Aesthetics are critically important to market acceptance. In the automotive industry, an improved aesthetic design can boost sales by 30% or more. Firms invest heavily in designing and testing aesthetics. A single automotive “theme clinic” can cost over $100,000, and hundreds are conducted...

A firm's strategy typically is defined in terms of its position in the industry or landscape that operates in and the competitive advantage of the firm on that landscape. This competitive advantage, in turn, derives from a combination of assets (what the firm owns) and capabilities (how the firm...