International Journal of Business and Management December, 2008 3

The issue of commoditization has been receiving more attention in recent times. First the debate is now about how quickly commoditization is sweeping across the corporate world; in sectors and functions which we had previously thought were safe from it. And second, it is the depth and breadth to which commoditization is now penetrating; no longer the preserve of the blue collar worker it is beginning to spread into white collar work that is usually considered immune to the negative impacts of commoditization, particularly as it requires the application of intellect, skill and expertise which unlike blue collar work is generally harder to automate. Like so many processes that play out in the business world, it may have started quite slowly and in quite limited areas, but it is speeding up and extending its reach