Book Description
Since the first edition of this landmark book was published in 1962, Everett Rogers's name has become "virtually synonymous with the study of diffusion of innovations," according to Choice. The second and third editions of Diffusion of Innovations became the standard textbook and reference on diffusion studies. Now, in the fourth edition, Rogers presents the culmination of more than thirty years of research that will set a new standard for analysis and inquiry.
The fourth edition is (1) a revision of the theoretical framework and the research evidence supporting this model of diffusion, and (2) a new intellectual venture, in that new concepts and new theoretical viewpoints are introduced. This edition differs from its predecessors in that it takes a much more critical stance in its review and synthesis of 5,000 diffusion publications. During the past thirty years or so, diffusion research has grown to be widely recognized, applied and admired, but it has also been subjected to both constructive and destructive criticism. This criticism is due in large part to the stereotyped and limited ways in which many diffusion scholars have defined the scope and method of their field of study. Rogers analyzes the limitations of previous diffusion studies, showing, for example, that the convergence model, by which participants create and share information to reach a mutual understanding, more accurately describes diffusion in most cases than the linear model.
Rogers provides an entirely new set of case examples, from the Balinese Water Temple to Nintendo videogames, that beautifully illustrate his expansive research, as well as a completely revised bibliography covering all relevant diffusion scholarship in the past decade. Most important, he discusses recent research and current topics, including social marketing, forecasting the rate of adoption, technology transfer, and more. This all-inclusive work will be essential reading for scholars and students in the fields of communications, marketing, geography, economic development, political science, sociology, and other related fields for generations to come.
Download Description
"Now in its fifth edition, Diffusion of Innovations is a classic work on the spread of new ideas. It has sold 30,000 copies in each edition and will continue to reach a huge academic audience. In this renowned book, Everett M. Rogers, professor and chair of the Department of Communication & Journalism at the University of New Mexico, explains how new ideas spread via communication channels over time. Such innovations are initially perceived as uncertain and even risky. To overcome this uncertainty, most people seek out others like themselves who have already adopted the new idea. Thus the diffusion process consists of a few individuals who first adopt an innovation, then spread the word among their circle of acquaintances--a process which typically takes months or years. But there are exceptions: use of the Internet in the 1990s, for example, may have spread more rapidly than any other innovation in the history of humankind. Furthermore, the Internet is changing the very nature of diffusion by decreasing the importance of physical distance between people. The fifth edition addresses the spread of the Internet, and how it has transformed the way human beings communicate and adopt new ideas."
Customer Reviews:
Interesting.......2007-09-12
This book is fascinating. It discusses the spread of ideas and products through communities, how they spread and why. Rogers breaks down the process and describes different categories of people depending on when they take up the innovation. This book is very readable, and although written by an academic, not written in academese. It covers various domains of interest (agriculture, sociology, marketing) and has something for everyone.
The one thing I think Rogers has missed is subjective norm. Not only do people weigh the relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability and observability, but they also weigh up what they believe their personal network believes what they should do.
For instance, I will do something that someone important (to me)tells me to do, even if I personally find it silly, simply because I put enough weight and consideration into what I believe is their opinion.
Rogers gets close to that with the discussion of personal networks and adoption of innovations by organisations, but still misses the point. That is why this book only gets four stars, from me.
Excellent.......2007-08-10
Very insightful. A must read for a variety of academic disciplines. I don't know that I've been in a professor's office at my university and not seen this book on the shelf!
Diffusion of Innovations--The scientific framework of lessons learned.......2007-06-12
As a physician who has had the pleasure to experience life-changing innovations in his medical career, the chance to read Dr Rogers book on Innovation has been a real delight. Technology has changed so much around us in the last half of the 20th century that we can scarcely describe what life was like before "the innovation".
To my friends who happen to be innovators, early adaptors, beta testers and entrepreneurs, I recommend the book to provide the scientific disicpline with its glossary, case reports, primary scientific citations and organization of innovation theory that ones needs if one is in an "innovation" field and wishes to communicate professionally.
To the casual reader who is fascinated by the world around him/her and wishes to explore innovation scientifically, then this should be considered the "primer".
A textbook in disquise..........2007-02-15
This is a textbook in disquise. The information is good, but could be summarized better and in a more consise manner.
Good reference material...
most excellent piece of work on diffusion of innovation.......2006-12-26
There are several well written books on innovation but this is one of the most excellent piece of work on diffusion of innovation. Though if we look at history, research on the diffusion of innovations model began with the Bryce and Gross' (1943) investigation of the diffusion of hybrid seed corn among Iowa farmers. They explained how it came to attention and which of two channels (i.e., mass communication and interpersonal communication with peers) led farmers to adopt the new innovation.
But Rogers has further discussed the five characteristics of a technology acceptance - 1) relative advantage, the extent to which it offers improvements over available tools, 2) compatibility, its consistency with social practices and norms among its users, 3) complexity, its ease of use or learning, 4) trialability, the opportunity to try an innovation before committing to use it, 5) observability, the extent to which the technology's gains are clear to see.
