Creative Destruction: Business Survival Strategies in the Global Internet Economy

Book Description

More than fifty years ago, Joseph Schumpeter stated that processes intrinsic to a capitalist society produce a "creative destruction," whereby innovations destroy obsolete technologies, only to be assaulted in turn by newer and more efficient rivals. This book asks whether the current chaotic state of the telecommunications and related Internet industries is evidence of creative destruction, or simply a result of firms, governments, and others wasting valuable resources with limited benefits to society as a whole. In telecommunications, for example, wireless, IP, and cable-based technologies are all fighting for a share of the market currently dominated by older, circuit-switched, copper-terminated networks. This process is accompanied by mergers, acquisitions, bankruptcies, and investment and divestment in worldwide markets.

The selections discuss the primary challenge facing firms, governments, and other players: how to exploit the opportunities created by such destructive dynamics. They highlight the importance of national regulations promoting competition and nonmonopolistic market structures, as well as the role of new technologies such as the Internet in driving down the price and speeding the diffusion of innovative products and services in telecommunications, media, electronic retailing, and other "new economy" industries.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting reading and analytic edge.......2001-11-08

It is a thorough analysis of the technological advances of our era and the depth of the internet industry. I was particularly interested in the implications for Latin America and the technological transfer from liberalization. It is a useful book for practictioners and for more academic minds.

schumpeter revisited.......2001-07-19

Creative Destruction presents a fascinating revival of an old concept in the context of recent technological developments and innovation. It offers a brilliant account of how information technologies accelerate the process of creative destruction today and helps understand how information society articulates with in a wider framework of economic history. Those interested in Latin America will appreciate, in particluar, the recent developments in the telecommunications industry in the region.

A thoughtful and highly useful book.......2001-07-10

This is an outstanding collection of articles. These papers combine scholarly depth with usefulness for practitioners. They will help you understand where we've been and forecast where we are going with the Internet. I teach courses on Internet Business Strategy and will use this collection next year. My favorites are Baumol's "Innovation and Creative Destruction; McKnight's "Internet Business Models: Creative Destruction as Usual" and Lehr's "A New Theory of the Internet Firm." They provide a solid conceptual basis for understanding the implications of the Internet economy. One thing truly unique about this book is the thoughtful and detailed discussions of the implications of the Internet on international business. There are six papers that focus on these issues. I have not seen this anywhere else. In a world where people publish books peddling derivative nostrums about the network economy, it's a pleasure to finally find one that deals with these issues in a serious, thoughtful and, most of all, useful way.

A Lego Box of Valuable Ideas.......2001-05-08

Rather than focusing on a single angle and building a long argument in its favor, this compendium's treatment of diverse dimensions of creative destruction lets the reader paint his or her own picture of the net effects of Schumpeter's famous concept. The book's 11 articles touch on topics as diverse as the future of telecommunications firms in a Net-centric world, the impact of regulatory reform on the Internet in Europe, the institutional barriers to Internet-driven creative destruction in Japan, and the impact of open-source software business models.

Creative Destruction is a Lego-box of interesting ideas that managers and academics can recombine into constructs valuable to their work, teaching, or research. I found it very rich reading.

A Multi-Dimensional Examination of a Basic Concept.......2001-04-13

There are three recent publications with the same title (Creative Destruction) whose authors correlate Joseph Schumpeter's concept of "creative destruction" with the contemporary business world. Foster and Kaplan explain "why companies that are built to last underperform the market -- and how to successfully transform them" whereas in their work, Nolan and Croson offer "a six-stage process for transforming the organization." In the third volume co-edited by McKnight, Vaaler, and Katz, various authors and co-authors of 13 anthologized essays examine various "business survival strategies for the global Internet economy." I highly recommend all three volumes as well as two of Schumpeter's works: Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, and, Essays: On Entrepreneurs, Innovations, Business Cycles, and the Evolution of Capitalism.

