Even if a reported market share of over 100% can be explained, it is still an inaccurate representation of markets, which hampers collaboration between the IBEW and NECA. The lack of a common definition of market size and share has seriously reduced the development and application of winning strategies between these two organizations. Market share has become a negotiation tool to win concessions from each other instead of a tool for developing a common strategy to win back the market.

The roots of this research date back to an August 2003 NLMCC (National Labor-Management Cooperation Committee) workshop conducted by MCA, Inc. during a meeting of top-ranking NECA and IBEW executives in Knoxville, Tennessee. During this four hour workshop, industry executives “guesstimated” their market share. At the conclusion of this session it became obvious that a study was necessary to commonize the approach to market share calculation.

The research approach utilized the following steps:

–  Look at what is out there currently being done

–  Determine how others calculate their market share

–  Develop an unbiased and reliable method

–  Recommend development of the common strategy