Book Description
Open Innovation describes an emergent model of innovation in which firms draw on research and development that may lie outside their own boundaries. In some cases, such as open source software, this research and development can take place in a non-proprietary manner. Henry Chesbrough and his collaborators investigate this phenomenon, linking the practice of innovation to the established body of innovation research, showing what's new and what's familiar in the process. Offering theoretical explanations for the use (and limits) of open innovation, the book examines the applicability of the concept, implications for the boundaries of firms, the potential of open innovation to prove successful, and implications for intellectual property policies and practices. The book will be key reading for academics, researchers, and graduate students of innovation and technology management.
Book Description
In today's information-rich environment, companies can no longer afford to rely entirely on their own ideas to advance their business, nor can they restrict their innovations to a single path to market. As a result, says Harvard Business School professor Henry W. Chesbrough, the traditional model for innovation--which has been largely internally focused, closed off from outside ideas and technologies--is becoming obsolete. Emerging in its place is a new paradigm, "open innovation," which strategically leverages internal and external sources of ideas and takes them to market through multiple paths.
This path-breaking analysis is based on extensive field research, academic study, and the author's own longtime experience working in Silicon Valley. Through rich descriptions of the innovation processes of Xerox, IBM, Lucent, Intel, Merck, and Millennium, and the many spin-offs that have emerged from these firms, Open Innovation shows how companies can use their business model to identify a more enlightened role for R&D in a world of abundant information, better manage and access intellectual property, advance their current business, and grow their future business.
Arguing that companies in all industries must transform the way they commercialize knowledge, Chesbrough convincingly shows how open innovation can unlock the latent economic value in a company's ideas and technologies.
AUTHORBIO: Henry W. Chesbrough is an Assistant Professor and the Class of 1961 Fellow at Harvard Business School.
Customer Reviews:
Good.......2007-06-21
This is a useful book. Open innovation is a very old idea but the author does a good job explaining what it is and how it can be helpful -- and even essential -- to an enterprise. The fact is that most companies are doing some version of this today but they could do much more. The hard part is in getting real value out of the partnerships that can be formed while overcoming internal issues, such as NIH. The author says little about these other problems that limit the effectiveness of open innovation.
A "new vision" of the innovation process.......2007-06-18
I recently re-read Henry Chesbrough's Open Business Models and then this book, first published in 2003. In the earlier work, Chesbrough explains that a business model "performs two important functions: it creates value and it captures a portion of that value. It creates value by defining a series of activities from raw materials through to the final consumer that will yield a new product or service with value being added throughout the various activities. The business model captures value by establishing a unique resource, asset, or position within that series of activities, where the firm enjoys a competitive advantage."
Having thus established a frame-of-reference, Chesbrough continues: "An open business model uses this new division of innovation labor - both in the creation of value and in the capture of a portion of that value. Open models create value by leveraging many more ideas, due to their inclusion of a variety of external concepts. Open models can also enable greater value capture, by using a key asset, resource, or position not only in the company's own business model but also in other companies businesses."
What we have in Open Innovation is a development of this concept in much greater depth. As Chesbrough explains, what he characterizes as "Closed Innovation" has a number of implicit rules such as "The company that gets an innovation to market first will usually win" and "We should control our intellectual property, so that our competitors don't profit from our ideas." As a result of several "erosion factors" that have undermined its logic, Chesbrough asserts, the Closed Innovation paradigm is rapidly becoming obsolete. (Please see Table 1-4, "Contrasting Principles of Closed and Open Innovation," on Page xxvi in the Introduction.) "When the innovation context shifts from Closed to Open, the process of innovation must change as well."
Chesbrough carefully organizes his material within nine chapters. In the first, he examines one of the most familiar examples of a company (Xerox Corporation) that selected technologies from its research laboratory (Palo Alto Research Center) that fit its business model, and rejected others. Apple was among the major beneficiaries of that process. "Xerox's management of its PARC technologies illustrates in a nutshell the transition from Closed Innovation to Open Innovation. Chesbrough examines the Closed Innovation Paradigm is analyzed in Chapter 2 and the Open Innovation Paradigm in Chapter 3, then offers a business model in Chapter 5 that illustrates how to connect internal and external innovation. For me, some of the most valuable material in the book is provided in this chapter. Then in the next three chapters, Chesbrough focuses on three major corporations: IBM and its transformation from Closed to Open Innovation (Chapter 5), Open Innovation at Intel, (Chapter 6), and the New Ventures Group within Lucent Technologies organization (Chapter 7).
In the last two chapters, Chesbrough first shifts his attention to a critically important subject, the management of intellectual property (IP) in the innovation process. "In a world of abundant knowledge, companies should be active buyers - and active sellers of IP." Earlier in his book, Chesbrough had explained why ideas that are not readily used could be lost. They and the people who create them "no longer can be warehoused until the companies' own businesses are ready to make use of them. Companies that do not use their ideas with alacrity risk losing them - and the people who thought of them - to outside organizations." Of course, as Chesbrough explains in Chapter 4, the value of an idea is determined by the given business model. "There is no inherent value in a technology per se. The value is determined instead by the business model used to bring it to market." Apple gratefully embraced technologies that Xerox had rejected.
