A01 chaf6542 06 se fm indd

3  The power of context

Gladwell suggests that like infectious diseases, products and behaviours spread far 

and wide only when they fit the physical, social and mental context into which they 

are launched. He gives the example of a wave of crime in the New York subway that 

came to an abrupt halt by simply removing the graffiti from trains and clamping down 

on  fare‑  dodging. It can be suggested that products should be devised and tested to fit 

their context, situation or occasion of use.

Case Study 8.2

Dell gets closer to its customers online

Dell is a technology company, offering a broad range of 

product categories, including desktop computer systems, 

storage, servers and networking products, mobility prod-

ucts, software and peripherals and services to manage IT 

infrastructure for large organisations. Dell are the number 

one supplier of personal computer systems in the United 

States, and the number two supplier worldwide.