'Cash cows' generate a stable cash flow but are relatively mature in the market. The BCG Growth-Share Matrix categorizes all business units according to market share and potential for market growth as cash cows, stars, question marks, and dogs, in relation to their largest competitor. In addition I summarise merger advantages/benefits/opportunities disadvantages challenges sussccessful inits bid buy SĪnheuser-Busch InBev, is the largest brewing company in the United States, boasting some of the most successful brands of alcohol on the market in its portfolio. Please avoid marketing product, specific strategic groth a company. Organizations which misjudged the growth prospects and life-cycles of their portfolio may have sold dogs or cows which they believed were at the end of their dominance, heavily invested in stars that were not,ĪB Inbev's BCG ansoff analysis strategic options.

Tangentially, the 1990's saw rapidly merging industries which had previously not existed, most associated with the internet or information technology. The assumed advantage of cost to control market share could quickly evaporate in this environment. The 1990's were a period of rapid information and technological advancement which allowed competitor firms to achieve cost reductions on their product lines by 'creating new experience curves' (. However, returning to the experience curve, technology can be the great equalizer to a firm which has a significant cost advantage. In predictable and long- set industries, a firm with a high- growth and high- market share product would understandably allocate more cash to continue the cycle. 'Cash cows are businesses that have a high market share (and are therefore generating lots of cash) but low growth prospects stars have high growth prospects and a high market share question marks have high growth prospects but a comparatively low market share and dogs are low on both growth prospects and market share' (.

The bcg matrix is a means of evaluating