How to complete the transition to a more Open Innovation system? Chesbrough responds to that question in the last chapter, providing a number of strategies and tactics. He recommends devising a strategic map that identifies the given organization's recent innovative ideas as well as those within its industry. On Page 178, he provides a list of questions to ask while completing the map, a document best viewed as "a work in progress." He then offers rock-solid advice on how to proceed with the "roadmap." As I absorbed and digested Chesbrough's brilliant insights on these and other key business issues prompted me to recall my own involvement with a number of organizations that struggled - with mixed success - to complete that process. I now presume to share some of the most important lessons I learned:
1. When designing and implementing an "open" business model, the first requirement is that everyone involved has both an "open" mindset (i.e. receptive to new ideas, whatever their source may be) and is not only willing but also eager to collaborate with others within and beyond her or his own organization. So-called "conventional wisdom" is often a justification for defending the status quo.
2. When setting objectives, focus on the most serious problems to solve and on the most important questions to answer.
3. With regard tracking progress, measure only what really matters...and do so with accuracy and consistency. Meeting deadlines, for example, as well as first-pass yield and cycle time. Be especially alert for variances.
4. Have "open" communication, cooperation, and collaboration at all levels and in all areas throughout what should be viewed as an extended enterprise. There is so much of value to be learned from associates, of course, (especially in other departments), but also from customers, vendors, strategic allies, and other stakeholders within the given value chain. Moreover, Chesbrough cites examples of situations in which valuable information was obtained (legally) from competitors.
5. Open Innovation is a journey of discovery. Therefore, view all problems as learning opportunities. Focus on determining their root causes rather than merely responding to their symptoms.
The final paragraph of the Introduction offers an appropriate conclusion to this commentary. By then, Chesbrough has shared a new vision of the innovation process. "This vision eagerly seeks external knowledge and ideas, even as it nurtures internal ones. It utilizes valuable ideas from whatever source in advancing a company's own business, and it places the company's own ideas in other companies' businesses. By opening itself up to the world of knowledge that surrounds it, the twenty-first-century corporation can avoid the innovation paradox that plagues so many firms' R&D activities today. In so doing, the company can renew its current business and generate new business. For the innovative company in a world of abundant knowledge, today can be the best of times."
Eye catching title, good content, but a little dry in description.......2007-06-05
This is not a book you read while sitting in a coffee shop. A little too dry in describing a rather interesting topic. I very much look forward to the next edition to this book which i believe came out earlier in 07.
I think this is a great text book for MBA or a CS/EE course on Technology and Strategy. One almost needs to be forced to complete reading the entire book.
Good wake-up call..........2006-12-24
This book came across as a good wake-up call for those business and technology leaders that are still romantically involved with the notion that fundamental research and ownership of the results remains as the way to establish a competitive advantage. The book reminded me of Covey's much earlier description of the journey to effectiveness through the desirable transition from independence to interdependence. It seems, though, that the proverbial pendulum has now swung to the other extreme. In other words, for years the technology function led business development and now business leaders are strongly encouraged to lead technology development. The answer for a sustainable advantage likely lies somewhere in between - through strong collaboration of both functions.
Good buisness insights - traditional shortcomings.......2005-11-10
In general reading `open innovation' is inspirational and interesting. It seems to be good researched and it is easy to read without hurting my intellect. It basically presents the story of the failure of and subsequent changes in the research strategy of Xerox, IBM and AT&T and contrasts this with Intel's successful strategy of concentration on process and product innovation instead of research. Chesbrough neatly conveys the basic argument that large companies have to open their research departments and include partners outside the firm as sources of new technology. Research findings that do not fit into the firm's business model should be realised in new ventures. The firm stories, based mainly on Harvard Business School cases, certainly offer some insights for managers of large corporations.
As an academic however, I have some reservations. Though the book is better than other business books, it follows the same pattern: find a catchy expression (open innovation), declare a paradigm shift, present some case stories that are supposedly representative and take some short cuts towards generalizations. IBM and AT&T are hardly representative for the whole industry. This might be important since there are certainly examples of highly profitable companies that would rather fit into the `closed innovation' model that the author declares dead. Secondly, it is not totally clear that open innovation model is really a new paradigm. At the beginning of the last century (according to the author the origin of the closed innovation model) many European companies took advantage of innovations from universities and public research labs (organic chemistry, x-ray). And there were already complex new technologies that required the interplay of a variety of partners and totally new business models (electricity supply, nuclear energy, air transportation). Many companies published their research findings and licensed their technologies, eg to Japan, which they later regretted.
Though I mainly share the authors hypothesis, I wished promising management ideas would in the end be supported by statistical evidence and not stop with case studies and a well received book.
