Moore School marketing lecturer Doug Quackenbos was recently announced as the winner of the European Foundation for Management Development international case writing competition in the Bringing Technology to Market category for “SAM 100: Will Construction Robotics Disrupt the US Bricklaying Industry?”
Quackenbos won the award with his co-authors: Dominique Turpin, who is the Dentsu Chaired Professor of Marketing and the dean for external relations for the Institute for Management Development in Switzerland and Martin S. Roth, who is currently the president for the University of Charleston in West Virginia.
Read below as Quackenbos explains the case he and his colleagues presented for the EFMD international case writing competition.
What does your case “SAM 100: Will Construction Robotics Disrupt the U.S. Bricklaying Industry” explore?
This case explores the marketing challenges that a robotics and automation technology start-up faces in the construction industry. By applying Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovations’ analysis, students can work through the process of diagnosing what might be impeding sales of the SAM (Semi-Automated Mason) 100 model and then identify which market segments, targets and positioning strategies will help accelerate the adoption of this new innovation in order for it to progress through to a robust product lifecycle. The steps for this analysis include: 1) Robotics and the fear of job loss 2) Diffusion of innovations 3) Branding and naming 4) Business-to-business customer value and benefits 5) Commercialization.