a glance Balancing cash flows among business units, and Balancing stages in the product life-cycle (PLC)
The horizontal axis is the Relative Market Share Vertical line is usually set as 1.0 Relative Market Share An SBU to the left of this line means it is the
market leader in the industry or segment in which it operates Conversely, an SBU to the right of this line means it is not the leader The vertical axis is the growth rate
Matrix Quadrants
Relative Market Share High Low High Product Sales Growth Rate Low
Question Marks
(Problem Children)
Investmentheavy initial capacity expenditures and high R&D costs Earningsnegative to low Cash-flownegative (net cash user) Strategy Implications
share. If not, redefine the business or withdraw
Stars
capacity expansion EarningsLow to high earnings Cash-flowNegative (net cash user) Strategy Implications
at the expense of short-term earnings
Cows
Dogs
the cash throw-up by the cash cows to invest in the question marks that are not self-sustaining Stars need a lot of reinvestments and as the market matures, stars will degenerate into cash cows and the process will be repeated. As for dogs, segment the markets and nurse the dogs to health or manage for cash
Trade further opportunities for present Allow competitors to gain share in a high
growth market