Crowdsourcing refers to the outsourcing of tasks, problem solving or idea generation to a large group of people - usually via the internet. Companies, organisations or individuals use the "swarm intelligence" of the crowd to obtain a wide range of contributions, for example for design proposals, translations, innovations or data analyses. Well-known platforms for crowdsourcing include Wikipedia, Kickstarter and Amazon Mechanical Turk.
Price sensitivity is the measure of how strongly the purchasing decision of consumers or business customers changes when the price of a product or service changes. High price sensitivity means that even small price changes have a significant impact on demand behaviour - for example, through reluctance to buy or switching to the competition. In markets with low price sensitivity, other factors such as brand, quality or service are more important. Understanding the target group in terms of price sensitivity is crucial for pricing strategies, discount campaigns and product positioning.
Sunk cost fallacy refers to a cognitive error of judgement in which decisions are made on the basis of irreversible investments that have already been made - instead of being based on future costs and benefits. A typical example is sticking with projects even though they no longer objectively promise any added value simply because time, money or energy has been invested. In a business context, this false conclusion can lead to inefficient use of resources and poor strategic decisions. Rational action requires the conscious differentiation of sunk costs and forward-looking thinking.
Parkinson's Law states that work will take as long as the time available to complete it. In other words: the more time is scheduled for a task, the longer it will take, even if the workload does not necessarily increase. This law illustrates how inefficient work processes often become if no clear time limit is set.
The halo effect describes a cognitive distortion in which a single positive characteristic of a person or product leads to other, less obvious characteristics also being perceived as positive. This effect can play a role both in everyday life and in marketing, for example by outshining the overall impression of a company or brand through a positive perception of a single characteristic.
The innovator's dilemma describes a phenomenon in which successful companies ignore new, disruptive innovations or take them up too late so as not to jeopardise their existing business model. The term goes back to Clayton Christensen and explains why market leaders are often displaced by smaller, more innovative competitors. The internal conflict between short-term success and long-term innovative ability is at the centre of the dilemma.
The Blue Ocean Strategy describes a strategic approach in which companies create new, previously untapped markets instead of competing in saturated markets ("red oceans"). The aim is to create a unique offering through innovation and differentiation that makes the competition irrelevant. Successful blue ocean strategies rely on creative thinking, customer focus and questioning existing industry logic.
The Red Ocean Strategy describes competitive strategies in existing, often highly competitive markets. Companies attempt to gain market share through price competition, efficiency improvements and incremental product enhancements. As demand is limited and many suppliers offer similar services, this results in intense cut-throat competition - metaphorically speaking, a "blood-red ocean". This contrasts with the Blue Ocean Strategy, in which new, untapped markets are created in order to avoid competition.
First mover advantage refers to the strategic advantage that companies can gain if they are the first to launch a new product or innovation on the market. This advantage can take the form of brand awareness, customer loyalty, technological expertise or barriers to market entry for successors. However, success is not guaranteed - high development costs, technological uncertainties or early wrong decisions can quickly relativise the advantage.