Almost every time I teach the basic concepts of strategy — the five forces framework or the principles of competitive advantage — I get the same question. “These ideas are more than 30 years old,” managers complain. “Isn’t there anything more recent?”
Unfortunately, this question demonstrates a lack of understanding of the nature of knowledge. It the same as saying to a maths professor who is explaining the principles of calculus, “These ideas are more than 100 years old. What are the new ideas?”