customers really wanted – as opposed to cheaper, technically superior imports – only to then fail to spot the danger of home-grown competition.
The other two pitfalls are the “proliferation trap” – how to manage multiple threats to your corporate position – and the “escalation trap” – managing escalating momentum of oneupmanship. Both of which are more than adequately explained.
Despite the short 150-page length, I found the book repetitive, with the preface explaining the fundamentals of the three traps, then a chapter on each, containing tables to illustrate what the chapter described. It is, however, a short read that purchasers would benefit from.
Paul Carter Hemlin
Founder, Contract Management Direct
CIPS bookshop stocks a wide range of supply management titles (01780 756777, bookshop.cips.org)