This book grew out of a symposium held at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in the spring of 1999. The topic was "Creative Destruction -- or Just Destruction?" Those who presented papers were asked to address "the key technological, regulatory, organizational, and competitive dynamics compelling change in the way firms and stakeholders do business in an increasingly global and Internet-centric society." At the symposium there were (and in this volume there are) four points which are consistent with the theme of "creative destruction":

The Destruction of Traditional Industry Structures

The Destruction of Traditional Regulatory Structures

The Destruction of Traditional Competitive Positioning Strategies

The Destruction of Traditional Technological Assumptions

It is important to keep in mind that this is not a manual. Although there are numerous suggestions, checklists, points of emphasis, graphic illustrations, and examples offered, the volume's primary purpose is to stimulate continued discussion and debate on the major challenges now facing firms, governments, and other players -- while suggesting "how to exploit the new opportunities created by creative dynamics."

The material is organized within five Parts: Introduction, Theory and Practice of Creative Destruction, The Global Context for Creative Destruction, Business Destruction Strategies in the Global Internet Economy, and Creative Business Survival Strategies. For the reader's convenience, the editors offer brief comments about each subject and about each of those who address it. After reading the excellent Introduction, you may decide not to read the everything that follows from beginning to end. In that event, select what is directly relevant to your and your organization's most immediate and urgent needs and interests. (In all probability, some of those needs and interests will soon change.) The editors provide three supplementary sections (Contributors, Notes, and References) which assist and encourage further study as well as "continued discussion and debate."

I am curious to know what Schumpeter would say about the material in this book if he were discussing it as I am now. My guess (only a guess) is that he would observe that his basic concept of "creative destruction" remains relevant but the process is occurring at an ever-increasing velocity and in ways and to an extent he could not have envisioned 50-60 years ago. Another guess (only a guess) is that, based on what is now happening (and not happening) in the global community, he would suggest that process of "creative destruction" in all organizations (regardless of their size or nature) has only begun. The Chinese character for the word "crisis" has two meanings: "peril" and "opportunity." For many (perhaps most) organizations, the process of creative destruction means death; for others, it offers the opportunity for at least survival and perhaps regeneration. The authors represented in this superb volume help us to understand the differences between the two groups....also, the probable consequences of those differences.

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Evolutionary Economics and Creative Destruction
J. Metcalfe
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 041540648X

Book Description

The central theme of this book is competition treated as an evolutionary process in which the focus is upon economic change and not economic equilibrium. This theme is explored by linking together differences in economic behaviour with the role of markets as co-ordinating institutions. In this picture innovation plays a central role as a primary source of differential behaviour of firms and the purpose of the book is to identify the consequences of these differences for competition and competitive advantage.

Download Description

The central theme of this book is competition treated as an evolutionary process in which the focus is upon economic change and not economic equilibrium.

Book Description

First published in 1934

Amazon.com

Ideal for IT managers and developers working on e-commerce projects, Professional Java E-Commerce shows off how to design and program working e-stores and other enterprise Web applications powered by Java. This book is a guide to the nuts and bolts of Java used for e-commerce sites, and it also surveys the management and design issues that any organization will face when doing business online.

The first sections give an IT manager's perspective on integrating e-commerce initiatives into your organization, whether they're B2B, B2C, or m-commerce initiatives. The coverage achieves considerable depth. As well as terms you've already heard about, the team authors also look at B2B2C and C2B2C scenarios. They cover project planning for successful e-commerce software development and today's n-tiered architectures for scalability, and provide a quite thorough discussion of the security issues surrounding e-commerce.

The book then delves into actual sample source code for a variety of e-commerce applications, beginning with a traditional online store (for selling computers) with a product catalog and a shopping basket. Written with simple JSP, this site gets enhanced later using state-of-the-art Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) for better scalability and performance. Hands-on advice for using tools like BEA WebLogic Application Server (something of an industry standard) will help you apply your knowledge to real projects. Further examples look at real-world instances of corporate e-commerce in action, including working code for a portal Web site, a supply chain application (using XML), and a workflow Web application. The book closes with newer technologies like m-commerce (in which business is conducted through wireless devices) and smart cards.

