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Here is a practical model for business leaders
striving to innovate and succeed in today's competitive
marketplace. But more than that, Utterback tells engaging
tales of industry transformation throughout the decades
-- ranging from the birth of typewriters to the emergence
of personal computers, from gas lamps to fluorescent lighting.
George Eastman's amateur photography to electronic imaging
-- capturing the personalities, the historical background,
and the inspirational and instructive kernel in each.
In this era of rapid technological development,
understanding the dynamics of industrial innovation is essential
to a company's survival and success. Indeed, business leaders
must learn to harness the power of innovation to avoid being
outpaced by competitors. In Mastering the Dynamics of
Innovation, Utterback explores the rich history of innovation
by skillfully applying insights from the past to develop
a framework for the present, illustrating how innovation
enters an industry, how mainstream firms typically respond,
and how new and old players wrestle for dominance. In developing
this model, Utterback examines industries over long periods
of time to discover patterns in the way innovation is introduced,
adopted, and then replaced by yet further innovation.
Utterback asserts that existing organizations
must consistently embrace innovation, even when it appears
to undermine traditional strengths. With the wisdom of hindsight,
he challenges today's managers to abandon past successes
and pursue a strategy of bold innovation, while continuously
renewing technical core capabilities. Readers of this book
will come away with a thorough understanding of:
- how a dominant product design changes
the basis of competition
- how product technologies are displaced
by successive waves of innovation
- why most major innovations come from
industry outsiders
- how product and process innovations are
linked
- how established firms respond when a
radical innovation invades a stable industry
- why many firms fail to successfully bridge
generations of technology
Of interest not just to managers but also
to social historians and others interested in science and
technology developments, Mastering the Dynamics of Innovation
leaves readers not only with a deeper knowledge of the issues
surrounding innovation, but also with a practical guide
for implementing innovative strategies to ensure the success
of their own companies.
James M. Utterback is professor of management
and engineering at MIT.
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