Book Description
Innovation is rapidly becoming democratized. Users, aided by improvements in computer and communications technology, increasingly can develop their own new products and services. These innovating users -- both individuals and firms -- often freely share their innovations with others, creating user-innovation communities and a rich intellectual commons. In Democratizing Innovation, Eric von Hippel looks closely at this emerging system of user-centered innovation. He explains why and when users find it profitable to develop new products and services for themselves, and why it often pays users to reveal their innovations freely for the use of all.
The trend toward democratized innovation can be seen in software and information products -- most notably in the free and open-source software movement -- but also in physical products. Von Hippel's many examples of user innovation in action range from surgical equipment to surfboards to software security features. He shows that product and service development is concentrated among "lead users," who are ahead on marketplace trends and whose innovations are often commercially attractive.
Von Hippel argues that manufacturers should redesign their innovation processes and that they should systematically seek out innovations developed by users. He points to businesses -- the custom semiconductor industry is one example -- that have learned to assist user-innovators by providing them with toolkits for developing new products. User innovation has a positive impact on social welfare, and von Hippel proposes that government policies, including R&D subsidies and tax credits, should be realigned to eliminate biases against it. The goal of a democratized user-centered innovation system, says von Hippel, is well worth striving for. An electronic version of this book is available under a Creative Commons license.
Customer Reviews:
the future of mass collaboration.......2007-08-20
A rather academic approach on the subject leave the reading in some sections somehow difficult for those not use to technicalities of the researcher, but a very well written book overall. The book clearly identifies a path on the future trend on mass collaboration and how this will affect us in many ways. How our personal live and businesses will effected by this is already on the making, what we can do is to better understand it. This book does that.
I strongly suggest reading it for those interested in what the future will look like. The book pair off with
Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything
User-innovations: a world without specialization and trade?.......2007-05-15
"Democratizing Innovation" means "innovating of oneself", for doing that one gets exactly what one wants, and not what manufacturers think the "average" user wants. The book claims that a key advantage of "democratizing innovation" is that the user is also the supplier. Uninhibited by legal barriers to entry like patents, user-innovators, unlike seller-innovators, are free to share their innovations with whoever they want.
Chapters 2-9 deal with different attractive aspects of user-innovations such as the fact that the output of innovation activities can be customized, or that user-innovations are cheaper than their seller-innovation counterparts. Revealed usefulness means that user-innovations spread faster than other innovations. They also meet the characteristics of public goods. As an example the book points to "free-open source software". Hence, the book argues for a public policy that supports user-innovation because it is "democratizing". Moreover, the increasing quality and quantity of computer software and hardware, and easy access to innovation tools and innovation commons points to future demand for user-innovations, a case made clear by the applications described in the last two chapters.
Given resource scarcity, a world without specialization and trade is hard to imagine,but this is a thought provoking book, nonetheless.
Amavilah, Author
Modeling Determinants of Income in Embedded Economies
ISBN: 1600210465
DemocratizingInnovation.......2006-07-20
A creative and provocative approach to business opportunities.
A stimulating quick read provoking unique stimulus to further creativity.You can't read this work without your own imagination kicking in.A brainstorming supplement.
Great ideas on innovation.......2006-03-29
This book is a great read, especially for someone who has not been taught about user innovation and who questions the open source business model. Von Hippel is a pioneer when it comes to user innovation. If you thought that companies come up with winning ideas, or that the only way to make any money on a great idea is to patent it then this book will open your eyes to a much greater world. The concepts of free revealing (vs. IP) and of lead user (vs. manufacturer) innovation are great. It goes deeping into the idea that information is sticky and cannot be communicated from users to engineers very easily, even in consumer focus groups. Also discussed is the opportunity to create a toolkit to allow users to do the development work for you. This book is truly outstanding.
Excellent and thought provoking read.......2005-07-28
Von Hippel has done an excellent job with this new work. I downloaded the pdf, read the first chapter and had to buy the book to read the remaining chapters. He has introduced many new subjects into the field of innovation and I'm sure this will be a book I will reference time and again. His writing style also made this an easy and enjoyable book to read at leisure. Well done.
Book Description
Discover a Breakthrough Model for MNCs
In a dynamic global economy, multinational corporations (MNCs) face certain competitive challenges that traditional, hierarchical hub and spoke organizations simply aren't geared to meet. But in this landmark work, Harvard Business School professor Nitin Nohria and London Business School Professor Sumantra Ghoshal present a viable alternative -- the differentiated network. Writing for managers seeking changes in their administrative systems that boost firm performance, and for academics engaged in research organization design, the authors detail how the competitive MNC can fully tap the value creation potential of its globally distributed capabilities.
Customer Reviews:
What create competitive advantage of Multi National Corporat.......2000-07-18
This book is good. It helps us to grasp reality the manager in multi National Corporation face. Based on effective theory of growth of the firm, empirical analysis implicates internal organization forms influence competitive advantage of multi National Corporation. (It support lundvall influential book on enational system and innovationf) It is interesting.
