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When the pharmaceuticals giant Merck reports
promising results for a potential "blockbuster"
drug, the story makes the evening news. Now, at a time when
new product development has become critical to success in
so many industries, The Development Factory proves
that process innovation -- not just product innovation --
can be the key to competitive edge,
In this multiyear study of pharmaceutical
and biotechnology firms, Gary Pisano explores the dynamics
of superior product and process development in a highly
competitive industry that lives and dies by its R&D
and depends heavily on rapid time to market. His work reveals
that behind the success of many new product introductions
lies the development of novel process technologies that
provide lower costs, higher quality, and increased flexibility.
Pisano challenges the widely help product-process
life cycle view of competition, which suggests that industries
tend to emphasize either product innovation or process innovation.
He also questions the notion that there is a conflict between
pursuit of product innovation and pursuit of lower costs,
arguing that product development and process development
capabilities are complementary.
Extending the lessons to a wide variety
of manufacturing industries, The Development Factory
will guide companies toward unlocking the potential of process
development and understanding the patterns of organizational
behavior and managerial actions that help create and implement
new capabilities over time.
Gary P. Pisano is an associate professor
at the Harvard Business School in the technology and operations
management area, where he specializes in manufacturing strategy
and development of new process technology. He is the co-author
of Strategic Operations: Competing Through Capabilities
and co-editor of Manufacturing Renaissance (HBS
Press).
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