Uber Industry Context Comparison

Companies have two industry context perspectives to choose:  industry dynamics perspective or industry leadership perspective.  The industry dynamic perspective emphasises compliance to industry rules and regulations in order to fit in while staying on top of the changes to ensure that they are maintaining relevance.  The industry leadership perspective pushes for more choice in deciding what rules to follow and which rules to break in order to become an industry leader.  This papers focus is on Ubers approach to industry context used to change the taxi industry.

        The industry dynamic perspective focuses on how well a company fit with the industry and plays by the rules.  Taxi companies follow the regulations of maintaining proper training and background checks for their drivers as well as following the system of medallions.  Uber on the other hand allowed anyone to become an Uber driver with minimal training and background checks leading to not meeting requirements that cab drivers must meet to ensure public safety for their passengers.  Industry dynamic is driven by compliance with an industry as the environment must be willing to allow firms to operate in them.  Taxi industry have a well-established system of medallions that are licences purchased by drivers to be able to operate in a certain areas issued by the cities just the same as food vendor licences.  Uber does not possess medallions or licences to operate in cities leading to a spike in unregulated Uber drivers operating as taxis based on them charging a fee for the rides, therefore, not a ride sharing service.  As the taxi industry is uncontrollably evolving, there needs be rules and regulations that are to be followed to ensure compliance with the current laws that are required in order to operate a taxi.

        The industry leadership perspective uses a more aggressive and disruptive approach to entering an industry as witnessed with Uber entrance into the taxi industry by breaking the rules that are in place in order to dominate the market.  Uber took an industry with slow growth and behind in technology into the mobile market by changing the rules and throwing compliance aside when they launched.  This approach created an environment created by Uber to mobilize ordering a ride by manipulating the industry demand to leave the traditional taxi industry in a state of discomfort.