当一个企业所提供的产品或服务与其竞争对手没有差异时,该产品或服务就是一种“一般商品(commodity)”。在这种情况下,消费者进行选择的唯一根据,也是企业竞争的唯一手段,就是价格。在任何的成熟市场中,我们所提供的产品/服务都有“一般商品”化的趋势。非常典型的例子就是在造纸行业。大多数人都会认为,纸浆和造纸行业是典型的产品同质化严重的“一般商品”市场,然而,我们的研究发现事实却并非一定如此: A product or service is a “commodity” when there is no difference in the product or service offered by an enterprise from its competitors. In this case, the only basis for consumers to choose, but also the only means of competition in the business, is the price. In any established market, the products / services we offer have a tendency toward “general merchandise”. A very typical example is in the paper industry. Most people think that the pulp and paper industry is a typical “homogenization” market where the homogenization of products is serious, yet our research does not necessarily show this: