Growth-Share Matrix

The growth-share matrix, commonly known as the BCG matrix, is a corporate planning tool developed by Bruce Henderson for the Boston Consulting Group in 1970 that classifies a company's business units or products into a two-by-two grid based on market growth rate and relative market share. The four resulting categories, conventionally labeled stars, cash cows, question marks, and dogs, are used to guide decisions about where a company should invest, hold, or divest across its portfolio of businesses. The matrix became one of the most widely recognized tools in corporate strategic planning during the 1970s and remains taught as an introduction to portfolio analysis.