The purpose of this paper is to examine the history and development of the automobile industry Furthermore the paper discusses convergence in the context of discontinuous competitive environment and possible management responses to changes.
The findings of this paper are based on the analysis of the auto industry and the changes triggered by advances in related industries and socio‐economic forces.
The rate of change in innovation is leading to the creation of new industries and the disintegration of the industry classifications due to convergence of multiple needs previously served by different industry groupings. As such, firms have to upgrade their environmental scanning systems to detect competitive forces beyond the industrial competitive boundaries.
The paper provides a comprehensive review of convergence and disruptive technologies and the resulting implications for the automobile industry.
The paper highlights the breakdown of barriers in terms of industry classification. Customer's needs could be served by other firms in hitherto distinct industry groupings.
