For the Past Two Years, Swen Johannsen, Owner/general Manager of Swen's

For the past two years, Swen Johannsen, owner/general manager of Swen's Fine Duds, a local men's clothing store, has fought to stay in business. In the face of increasing competition, Swen has tried several tactics: aggressively promoting price-slashing sales to drive his competitors' customers to his doors; attempting to cut costs by leveling out sales and inventory through seasonal sales; as well as lining up contracts with wholesalers in advance of seasonal rushes (e.g., summer swimwear) to prevent inventory depletion. He has even recruited the president of the chamber of commerce to sit on his board. None of these tactics have been successful. Now, Swen is considering a deviation from his current business to one that might be more suitable, perhaps a formal wear/tuxedo rental and retail shop or a boutique Western wear store. Swen is using ________ as his final tactic.

A) independent action
B) domain selection
C) cooptation
D) buffering
E) smoothing