Title: The genesis of blue ocean strategy

Authors: Gregory Unruh; Guillaume Carton; Fernanda Arreola

Addresses: George Mason University, 4400 University Dr, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA ' Emlyon Business School, 144 Av. Jean Jaurès, Lyon France ' ESSCA School of Management, 55 Quai Alphonse le Gallo, 92513 Boulogne-Billancourt, France

Abstract: This case study traces the development of blue ocean strategy from its academic origins to its emergence as a global management phenomenon. Through an in-depth examination of W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne's research journey from 1984 to 2005, we analyse how two INSEAD professors successfully bridged the academic-practitioner divide to create one of the most influential strategy frameworks of the 21st century. The case study reveals how their approach evolved from traditional academic publishing toward practice-based research, culminating in a framework that challenged Michael Porter's dominant Five Forces model. The paper demonstrates how Kim and Mauborgne developed dynamic capabilities for sensing market opportunities, seizing practitioner needs, and reconfiguring their research approach to create both academic credibility and practical utility. The blue ocean strategy phenomenon exemplifies how academic ideas can achieve global influence when researchers successfully navigate competing institutional logics and build authentic relationships with practitioner communities.

Keywords: blue ocean strategy; academic-practitioner divide; mode 2 knowledge production; strategy research.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTCS.2026.152380

International Journal of Teaching and Case Studies, 2026 Vol.16 No.1, pp.63 - 84

Received: 23 Sep 2025
Accepted: 28 Sep 2025
Published online: 17 Mar 2026 *

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