Strategic repositioning: moving into radically unfamiliar markets: the experience of the defense sector

"Strategic repositioning" is the term applied to firms who are seeking to exploit opportunities for their core technologies in sectors that are far outside their home markets. Strategic repositioning has become a necessity for firms in many industries who find that radical structural shifts in their environment threaten their viability. A well-known case is the government defense and aerospace contractors following the end. of the Cold War. This paper reports on a multiyear study of how defense contractors successfully reposition their technologies into commercial markets. It analyzes the key technology, market, and organizational success factors, and draws strategy implications for the defense industry. Data sources include a survey of 52 contractors and interviews with 40 others. This paper extends those results