How can traditional organizations compete with AI-native companies?

In the rapidly evolving landscape of 2025, traditional organizations face a daunting challenge: how to compete with AI-native companies that have built their entire business models around artificial intelligence. With AI capabilities doubling roughly every six months, the gap between AI-native and traditional companies is widening at an alarming rate. In fact, 95% of organizations surveyed in 2024 have undergone more than two major transformations in the past three years, highlighting the urgency of this issue.

To shed light on this critical question, we turn to Mark Greeven, a renowned expert in innovation and digital transformation. As a professor at IMD Business School and author of several books on business in Asia, Mark brings a unique perspective on how traditional organizations can adapt and thrive in the age of AI. His insights promise to offer valuable strategies for business leaders and decision-makers navigating this complex terrain.

Let’s explore Mark Greeven’s expert take on how traditional organizations can effectively compete with AI-native companies in today’s rapidly changing business environment.

Mark Greeven

Mark Greeven, Professor of Innovation and Strategy at IMD Business School and expert on Chinese business and digital strategy, addresses how traditional organizations can compete with AI-native companies. He emphasizes that traditional organizations should focus on leveraging their unique strengths while strategically adopting AI technologies.

According to Greeven, traditional organizations can compete with AI-native companies by:

1. Leveraging domain expertise and data: Traditional companies often have deep industry knowledge and vast amounts of data that AI-native companies lack.
2. Building AI capabilities incrementally: Start with small, high-impact projects to build AI competencies over time.
3. Fostering a culture of innovation: Encourage experimentation and continuous learning to keep pace with AI advancements.
4. Forming strategic partnerships: Collaborate with AI startups or tech companies to accelerate AI adoption.

Greeven stresses the importance of a balanced approach: “The key is not to become an AI-native company overnight, but to become an AI-augmented organization that combines the best of both worlds.” He advises traditional organizations to focus on areas where human expertise and AI can complement each other, creating unique value propositions that pure AI-native companies cannot match.

To implement these strategies, Greeven recommends that leaders invest in upskilling their workforce, redesign processes to incorporate AI, and maintain a strong focus on ethical AI use. By doing so, traditional organizations can not only compete with AI-native companies but potentially surpass them by offering more comprehensive, human-centric solutions.

As the AI landscape continues to evolve, more expert perspectives on this topic are emerging. The key takeaway for traditional organizations is to embrace AI strategically, building on their existing strengths while adapting to the new technological paradigm.