Collection of excellent academic papers.......1997-12-05
This book may treat as contiuation of Managing Across Borders. However it's more academic in content. Most content appeared in academic journals. It's valuable for whose interested in MNC management, organizational theory. Besides, focus on western MNCs, it's a great work.
Book Description
There are some fierce new competitors on the block, ready to engage your company, and you personally, in extreme competition. In this riveting new book, Peter Fingar and his colleagues from around the globe sound a penetrating wake-up call to governments, companies, and individuals alike. Bringing great urgency to the book's pages, Fingar makes it crystal clear that we are not on the brink of a great transition -- we've already crossed the threshold to a new economic world order. With precision, insight and clarity, he reveals the 5 key drivers and 16 new realities of extreme competition that are hidden in plain sight. This book begins where Thomas Friedman's popular book, The World is Flat, leaves off, but spares readers from Friedman's grandiloquent prose, and offers 13 concrete suggestions for action. This thought-provoking book, along with its companion video,
"Extreme Competition: The Keynote" is the definitive guide to winning in the new age of global competition.
Peter Fingar and his colleagues from around the globe take us on a fascinating journey of discovery of tomorrow's flat world. For entrepreneurs and incumbent business leaders alike, the implications run deep and wide.
--Rajesh Jain, Managing Director of Netcore, and Founder of IndiaWorld, Mumbai, India
Peter Fingar has fused a gem of a book under the pressure of the need for change. I started to read Extreme Competition and I could not put it down until I finished it, except what was necessary to sustain life. I rarely take time to 'drink in' a book about business revolution, but this book has the potential to guide a significant change in the way we look at business.
--Jim Sinur, VP Distinguished Analyst, Gartner Research
Extreme Competition shows in concrete detail how old assumptions and business models are being rapidly obliterated by the rise of India and China and the negation of time and distance by the Internet and global supply chain management. This is the definitive guide to business success in the new age of total global competition.
--Clyde Prestowitz, President, Economic Strategy Institute,and author of Three Billion New Capitalists
In an interconnected world, the services sector has seen varied levels innovation, often inspired by historical breakthroughs in manufacturing. At Wipro we are pioneering the use of Lean manufacturing techniques in the digitization of business processes. This innovation is our key to surviving and thriving in the world of Extreme Competition.
--Azim Premji, Chairman, Wipro Ltd., Chennai, India
Peter Fingar is exactly right that a new world of extreme competition is emerging, and that business process innovation will be its primary battleground. If you don't think that the ideas in this book are important, you simply won't be in business for very long. If you do, get busy reading about how to be successful in this brave new world.
--Thomas H. Davenport, Professor and Director, Process Management Research Center, Babson College. Author of Thinking for a Living (Harvard Business Press)
Extreme Competition is an exciting book about the realities and opportunities of the 21st Century. Its recommendations are right on, especially Fingar's call for setting the pace of sustained innovation. Of great value are the hundreds of engaging, real-life examples.
--Mark. S. Lewis, EVP and Chief Development Officer, EMC Corporation
Fingar takes the normally fuzzy topic of innovation and gives it structure. His suggestions for action are both practical and visionary.
--Patrick Whitney, Professor, and Director, Institute of Design, Illinois Institute of Technology
Peter Fingar points the direction to tomorrow's business success, clearly and persuasively. Extreme Competition examines how the Internet and global sourcing are changing the rules for all businesses and how yesterday's proven strategies aren't likely to make for tomorrow's winners. Fingar charts a roadmap to the future that no business person today should be without.
--Stan Gibson, Executive Editor, eWeek
In order to beat the competition, we must first compete against ourselves. At Cincinnati Bell we are committed to a 'defend and grow' strategy, and use bundling to engage in both defensive and offensive plays. In short, we have no choice but to be the extreme competitor described in Peter's intriguing book, nor do you.
--John F. Cassidy, CEO, Cincinnati Bell
Extreme Competition eloquently describes how companies must rethink their business strategies, from the ground up, to respond to the realities of 21st century competition.
--Bryan Maizlish, CTO, Program Team, Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems & Solutions
Today, companies must ask how an ever more connected world will change the rules in their industries. Extreme Competition offers the in-depth analysis needed to formulate those questions, and chart a path ahead.
--Edward C. Grady, CEO, Brooks Automation
Companies that have embraced Fingar's message are moving ahead, and creating innovative new business models so remarkable that in some instances they appear to give away their core products and services. How? Extreme Competition captures the moment and provides the answer.
--Steve Towers, CEO, Business Process Management Group, Warwick, England
Reading Fingar's book on the plane made up for the hockey game I missed watching. The book's pace was faster and the impact made me feel like I was on the ice getting hit. And unlike a game that is forgotten when it is over, the ideas and challenges presented in this book simply cannot be forgotten.
--Dave Hollander, Co-inventor of XML, the Lingua Franca of the Internet
Peter Fingar makes it clear that to survive in a world of extreme competition, it's essential to develop an obsessive, even paranoid, attention to business processes, and to manage them to support continuous and unrelenting innovation. Readers and companies that have low adversity quotients on this issue will become history, extremely fast.
