Transaction Costs in Ansoff Matrix for Strategy Design: Technological Marketing Tool Series # 03

The Ansoff Matrix is a well-known strategic management tool, since published in Harvard Business Review by 1957, and it has been subject of dozens of paper analysis worldwide, 99% of which work under the same approach: the analysis of the instrument itself, the explanation of its concept, the value it contributes to management decision-making, and details about the process of use or adoption by companies. However, there´s an empty space between the decision that the Ansoff matrix helps us frame and explain, and its best implementation. There are key tasks to visualize and budget for, which constitute transaction costs. Making these transaction costs explicit will provide greater input into comparisons and decision-making, making the investments involved in each quadrant more visible, facilitating their optimal implementation, reducing its commercial risk. Ansoff developed a strategic thinking tool that allows us to visualize the entire map of possible business decisions and their inherent risks; now, we can also preview the key strategies and related transaction costs for each decision.