Market-scanning and Market-shaping:Why are firms blindsided by market-shaping acts?

Purpose: This paper investigates two seminal market-scanning frameworks – the Five-Forces analysis and PESTEL environmental scanning tool – to assess their readiness for anticipating market-shaping acts. Design: Drawing on the market-shaping literature that conceptualizes markets as complex adaptive systems, this conceptual paper interrogates the underlying assumptions and ‘blind spots’ in two seminal market-scanning frameworks. The paper showcases three illustrative vignettes in which non-industry actors catalyzed market change in ways that these market-scanning frameworks would not be able to anticipate. Findings: We find marketing strategists can be ‘blindsided’ as seminal market-scanning frameworks have either too narrow an interpretation of market change, or are too broad to anticipate specific types of market-shaping acts. The assumptions about markets that underpin these market-scanning frameworks contribute to incumbents being slow to realize market-shaping acts are taking place. Contributions: We extend market-scanning to include a type of managerial myopia that fails to register the socially embedded, systemic nature of complex contemporary markets. Furthermore, the paper provides an ‘actors-agendas-outcomes’ scanning framework that offers awareness of market-shaping acts. Originality: This paper is the first to consider market-scanning frameworks from a market-shaping perspective