The two automakers’ contrasting product development and
marketing programs in the 1990s illustrate the traditionally
viewed tradeoffs of efficiency and effectiveness, global standardization
versus customization, market segmentation versus
product differentiation, and product orientation versus customer
orientation. These debates are framed by the tension
between bending demand to the will of supply (i.e., driving the
market) versus adjusting to market demand (i.e., driven by the
market).