--Kiran Garimella, Chief Architect, GE Healthcare Financial Services
Peter Fingar draws an exciting portrait of what lies ahead as globalization and technological innovation magnifies both the opportunity and competition at hand. A must read for all businesses looking to navigate this new world paradigm.
--Joseph Halpern, Partner, Halpern Capital
Customer Reviews:
Definitive guide to the impact of global competition on American business.......2006-09-11
Before writing a review of this book, I skimmed the reviews already posted. I especially made note of the fellow from Turkey who disses this book in favor of muich larger books, esp. Origin of Wealth, a book about complex adaptive systems and panaceas (e.g., Publishers Weekly writes: Though he asserts that complexity economics can reduce political partisanship and increase social capital, Beinhocker stops short of saying that it cures sexual dysfunction. By the end, the concept emerges as a great idea that the author tries to make a panacea." It's a very interesting book, especially for those who like to ponder Complexity Economics, entropy and 'fit order' and the theories of complex adaptive systems.
Let's see, if you have time on your hands, start with Friedman's World is Flat (story after story, metaphor after mixed metaphor) + Beinhocker's Origin: 1,120 pages in all.
If you don't have a lot of spare time on your hands and are looking for concise practical information, Fingar's 222 page book is as Clyde Prestowitz says: "the definitive guide to business success in the new age of total global competition." Prestowitz is the author of Three Billion New Capitalists, recommended by the fellow from Turkey. As a guide, Extreme Competition explains the 5 drivers, 16 new business realities, and 13 practical strategy paterns you'll want to consider as you come to grips with globalization. It incorporates the work of 14 expert contributors from around the globe, and was carefully edited to make the book a quick read for busy people.
The book closes with a call for readers to begin the journy to becomming extreme competitors, and has 4 pages of suggested follow-on readings to let the journey continue. So, if you want a zillion page book that covers all in this vast arena called globalization, look elsewhere. If you want a concise and comprehensive overview, and are as busy as most Americans are today, start your journey here, for globalization affects all of us, not just economists or researchers.
The good part must be in the second half.......2006-08-13
I read only the first 100 pages of this 200 page book and decided to stop there as it became obvious that it would not improve any further. However, looking at all the five star reviews of this book, I suspect the good part must indeed be the second part. I quickly went through the second aprt as well but frankly, could not find a single thing which was novel and worth reading. If you are a person who has read books like The World is Flat, Three Billion New Capitalists, China Inc., The Wal-Mart Effect, and especially the recent book "The Origin of Wealth" by Eric Beinhocker, then you will immediatelty realise how simplistic this book is. All the ineffectively-worded arguments that you find in Extreme Competition were already singled out with great depth in the other works I mention. This book does not have the depth of intellect and empirical evidence of those other much superior books. Hence I would not reccommend it to people who are looking for a good account of globalisation, and the implications of it on companies and countries. Instead, I highly reccommend the ones I have already mentioned.
"All business is global" and the U. S. is quickly losing the lead.......2006-07-15
If you are a citizen of India or China, this book will warm your heart and swell you with pride. If you are an American, it will scare you to the end of your toenails. Fingar describes the modern economic world and how it continues to change. I cannot describe him as a pessimist, although his projections describe a great deal of future economic difficulty for the United States. It is hard to tag someone as a pessimist when they are almost certainly correct.
I have seen this before, in the 1980's the mantra of fear in the United States was about the Japanese taking over the U. S. and the rest of the economic world. That turned out to be overblown but there is no doubt that the current situation with India and China is more genuine. Japan is a small country with few resources and a small population relative to the rest of the world. Furthermore, their population is growing very slowly, so this combination means that it is difficult for them to sustain significant economic growth.
That is not the case for most of the other nations of Asia. With populations measured using nine zeros to the left of the decimal point, China and India have an enormous capacity to produce goods extremely cheaply. Even a relatively insignificant $1 increase in their per capita earnings will grow their economies by over a billion dollars. However, the source of their economic power is not just in their ability to provide cheap labor for manufacturing. Both countries have embarked on significant programs to improve the technical skills of their population.
The numbers of highly skilled technical people that the university systems of India and China are producing compared to the United States is enough to make you question the future stability of the U. S. economic and social structure. Combining this with the fact that the U. S. is running enormous budget deficits that are being financed by foreign countries makes you realize that there is a crisis in the making.
Fingar uses examples and data to emphatically make his points. This is one of the few business books, and I have read a lot of them, that I couldn't put down. As I read through it, I repeated to myself, "That's right", and started thinking about ways in which I could modify my business strategies. As a decades-long news and political junkie and occasional activist, I was able to relate his case studies to the past and projections for the future. The business and political leadership of this country needs to get a symbolic swift kick in the sit-down in order to get motivated to face the fierce realities of business in the 21st century. Fingar provides a great deal of excellent advice on how to survive and thrive in the modern world. In politics, the phrase is "All politics is local." The modern slogan for business is now, "All business is global."
