Diet Selection
Companies should pursue customers/opportunities where value per unit effort exceeds their current portfolio average.
Diet selection theory predicts that organisms should include a food item in their diet if: Energy gained from item / (Search time + Handling time) > Current average energy intake rate. Shore crabs demonstrate this by choosing between mussel sizes based on abundance - when large mussels are abundant, they eat large and medium while ignoring small (not worth handling time). When large mussels are rare, they shift to medium only. The optimal strategy is context-dependent: the crab doesn't change preferences, it changes strategy based on abundance.
Business Application of Diet Selection
Companies should pursue customers/opportunities where value per unit effort exceeds their current portfolio average. Like the shore crab, the optimal mix changes based on market abundance - be selective when high-value targets are abundant, broaden scope when they're scarce.