ABSTRACT
The product life cycle is a concept that attempts to describe a product’s unit sales postlaunch through its eventual termination. The curve parallels the diffusion or S-curve, suggesting product diffusion into the marketplace. The theory underlying the product life cycle is unit sales, which will transition through four distinct product life cycle stages: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. The product life cycle also can be used to describe the possible development of an emerging market. In particular, the framework suggests that competition will be low in the introduction stage, but fierce during the growth stage as competitors see the growth potential of the respective market. In conjunction with any analysis that may be done using product life cycle, a company will need to decide on a strategy to enact late in the growth stage and that will carry into the maturity stage.