The definitive guide.......2006-06-04
Rarely does a book break from the pack and proclaim its message so clearly and pragmatically. We recommend this book as the most practical guidance as to why the rules of business have changed. Forever.
The Dawning of the Age of the Customer is outlined with succinct examples - Zara's profound 'outside in' approach compared with their retailing competitiors for example.
This is my personal favorite for 2006, and I have no hestitation in recommending it to friends, colleagues and the global business community!
Steve Towers, CEO & co-founder, BPM Group (www.bpmg.org)
Great read in understanding realities associated with global competition.......2006-05-11
This book provides a pulse of what is going on in the world in terms of competition. The lines between geographical boundaries are blurred and Peter provides some good examples that all global businesses must be aware of. If you produce products domestically in the USA, you better be aware of competition at a global level. Extreme Competition drives home the point that the world is a smaller place and businesses need to adapt to the new business environment. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending how you look at it, the USA is going through some interesting economic transitions in order to adjust to the increase competition from overseas. Take oil for example, there is a direct correlation to the increased price due to competing buyers (i.e. India and China). This is only one of many examples you can gain from reading this book. The book is a must read for anyone who does not have the opportunity to travel overseas and experience the examples Peter has seen first hand. In many ways this book is a portal view into the global environment around us. I highly recommend it.
Book Description
Important revolutions of the past 30 years include the Internet, personal computers, the XML programming language, and the breakup of AT&T. What do they have in common? All are based on innovations that break technology apart. After breaking a technology apart, it still works -- phone calls could still be made after the breakup of AT&T -- but it is composed of smaller and more flexible pieces that can be used to create new innovations. This process is called "disaggregation," so named because the pieces of the technology that were formerly stuck together are pried apart but not destroyed. Using the simple metaphor of the pebble and the avalanche -- prying rocks loose from a mountaintop releases tremendous energy -- this book explains the workings and benefits of disaggregation. Author Yudkowsky uses case studies from familiar companies and industries to explain how to generate similar innovations, in the process identifying strategies and tactics that maximize these innovations.
Customer Reviews:
A fresh perspective on an important topic.......2006-11-18
Thank you Moshe Yudkowsky for providing an innovative approach to . . . innovation. The Pebble and the Avalanche gives readers a new and exciting view of and approach to finding new products, systems and processes in their business. Not only did this book give me new tools to use for innovation, it inspired me to find new approaches to the challenges in my own business.
A Genius, An Engineer and An Educator.......2006-05-17
A genius sees an ordinary events and formulates an extraordinary theory. An engineer applies theory into practical business. An educator explains profound thoughts with simple language. Dr. Moshe Yudkowsky is all of the above.
The book, The Pebble and The Avalanche, is brilliant. The theory even applies to China, from the huge tight boulder-like society into pebbles of entrepreneurs. We can all feel the energy that released from the phenomena that Dr. Yudkowsky described in the book. A must read for anyone from the high tech, high society to the emerging entrepreneurs.
great book.......2006-03-01
I thought this was a great book to read; it was also and easy read. This book was very creative with its views and points. I recommend everyone to read this book.
Thought provoking view on innovation.......2006-02-22
The Pebble and the Avalanche is a wonderful book. Moshe Yudkowsky's ground-breaking concepts regarding Disaggregation are both thought provoking and practical. I found myself putting the book down to apply his concepts across a wide range of business challenges. His book has helped me see technology innovations in a new light.
The Pebble and the Avalanche, What a Treat, Just great.......2006-02-14
Moshe Yudkowsky presents an interesting comcept in disaggregation as a management tool to get more energy out of the whole organization rather the pooling it together. He brings in good examples that bring his ideas to full growth.
This book is a good book for management professionals, Owners and operators of large and small business, and anyone interest in the concept of disaggregation.
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The Economics of Localized Technological Change and Industrial Dynamics (Economics of Science, Technology and Innovation)
C. Antonelli
Manufacturer: Springer
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ASIN: 0792329104 |
Book Description
The concept of localized technological change is emerging at the crossroads of different approaches to the economics of innovation and new technologies. The term `localized technological change' refers to the introduction of technological changes which make possible an increase in total factor productivity within only a limited range of techniques defined by the levels of factor intensity. This contrasts with `generalized technological change', which is defined as the global shift of all the techniques represented on the map of isoquants of the neoclassical tradition.
The Economics of Localized Technological Change elaborates the notion of localized technology with respect to firms, factor substitution, sectors, regions and techniques. It also assesses the implications for industrial policy, technology and innovation policy. The book will be of interest to corporate policy makers, scholars of industrial organization and economics of innovation as well as business school students.
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- A "call from practice" for strategic management of discontinuous technologies and radical innovation
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Sustained Innovation Management: Assimilating Radical and Incremental Innovation Management
Gaston Trauffler
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
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ASIN: 0230001971
Release Date: 2007-02-06 |
Book Description
Successful management of radical innovation is a key to growth. Managing radical innovation involves decisions for risky projects and unknown markets with a high growth potential. This research work identifies nearly 40 best practice cases illustrating processes, methods and organizational structures that enhance successful management with radical innovations. The practice cases selected from over 90 interviews with global technology-driven companies are framed in an overall strategic management concept that helps you to navigate through some the most difficult phases in a radical innovation project.
