US$33.87 billion and rising – the market capitalisation of UBER  For the past 11 years, considerable controversy has surrounded UBER. Questions have been raised about the likelihood of the business ever achieving profitability, the ethics of destroying the taxi industry in many parts of the world, and the real objectives of the business. What is […]

 US$33.87 billion and rising – the market capitalisation of UBER  For the past 11 years, considerable controversy has surrounded UBER. Questions have been raised about the likelihood of the business ever achieving profitability, the ethics of destroying the taxi industry in many parts of the world, and the real objectives of the business. What is not controversial, however, is the significant impact, for better or for worse, of UBER and its offshoot, UBER Eats.  Interestingly, the business has carved out a significant share of the people moving business in many countries since it commenced operations in 2009. UBER now has a market capitalisation of US$33.87 billion.The major factor that has driven the success of UBER, and indeed, many other disruptors is – ‘effective product differentiation’. These words will be used repeatedly in this paper, so let’s begin our discussion by defining them. “Effective’ is, of course, a qualitative term.  In this…