---
id: "question-quadrant-transitions"
type: "open-question"
source_timestamps: ["§ Leading in the Age of AI"]
tags: ["evolution", "strategy-dynamics"]
related: ["framework-ai-innovation-strategy", "org-pg"]
resolutionPath: "Longitudinal case studies on companies that expanded value-chain control or technological breadth over time to move from Focused Differentiation toward Platform Leadership."
source_url: "https://hbr.org/2026/01/match-your-ai-strategy-to-your-organizations-reality"
source_title: "Match Your AI Strategy to Your Organization's Reality"
sources: ["spine"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-spine"
originDay: 1
articleStem: "hbr-sig-55-match-ai-strategy-to-reality"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/01/match-your-ai-strategy-to-your-organizations-reality"
sourceTitle: "Match Your AI Strategy to Your Organization’s Reality"
---
# How do companies transition between quadrants?

**Open question.** The [[framework-ai-innovation-strategy]] assigns a firm to a quadrant, but says little about how a company *moves* between quadrants over time. [[org-pg]] operates in all four simultaneously — but how does a Focused-Differentiation firm build toward Platform Leadership?

**Resolution path.** Longitudinal case studies of companies that successfully expanded their [[concept-value-chain-control]] or [[concept-technological-breadth]] to migrate across quadrants. (The enrichment overlay notes some low-breadth firms *have* pursued broader transformation by upgrading infrastructure over time — challenging any static quadrant assignment.)