This tailoring is not done without some form of market research and utilization review. It then becomes imperative for any HCO, profit or nonprofit, to market their capabilities to the community. This, in turn, creates the requirement for some form of a strategic marketing plan. Defenders rarely involve themselves in new products or services, rather they stay in conservative or safe areas within their industry. Characteristics include centralized decisions and simple staff structures.
Prospectors are just the opposite.
They prefer to be at the cutting edge of their industry. Decisions are decentralized and organizational structures are complex. Analyzers occupy the middle ground between defenders and prospectors in every aspect. Reactors lack strategic focus and as a result, often change or alter organizational purpose and scope. The results of the study, and subsequent studies, showed that prospectors and analyzers placed much more emphasis on new developments.