The Growth Share Matrix (also known as BCG Matrix after the Consulting firm Boston Consulting), is a tool for portfolio management based upon a businesses’ growth prospects and it's existing and potential market share.
The package
The case
Overall, the The Growth Share Matrix (also called "BCG Matrix") is used to identify growth opportunities and avoid poor investments. The focus is on competitiveness and the possibilities available in the market. The BCG Matrix pushes businesses to plan how they’ll develop their products and services going forward to maximize profit potential.
The mechanics
To complete a BCG Matrix, label one axis Growth and the other Market Share, and then divide each into Low and High segments. You’ll have a four-field diagram as a result: High Growth/High Market Share (Stars); High Growth/Low Market Share (Question Marks); Low Growth/High Market Share (Cash Cows); and Low Growth/Low Market Share (Question Marks). Analyze each of your investments, and place them into the appropriate quadrant. Honestly evaluate which of your Cash Cows and Stars are threatened and decide how you will respond. Additionally, decide if further investment in Question Marks makes sense and articulate your expectations and limitations for those projects.
The purpose
What is the goal of the model?
The goal of the BCG Matrix is to identify areas of potential investment and interests more-suitably abandoned from within a business's portfolio in order to maximize profits.
What people say
Richard Cobie, CEOReviewed on 15 July 2022
★★★★★Recommended as a purchase, worth the investment!
I completely re-evaluated the role of innovation in business growth: before reading this book I have to admit I thought it only entailed product new features and technologies enhancements, while now I see it has everything to do with meeting customer needs and uncovering a business USP, which automatically translates in sales! Could not recommend it more!
Janette Lavalier, Innovation Professor and ConsultantReviewed on 15 July 2022
★★★★★Recommended as a purchase, worth the investment!
Unlike most business innovation books I read over the last years (and even decades) when reading How to create innovation you immediately understand the authors have been there, innovating and transforming some of the world’s most amazing brands. Great work!
Karl Meckel, Change Development ManagerReviewed on 18 July 2022
★★★★★Recommended as a purchase, worth the investment!
Not only this book offers the most comprehensive innovation and business change overview but it really helps you take the next step, driving you step by step from theory to practice (also with super useful background notes and driving questions)
Franz Hellstrom, Head of CultureReviewed on 2 Aug 2022
★★★★★Recommended as a purchase, worth the investment!
I really enjoyed the whole book, but mostly the culture chapter, mainly because I always failed to acknowledge its major role in favouring or inhibiting business growth. Loved the graphics that helped connect all the dots in a visually appealing (and way easier) way.
Satoru Fukuda, Chief Strategy OfficerReviewed on 13 Aug 2022
★★★★★Recommended as a purchase, worth the investment!
We’been willing to innovate our business for some years now, but then we always got stuck before we even started, because basically we had no idea where to start…This book helped us do just that: find the right starting point with guiding questions and an incredibly comprehensive innovation overview.
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