The working source code and real-world perspective help distinguish this text in its presentation of some emerging Java enterprise-level technologies. For many working Java developers or managers, Professional Java E-Commerce can help shift the odds in your favor for that next big e-commerce project with its mix of canny advice and very practical sample source code that shows the right ways to use Java to write several high-end enterprise e-commerce solutions. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered:

E-commerce business strategy and planning
Types and business impact of e-commerce (including B2C, B2B, B2B2C, C2C, C2B2C, and m-commerce)
Business requirements for e-commerce applications (including technological and business considerations)
E-commerce project planning (software project management and process)
Guide to architecting e-commerce applications (technical requirements and architecture)
Overview of the Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) and its support for e-commerce
Design approaches and components for e-commerce
Introduction to XML and XSLT
Security issues for online business (including Java security, authentication, and authorization)
Sample B2C online computer store
Usability issues (searching, feedback, and membership and internationalization)
Data validation techniques for user input (client-side and server-side options)
Adding Enterprise JavaBeans to the e-commerce site
Using BEA WebLogic
Case study for a custom portal
Case study for a B2B solution using XML/XSLT to share data between systems in the supply chain
Mass integration with the Java Message Service (JMS)
Introduction to application service providers (ASPs)
Case studies for a workflow application and a corporate purchasing Web site
Introduction to m-commerce
WAP and WML
Smart cards
XML and XSLT primer

Book Description

The term e-commerce encompasses a spectrum of trading interactions from the business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions that facilitate Web-based retail trade, to business-to-business (B2B) data exchange that increases supply chain efficiency. This book shows how the Java platform and Java technologies can be, and have been, employed to develop solutions that address these scenarios.

To allow readers to gain a full appreciation of the diversity of topics involved in building e-commerce solutions, the book consists of five main sections. We begin by looking at the general area of e-business and the commercial considerations surrounding such application development. We then look at the Java 2 Platform Enterprise Edition (J2EE), XML, and XSLT. Building on this, we discuss the development of B2C sites for online selling and the design of effective portal sites. Our fourth section is devoted to the expanding area of B2B commerce where XML and XSLT are proving invaluable. Finally, we highlight new developments in the area of m-commerce and see how Java technologies can be used to facilitate trading anywhere. A particular feature of the book is the inclusion of case studies that provide hard won information on the challenges of building effective B2C and B2B applications in the real world.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent coverage.......2002-12-09

This is the only book that covers such a wide range of issues relating to the application of Java to e-commerce. Although there are subjects that experienced users would certainly prefered to see treated in more depth this is an invaluable resource to those that need to get the big picture to a level that is practical and useful for understanding application and designing solutions. Well done.

Out of date and filled with fluff.......2002-10-27

Of all the technical books I've read this one qualifies as the worst. It's out of date, but even when it was new it would justify my opinion.

It attempts to cover too wide an area of subjects, and manages to either state the obvious (as in the first chapters that make a sophmoric attempt to define e-commenrce), to display questionable knowledge on the part of contributing authors, as in the section that lamely attempts to discuss architecture. The section on architecture should have been written by someone who could write and who understood architecture. Unfortunately I got the impression that the authors had neither qualifications.

The case studies were interesting, but were not sufficiently insightful to warrant buying this book that those alone.

There are positives to this book though. It weighs nearly 6 pounds, making it suitable as a doorstop. Having photos of all of the authors who contributed on the front cover is helpful if you conduct interviews since it helps in the screen process in case one of them shows up for an interview or tries to come in as a consultant.

My advice is to avoid this book. There are much better ones that cover the subjects in it.

Disappointing.......2002-10-25

There are a few good sections in this book (mainly the chapters that deal with WebLogic and the appendices of primers and reference material that comprise Section 6). However, considering that this book weighs in at over 1000 pages, its mainly fluff or glib (but not helpful), with too much material that states the obvious.

Much of the fluff is found in Section 1 (The E-Commerce Landscape), and Section 2 (Architecting Java-Based E-Commerce Systems) was, in my opinion, a glossed over, high-level overview that was used as filler.

Sections 3 (B2C E-Commerce Solutions) and 4 (B2B E-Commerce Solutions) have a few interesting chapters in each. My main complaint here is that Section 3 is a mix of solutions and techniques, while Section 4 is purely solution-focused. Section 5 (M-Commerce) is too light to be useful, and most of the material is already woefully out of date.

