Although it is too early to predict which of these three approaches will prove the most successful, this race is being closely monitored, and not just by auto industry specialists.
Urban accommodation also is experiencing all three approaches, though none is clearly dominant yet. Media outlets also are looking to crack the code that will allow them to combine existing platforms and new content. And a growing number of companies in financial services, both established ones and startups, will soon have to make consequential strategic decisions.
My preliminary sense is that no single approach will fit all, especially when it comes to the traditional companies in financial services. Much will depend on the agility of individual institutions, particularly their willingness to pursue meaningful self-disruption. And they will have little choice but to learn to live with start-ups that are disruptive, especially those that are better at targeting underperforming and underserved parts of the industry.
The more agile and entrepreneurial the established firm -- Goldman Sachs is an example -- the more it will be drawn to endogenous evolution; and success will inevitably involve some selective nonfinancial hiring and a few strategic investments in tech-driven companies. Less agile companies will do better to pursue standalone and autonomous partnerships outside their conventional business. Otherwise, they could end up undermining both their existing revenue stream and the new content they want.
The most challenged companies by far will be those that lack not just agility but resilience, too. Like many other once- dominant companies confronting rapid technological change (think Kodak), they will struggle mightily to counter a rapid erosion in the value of their once-impressive platforms.
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.