The answer is YES.  Recent research by Dawar reveals that in most industries today, upstream activities such as supply chain management, production, and logistics, are being commoditized or outsourced by firms, while downstream activities related to consumer behavior are becoming the primary means for gaining and sustaining competitive advantage.  Thus, the sources of competitive advantage are shifting away from production processes inside the firm, to customers and markets outside the firm.  Businesses are increasingly gaining competitive advantage by proactively shaping customers’ point of purchase behavior, rather than firms using focus groups, surveys, and social media to determine what customers want.  An early glimpse of this shift came a few years ago when Apple’s Steve Jobs was asked how much market research led to the iPad.  Jobs responded:  “None.  It’s not the consumers’ job to know what they want. “  Activities that attract customers by making it easier, compelling, and convenient for them to purchase the firm’s products and services in many ways are leading to sustained competitive advantage much more so than altering internal mechanisms.

Figure 4-4 illustrates this shifting source of competitive advantage in most industries.

Figure 4-4 – The Shifting Source of Competitive Advantage

Upstream Activities           >>>>>             Downstream Activities

Factories, Suppliers,                                     Customers, Distributors,

Vendors, Logistics,                                        Channels, Pricing,

Facilities, Operations                                                Marketing, Positioning

Source:  Based on Niraj Dawar, “When Marketing is Strategy,” Harvard Business Review, December 2013, p. 101-108.