My recommendation is to pass this book up and, instead, seek out single-topic books that address the subjects in which you're interested.

Where's the e-commerce, where's the professionality?.......2002-04-07

I can't believe the rating some people give this book. This book touches a lot of areas with little depth. The book contains a lot of filling with no practical usable things.

The information on practical Java E-commerce is very limited, and if you need usable information on JSP, Application Servers, ... I suggest you buy books about the specific areas you need information on. Even if this book was intended to be a high level overview on E-commerce it would miss its mark.

Ecellent overview of a wide range of topics.......2001-07-27

The Audience for this Book

Java E-Commerce is aimed at people who already know Java and need to evaluate the technologies available. I first I wondered what the target audience would be, if you are a programmer you might not get to choose the technologies and if you are a manager you might not have the time or inclination to learn about these technologies in such depth. I now appreciate that they are appropriate for just about anyone except a beginner, most programmers need to know what technologies are available and managers need to know what the programmers are talking about.

How the book is organised

The book is divided into five sections starting with The E-commerce Landscape. This didn't tell me much I didn't already know, evolution of internet... exciting, define e-commerce....arpanet, web browsers etc etc. All scene setting stuff, but you can't have a fairy story without "once upon a time". Things get a little more interesting with Section 2, "Architecting Java Based e-commerce systems".

Some parts of the web world assume that "everyone uses Microsoft Internet Explorer". The authors of this book recognize that in the future your audience might well be WebTV, a mobile phone or PDA. Although there is plenty of coverage of specific Java technologies such as EJB and Servlets the book recognises that most developments will have to fit in with legacy systems and that the heart of the task is to give the potential purchaser a usable and easy browsing experiences.

Much of the material covers topics I already knew about superficially. Some crucial aspects covered are EJB, XML and JMS. I was fairly stunned to note a mention of the Log4J technology from the Apache group. If you haven't come across Log4J, go to the Apache org web site and download it. I challenge anyone not to find a use for it in any non trivial application. Even allowing for the time it takes to put a book together this illustrates that the authors are right at the front of developing technologies, absorb what these people say, they know what they are talking about.

Plenty of XML Coverage

The topic of XML runs though large parts of the book. Chapter 16 gives an interesting overview of the emerging standards in XML dtd's. There are a raft of competing standards and the dust is yet to clear on which ones will be generally adopted. Chapter 13 has an in-depth discussion of an Intelligent Assistant, ie a natural language parser system to allow customers to interact with a virtual shop assistant. I thought this was interesting in an academic way but I suspect that the number of people who will actually adopt this technology would be very small indeed. The

Bits I enjoyed most

The part I enjoyed most was a part I thought I might not even get around to reading which was Chapter 23, "In the MarketPlace, Corporate Purchasing". This is written in a laconic style by people who obviously have plenty of real world experience. Mixed in with headings like " Characteristics of Corporate Purchasing Systems are titles like "The headaches of having more than one partner." At the end of this chapter are 4 case studies that made me smile for all the right reasons. I did my post graduate education in Software after I had a decade of experience in the industry. It used to annoy me that the lecturers insisted on describing an ideal world that I knew did not exist. I get annoyed by technical books that insist that by following their golden recipes everything will go perfectly. The 4 case studies illustrate that things rarely go to plan, frequently do not go as expected and sometimes have to use horrible solutions but can still solve the problems. If you are browsing your local book shop, pick up this book and jump to the end of chapter 23.

I try to read everything I can about emerging net and Java technologies but I learnt a whole slew of new things reading Java E-Commerce. Notably the nature of B2B technologies. I had rather foolishly assumed it was just more web applications where the person using the browser at one end was in a business and connecting to a server at another business. It actually refers to using web technologies to replace the automated EDI technologies that large corporations have been using for years. I found the topic of XSLT transformations fascinating in that it explains how to get around the incompatibilities between different forms of XML used by different companies. If two companies use different DTDs to structure their XML XSLT can be used to convert between the formats. Until I read that section I had thought of XSLT as a way of transforming XML into nicely formatted HTML.