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A "call from practice" for strategic management of discontinuous technologies and radical innovation.......2007-07-19
NOTE: The copy I have identifies co-authors, Gaston Trauffler and Hugo P. Tschirky.
By now, I have become convinced that an organization's performance in two separate but related areas - management of knowledge and of innovation - will probably determine whether or not it survives. That is why I recently read with great interest this book as well as Francois Dupuy's Sharing Knowledge. Think about it: An organization can neither initiate change nor respond effectively to it without sufficient information; the same is true when an organization must assimilate radical and incremental innovation management, and do so over an extended period of time.
In the final chapter of Sustained Innovation Management, Gaston Trauffler and Hugo P. Tschirky observe that "Rare are those companies that actively seize the challenge of designing their management approaches and organizational structures in a way that takes competitive advantage of discontinuous technologies or that actively and constantly generates radical innovations. The poor performance of companies meeting this challenge is rooted in two main gaps. On the one hand, the understanding of implications of today's management approaches for this management challenge is missing. On the other hand, there is a lack of applicable concepts for the strategic management of discontinuous technologies and radical innovation." Trauffler and Tschirky wrote this book this book to share what their years of research, and, to provide their analysis of what they perceive to be the nature and implications of those revelations.
They carefully organize their material within six chapters. First, they describe the "call from practice and the management encounters when challenged by the management of radical innovation and discontinuous technologies." They then shift their attention to a review of relevant research currently available. Next, they analyze state-of-the-art management practices as revealed in three corporate case studies. In Chapter 4, they offer a new management approach for strategically managing radical innovations, share the results of several interviews, and cite other corporate case studies. In the next chapter, they describe management principles that "purely address management's concern in management summary style." Finally, the share their "outlook" and then provide a management summary.
For me, some of the most valuable material in the book is provided in Chapter 4 as Trauffler and Tschirky introduce a concept whose development is based on the nine propositions [identified on Pages 77-78] that suggest a possible design of processes, methods, and structures that will enable a practitioner-oriented planning concept for sustained innovation management." There are four development phases, each of which involves several process phases: identification, evaluation, decision and implementation. When concluding this important chapter, Trauffler and Tschirky offer a necessary disclaimer, noting that "the concept designed to fulfill all of the nine propositions is one possible solution for the strategic management of sustained innovation. It thus represents one potential contribution to the lack of concepts for successfully mastering sustained innovation. It should not be regarded as the [begin italics] only effective way [end italics] to achieve sustained innovation. Further, the concept is focused exclusively on the procedure of strategic innovation planning. There may be other factors that also play an important role besides choosing the right procedure for planning." Indeed there are.
More a quibble than a complaint, Trauffler and Tschirky frequently insert references to other sources as well as to case studies and illustrations. For example, "the stability that organizations are naturally striving for (Scigliano, 2003:9) has clearly disintegrated over the last few decades (D'Aveni, 1994: 227; Nault and Vandenbosch, 1998: 171)." Although this is obviously an issue of style and format, I think it is very irritating; worse yet, it disrupts the flow of the prose narrative and distracts at least this reader's attention from the otherwise solid material.
That said, this is an especially informative and thought-provoking book in which Trauffler and Tschirky make a strong argument for companies making an organizational commitment to effective management of sustained innovation to initiate as well as respond to discontinuous technology changes. As they themselves suggest, "to seize the challenge of designing their management approaches and organizational structures in a way that takes competitive advantage of discontinuous technologies or that actively and constantly generates radical innovations."
Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Seeing What's Next co-authored by Clayton M. Christensen, Scott D. Anthony, and Erik A. Roth. Also, Henry Chesbrough's Open Innovation and Open Business Models, W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne's Blue Ocean Strategy, Enterprise Architecture as Strategy co-authored by Jeanne W. Ross, Peter Weill, and David Robertson, Dean R. Spitzer's Transforming Performance Management, and Richard Ogle's Smart World.
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The Economics of Persistent Innovation: An Evolutionary View (Economics of Science, Technology and Innovation)
Manufacturer: Springer
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ASIN: 0387288724 |
Book Description
The Economics of Persistent Innovation presents papers that provide definitions of persistence in firm innovative behavior, establish the significance of persistence, present a theory of persistence, and examine empirical evidence regarding both the extent of, and the determinants of, persistence. They survey previous studies which have commented on persistence and present new data describing trends in the persistence in innovation. The book discusses the main determinants of persistence and the reasons for its systematic heterogeneity across industries, technologies and countries. The book first focuses on the determinants of persistence in innovation. This topic is analyzed in several ways, including a Markovian model of innovation. The characteristics of persistent inventors as revealed in patent data are explored for many industrial countries. An evolutionary theory of persistence in innovation is proposed. In conclusion we draw some policy implications for support and development of innovation.
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