Ansoff developed the matrix out of his realisation that a firm needs a well-defined scope and growth direction. For most companies growth is often the prerequisite for survival.
Ansoff felt that many of the theorists had too broad a concept of business and that the traditional identification of a firm with a particular industry had become too narrow. This was because many firms acquired a diverse range of products through policies of vertical and horizontal integration to protect their existing markets, and also through new product development, done to exploit technological innovation and to develop new markets with opportunities for growth.
The vector matrix is based on joint consideration of the implications of change in the product (technology) and / or the market and is perhaps the simplest and most basic statement of the strategic alternatives open to a firm who desires growth.