Definition
The product life cycle (PLC) refers to the notion that products have a limited period (lifetime) in the marketplace and that this period passes through a number of different stages, each requiring different approaches to the production, distribution, and marketing of the product. Although there are many small variations in the number of stages into which the product life cycle is divided by researchers and practitioners and also in the names attached to those stages, in its most general terms, the life cycle consists of at least four stages – introduction, growth, maturity, and decline – although some authors extend this analysis by including additional stages at the beginning (e.g., development) or at the end (e.g., withdrawal). In addition, the term is used to denote different things by researchers and practitioners in different disciplines. For example, in marketing it is used primarily to describe the...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References and Readings
Calantone, R. J., Yeniyurt, S., Townsend, J. D., & Schmidt, J. B. (2010). The effects of competition in short product life-cycle markets: The case of motion pictures. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 27, 349–361.
Dhalla, N. K., & Yuspeh, S. (1976). Forget the product life cycle concept! Harvard Business Review, 54, 102–112.
Duflou, J. R., De Moor, J., Verpoest, I., & Dewulf, W. (2009). Environmental impact analysis of composite use in car manufacturing. CIRP Annals – Manufacturing Technology, 58, 9–12.
Fornasiero, R., & Zangiacomi, A. (2010). Management of residual life cycle costs for sustainability in middle of life phase. International Journal of Product Lifecycle Management, 4, 114–128.
Henderson, B. D. (1970). Perspectives on the product portfolio. Boston, Mass: Boston Consulting Group.
International Journal of Product Lifecycle Management. (2010). http://www.inderscience.com/browse/index.php?journalID=139. Accessed 7 June 2010.
James, O. (2008). The selfish capitalist. London: Vermilion.
Jin, X., Koskela, L., & King, T. M. (2007). Towards an integrated enterprise model: Combining product life cycle support with project management. International Journal of Product Lifecycle Management, 2, 50–63.
Kotler, P. (2000). Marketing management. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.
Manmek, S., Kaebernick, H., & Kara, S. (2010). Simplified environmental impact drivers for product life cycle. International Journal of Sustainable Manufacturing, 2, 30–65.
Marx, K. (1976). Capital (Vol. 1). New York: Penguin.
Mescon, H. M., Bovee, C. L., & Thill, J. V. (2001). Business today. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.
Orsato, R. J., den Hond, F., & Clegg, S. (2002). The political ecology of automobile recycling in Europe. Organisation Studies, 23, 639–665.
Rahimifard, S., Abu Bakar, M. S., & Williams, D. J. (2009). Recycling process planning for the end-of-life management of waste from electrical and electronic equipment. CIRP Annals – Manufacturing Technology, 58, 5–8.
Stark, J. (2005). Product lifecycle management: 21st century paradigm for product realisation. London: Springer.
Tomovic, M. M. (2010). Introduction to the special issue on product life cycle management. International Journal of Manufacturing Technology and Management, 19, 165–166.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this entry
Cite this entry
Bartlett, D., Twineham, J. (2013). Product Life Cycle. In: Idowu, S.O., Capaldi, N., Zu, L., Gupta, A.D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Corporate Social Responsibility. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-28036-8_56
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-28036-8_56
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-28035-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-28036-8
eBook Packages: Business and Economics