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The Future of Competitive Strategy

Unleashing the Power of Data and Digital Ecosystems (Management on the Cutting Edge)

By Mohan Subramaniam

312 pages

Hardcover

Overview

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Overview

Book preview

Press

Keep reading

Mohan Subramaniam offers a new paradigm for competitive strategy essential for all firms that desire to remain relevant in the digital era. This book provides a unique perspective for firms on the quest for competitive advantage.

Jahangir Doongaji Member of the Executive Board and designated CEO, Hilti Corporation

This insightful book contains a pragmatic digital framework with great examples for business leaders and practitioners to strategically leverage the power of data and digital to create a sustainable competitive advantage for their firms.

Anantha Radhakrishnan CEO and Managing Director, Infosys BPM Ltd

Mohan Subramaniam does a great job of outlining how companies can get value from their digital transformation journeys. His ability to weave technology with strategy and harness the new expanded role of data will be very helpful for business leaders.

Joe Preston President and CEO, New Balance Athletics, Inc

The book is a must-read for industrial companies to effectively compete in the new digital world. The time to be ‘future ready’ is now and this book provides valuable insights into how to do so.

Fabio Marasi President and CEO, Walvoil S.p.A.

Mohan’s book provides a framework for any company to balance the pressures of managing present customers with the demands of creating future customers. Discovering value in digital customers, competitors, and capabilities and building a competitive strategy is an important idea that should permeate the strategic thinking at all companies.

Praveen K. Kopalle Signal Companies' Professor of Management, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth

How can legacy firms remain relevant in the digital era? In The Future of Competitive Strategy, strategic management expert Mohan Subramaniam explains how firms can leverage both their traditional strengths and the modern-day power of data and digital ecosystems to forge a new competitive strategy. Drawing on the experiences of a range of companies, including Caterpillar, Sleep Number, and Whirlpool, he explains how firms can benefit from data’s enlarged role in modern business, develop digital ecosystems tailored to their unique business needs, and use new frameworks to harness the power of data for competitive advantage.

Subramaniam presents digital ecosystems as a combination of production and consumption ecosystems, which can be used by legacy firms to unlock the value of data at various levels—from improving operational efficiencies to creating new data-driven services and transforming traditional products into digital platforms. He explores the ways sensors and the Internet of Things provide new kinds of customer data; presents the concept of digital competitors—other firms that have access to similar data; discusses the new digital capabilities that firms need to develop; and addresses privacy and security issues associated with data sharing.

Who needs this book? Any firm that wants to revitalize traditional business models, offer a richer customer experience, and expand its competitive arena into new digital ecosystems.

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Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

This book is part of a series

Are you suffering from digital myopia?
Is your company squandering digital opportunities?
The future of competitive strategy: Unleashing the power of data and digital ecosystems
Understanding how to unlock value from your data

This book is part of a series

Are you suffering from digital myopia?
Is your company squandering digital opportunities?
The future of competitive strategy: Unleashing the power of data and digital ecosystems
Understanding how to unlock value from your data

Hardcover

eBook

You can also buy the book on Barnes & Nobles, Book Depository, Orell Füssli and Routledge.

Publisher

MIT Press

ISBN

978-0262046992

Mohan Subramaniam

Mohan Subramaniam is Professor of Strategy and Digital Transformation at the IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland. He has trained senior executives around the world on digital competitive strategy and strategic…

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Is Your Company Squandering Digital Opportunities?

Many companies today fail to see the threats and opportunities that new digital technologies represent.

The 4 Tiers of Digital Transformation

Companies often assume that if they embrace digital technology in any way, they’re digitally transforming their business

Are You Using the Right Data to Power Your Digital Transformation?

Most legacy firms rely on episodic data, generated by discrete events such as the shipment of a component from a supplier, or the sale of a product.

The Pathway to Digital Transformation

Digital transformation is a top strategic priority for business leaders today. IDC estimates that firms will invest around $6.8 trillion between 2020–2023 for this objective.

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Strategy General Management Global Business

By Niccolò Pisani, Elham Pazirandeh-Micol, Karine Richard, Liudmila Ost and Quentin de Rham

People, Culture, and Strategy - The Boards Role

By Didier Cossin and Yukie Saito
in I by IMD

Summary

#post_excerptHannele Jakosuo-Jansson of Neste and Finnair shared key insights on board roles in CEO transitions and culture shifts with IMD’s High Performance Boards program.

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

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Board

Business Transformation

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Three ways to deal with your boss - Poor Leadership

By Merete Wedell-Wedellsborg
in I by IMD

Summary

Three Ways to Deal with Your Boss when they act against civility, empathy, and ethics. Discover strategies to handle difficult workplace dynamics effectively.

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Leadership

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6 Tips for Leaders - Reputation Building

By Anne Kawalereski Michelle Lynn and Elisabeth Oak
in I by IMD

Summary

Six ways leaders can shape corporate reputation building strategies within their organizations, drawing on key insights from a Bloomberg Media study.

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

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Leadership Thinking - Turbulent Business

By Michael D. Watkins
in I by IMD

Summary

To navigate a turbulent business environment, CEOs must understand their landscape and align leadership thinking priorities, advises IMD’s Michael Watkins.

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

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Leadership

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Summary

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Reference IMD-7-2640

Organization CO-RO Group

Industry Consumer Goods, Food and Beverage

Available Languages English

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

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Case reference: IMD-7-2590 ©2025

Summary

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Reference IMD-7-2590

Organization CO-RO Group

Industry Consumer Goods, Food and Beverage

Available Languages English

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Strategy

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Case reference: IMD-2651 ©2025

Summary

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Reference IMD-2651

Organization TBC Bank Group

Industry Finance and Insurance, Banking

Available Languages English

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

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Boosting and sustaining operational excellence