It is important to note that managers cannot control external factors that affect businesses. Things such as the economy, social preferences, technology, political/legal/regulatory factors, the competition, and even globalization are not controllable factors. However, they must be understood so that managers can internally adapt or respond to the changing external environment.
For example, I may open a bakery that does really well, I may use technology (the internet and social media) to grow my business beyond my current geographical customer base, and the economy may be doing really well allowing my customers enough disposable income to regularly support my business.
However, a new diet fad such as the Atkins diet becomes popular and the social preference changes to low sugar/carb diets and high protein. I cannot control the change in social preferences, but I have to decide how to respond.
What are the options to respond to changes in social preferences given the scenario above?