Competing in a digital world

Book review of Rethinking Competitive Advantage: New Rules for the Digital Age

In 2013, veteran business consultant Ram Charan was discussing Amazon’s negative earnings of the previous year with the chief executive officer (CEO) of a large company. “The chickens will come home to roost,” the CEO predicted.

But contrary to the prophecy, Amazon has since progressed steadily upwards to profitability. Its current market capitalisation is $1.6 trillion, with it has wide-reaching tentacles spread across diverse domains, ranging from e-commerce to cloud computing and logistics. Amazon is not alone in its achievements. In recent times, tech giants such as Google and Netflix and other digital natives such as Uber have radically changed