The Innovation Station

“Create new markets which haven’t existed before” (Chamberlin, 2013)

 

Virgin Galactic captures a new market with auspicious ads like “Adventurous space-flights to the moon”, (Sir Richard Branson, 2012). This catches the attention of a saturated population, such as the existing in the US where fifteen thousand people have already signed up for a flight to the space (Daily mail, 2013). Virgin Galactic is showing signs at present that is has the potential to evoke a new market, also known as "Blue Ocean Strategy" (Insert reference here)

 

Observing the current business market, we noticed that companies are engaged in aggressive competition and are searching for profitable growth. Nevertheless, due to technological advances and globalization, companies try to survive in the competitive market and offer an unprecedented range of products which then leads to supply progressively exceeding demand (Chamberlin, 2013). We can conclude from this market trend, that to achieve new source of liquidity and growth opportunities, companies may try to operate outside existing competition, making them irrelevant to their strategy. This is known as creating blue oceans of new market space.

 

Mauborgne (2005) describes “Business success”,  as the ability to “redefine the terms of competition and move into the blue ocean, where you have the water to yourself”. While innovation has been seen as an experimental process where entrepreneurs and spin-offs are the primary drivers, Blue Ocean Strategy encourages systematic and reproducible processes in search of blue oceans by both new and existing firms.”  (Mauborgne, 2005). 

 

Virgin Galactic seems to have caught market opportunities during the rise of the space tourism industry at precisely the right moment. By benefiting from  first mover advantage and the commercialization of space travel, the company has been able to open up a number of ‘”blue ocean” industries (Kim and Mauborgne, 2005, Berthon, et al, 1999) from which Virgin Galactic can prosper.