Which factors determine how long differentiation successes will last can be derived from the dimensions shown in Figure 2.

There are three levels for describing the durability of a differentiation success:

1. Short-term success: Superior product – “We have launched a great new iPhone on the market.”

2. Middle-term success: Superior organization/processes/culture – “We have the structures which enable to produce superior products at regular intervals.”

3. Long-term success: Superior ability to change – “We evolve continuously so that we will maintain superior organization, processes, and culture which can produce superior products at regular intervals in the future as well.”

So at which of the three levels a company operates depends on its organizational structure, its processes, and its culture.

There is no such thing as “One size fits all”

But first a clear statement: the perfect organizational structure does not exist! While the desire for a panacea is ­understandable in human terms, it is and will always be wishful thinking. The good news: companies can generate competitive advantages through their specific structures which competitors will not find so simple to imitate. Various organizational structures can be considered in the light of strategic and other framework conditions. The objective should be to find the golden mean between the current situation and the position which has been set as the goal for the future. Inevitably, it will be necessary to modify the current situation in part, but corporate goals must also be critically reviewed with respect to fit and feasibility.

Nevertheless, there are also factors which can affect a company’s ability to differentiate itself positively or negatively. For example, the size of an organization itself is frequently a stumbling block on the road to differentiation capability. Keeping tasks in manageable dimensions means breaking them down into ­various partial tasks which are carried out by a number of corporate units. But division of labor gives rise to interruptions in the workflow in the form of interfaces between the various corporate units. Parts of the overall task are completed by different people at different locations at different times. A possible negative effect of this division of labor can be a sense of competition between departments. This drawing of artificial boundaries within the organization leads to a narrowing of the viewpoint, restricting it to one’s own department and hindering people from thinking beyond their own back yard. Yet the broadening of horizons is exactly what is required for a company’s ability to change. In addition, the complexity of structures increases against the backdrop of differing performance depths of the departments. As part of the outsourcing process, the decision is made to cooperate with strategic partners, requiring specific agreements related to quantity, quality, and scheduling aspects of the services. Differences in jargon and methods cause difficulties in the sharing of information with the strategic partner or between departments.