Unlocking the Customer Value Chain: How Decoupling Drives Consumer Disruption

by Thales S. Teixeira

In the book’s first section, we looked at what’s really disrupting businesses: the decoupling of activities done by customers. The second section delved into whether, when, and how established companies should respond. Incumbents can respond in two distinct ways when confronting a decoupler: either they can glue various customer activities back together (recoupling), or they can find ways of accepting the rupturing of these activities and coexisting peacefully with it (rebalancing). To decide what to do before or after a disruptor has entered your market, you must assess the multiple risks involved in taking action or in failing to do so. In-depth analysis of customers’ choices, preferences, and associated costs will reveal how incumbents should approach the threat of decoupling in their industries.