Customer value propositions in declining industries: differences between industry representative and high-growth firms

Using institutional theory and a business model perspective, we develop a framework and use content analysis of company Web sites to examine differences in customer value propositions among a sample of high-growth firms paired with two comparison samples of industry representative firms in 18 declining industries in the United States. Our results indicate that high-growth firms develop value propositions that differ substantially from industry representative firms. In addition, high-growth firms communicate their value propositions more clearly and aggressively than do industry representative firms. Copyright © 2014 Strategic Management Society.