ABSTRACT
The first major period of recent advance in how organizations have taken their ideas to market occurred in the early to mid-1980s, when companies facing the challenges of increased competition and more rapid technological advancement sought to accommodate several new challenges. This was when firms as diverse as Sony, IBM and Dow all started to formulate product strategies as a distinctive element and dependency of their overall corporate strategy. How innovation could be used to create, develop and support an evolving portfolio of new products and services focused on future revenue and margin growth was being considered in a proactive manner for the first time. Product strategy emerged from under the wings of either overall business or marketing and sales strategies, and came into the limelight.
