By taking the steps to speed the process, a company can get in early. The cannibals take their brand with them. The fact of the matter is that openness always wins. Companies that try to hold on to their market leadership by hoarding information will find they no longer have a following. If everyone has access to something and can propose changes, new directions and new uses will be made possible.
Users give back much more than they take away.
A value chain, as we explain in the book, is the series of functions that create and distribute a company's goods or services. Some companies are going ahead and preemptively destroying their value chains before their competitors do it for them. It's a simple matter of searching out the best economics. The steady shift by airlines to sell more directly to the consumer, rather than rely on agents, is another example of value chain destruction. In industries where large companies do not move fast, a new entrant will inevitably emerge to do damage.