Product innovation competitive position dependence

Also, in this view, competitive position depends on product innovation and being distinctive in the competitive field, in some ways different from everyone else. We asserted previously that the supply chain is an important opportunity to establish that difference. Other models contend that being the low cost producer equates to market leadership. The next section summarizes opposing viewpoints. 

At the highest strategic level, an organization can adopt either a proactive or a reactive approach toward product development. Which is appropriate depends on growth opportunities, protection for innovation, market scale, competition, and position in production and distribution system (Urban and Hauser, 1993). Since the Internet offers the potential to change these, one possible research question is how the advent of e-commerce may alter decisions about product development strategy (e.g., does it become more or less important to offer a stream of innovative new products as the web increases in importance as a marketing channel )... 

---