Overview
Blue ocean strategy urges firms to stop fighting in crowded red oceans and create uncontested market space. INSEAD professors W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne set it out in *HBR* (2004) and a 2005 book.
- Authors
- W. Chan Kim, Renée Mauborgne
- Published
- 2004 HBR; 2005 book
- Core
- Value innovation
- Tools
- Strategy canvas, ERRC grid
Red vs blue
| Red ocean | Blue ocean |
|---|---|
| Compete in existing space | Create uncontested space |
| Beat the competition | Make competition irrelevant |
| Exploit existing demand | Create new demand |
| Differentiation *or* low cost | Differentiation *and* low cost |
Unlike Porter’s trade-off, it stresses value innovation.
ERRC grid
- Eliminate factors the industry takes for granted.
- Reduce factors well below standard.
- Raise factors well above standard.
- Create factors never offered.
Cirque du Soleil dropped animals and star performers. It added theatrical storylines, creating a market between circus and theater.
Cash Note
사회초년생 적금 얼마? 월급별 비율 예시와 청년미래적금 2026
26 readers so far
Make Korean friends & friends from around the world learning Korean
Chat easily with people from many countries who love Korea.
Beauty UP
대학생 가성비 기초 루틴 — 꼭 필요한 3단계만 남기기
298 readers so far
Psych UP
카톡 온도차 테스트｜답장은 차가운데 마음은 뜨거울 수도
6 people have taken it so far
Criticism
Critics cite survivorship bias and note that successful blue oceans attract imitators.
Frequently asked questions
- What does ERRC stand for?
- Eliminate, Reduce, Raise, Create.
- Is it the opposite of Porter?
- It rejects his differentiation-or-cost trade-off.
- Do blue oceans last?
- Imitation eventually turns them red.
References
- Kim, W. C., & Mauborgne, R. (2004). Blue ocean strategy. Harvard Business Review, 82(10), 76–84.
- Kim, W. C., & Mauborgne, R. (2005). Blue ocean strategy: How to create uncontested market space and make the competition irrelevant. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
- Kim, W. C., & Mauborgne, R. (2015). Blue ocean strategy (expanded ed.). Boston: Harvard Business Review Press.