I found the chapter on M-commerce (transactions via mobile devices) to be interesting as a primer on what can be done via mobile devices, but I suspect you could fit everyone who has ever placed an order via a mobile phone, in my living room and still have space for unexpected visitors.
The book gives a high level coverage of a wide range of related Java technologies by people who appear to have actually worked with them on real world projects. The authors seem to have actually used the technologies in the real world rather than just read the documents and played with a few toy applications. It gives you enough to evaluate how and where you would use each of the technologies and examples of how people have used it in real projects.

Should you buy it?

If you want to be aware of what technologies are available and find out how they can be applied then this is an excellent buy. If you want to start to learn and implement any of the topics mentioned from scratch, you would be better off buying a book that caters specifically for that topic.
...

Average customer rating:
Professional Java E-Commerce (International Edition)

Manufacturer: Shroff Publishers India
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 8173661022

Product Description

Publisher: Shroff Publishers IndiaEdition: First International

Book Description

Fulfilling the Export Potential of Small and Medium Firms addresses the question, `How can economic policy contribute to a strong export performance by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries?' In today's increasingly integrated world economy, such a performance can make a significant difference to the growth, employment creation and income distribution of many developing countries. The study uses information from specifically designed surveys of SME exporters in Japan, Indonesia, Korea and Colombia, together with a range of evidence from other sources, to ascertain what types of support within the areas of technology, marketing and finance are most useful to SME exporters and how such support can best be provided to them. The quality of the support systems is found to vary widely among the four countries. Finally, a number of policy conclusions are put forward.

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Business Communication: Writing, Interviewing and Speaking at Work
Randall E. Majors
Manufacturer: Harpercollins College Div
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0060441836

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Business Communication: Writing, Interviewing and Speaking at Work
Randall E. Majors
Manufacturer: Harpercollins College Div
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OEHTSS

Book Description

Those who want jobs in the media, newspaper, and broadcasting fields will find valuable insights in this book. In the resumes in this book you will see jobs such as Radio Account Executive, TV Account Executive, Art Director, Book Editor, Book Publisher, Broadcasting Intern, Commercial Photographer, Disc Jockey, Freelance Journalist, Graphic Designer, Morning Talk Show Host, Newspaper Journalist, Classified Advertising Manager, News Photographer, Public Affairs Specialist, Radio & TV Producer, Television Producer, Production Assistant, and many other jobs. Nearly all resumes have companion cover letters.

Customer Reviews:

creative resume formats.......2002-12-30

a creative reference for creative job searchers
hands on--i utilized the info contained in this book which aided me in my job search
good format of the book--large 8 X 10 format--east to read
plenty of room to write in the book on the pages etc

Book Description

Financially Secure addresses women from all walks of life and takes them through all stages of financial health. Whether a reader is married, single, divorced, widowed, or a college student, this book will give her a total money program for becoming financially aware and secure. Building a financial portfolio may be uncomfortable and unfamiliar territory for some, but as a reader learns all of the ins and outs of the financial world, she will be empowered with strength.

Financially Secure will enable readers to:

Protect their finances

Set financial goals

Create a budget and prioritize debts

Understand the various types of investing options and the risks involved.

Filled with anecdotes from McNaughton's experiences, along with interactive elements that help readers apply material as they go, the book allows women to assess where they are financially and then offers solutions to get them where they want to be. Ideal for women needing to 'clean up' the record and consequences of past financial mistakes, or for those desiring to be proactive and make educated financial plans, Financially Secure can help women in all stages of financial health to honor God with their finances.

Average customer rating:

This author needs a fact checker

Inter-Tel: Against the Odds, the First 30 Years
Jeffrey L. Rodengen
Manufacturer: Write Stuff Enterprises
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Company Profiles | Biography & History | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0945903316

Book Description

Against All Odds: Inter-Tel The First 30 Years is a study of how a small business can thrive in the shadow of a corporate giant like AT&T. In 1969 a driven salesman and entrepreneur named Steve Mihaylo, took on the telephone monopoly shortly after court decisions forced AT&T to allow non-AT&T equipment to be connected to its network. Emerging from a one-man office with a desk made of an old door nailed to the wall, this company grew through consultative selling. Using the companys relative small size as an asset, Inter-Tel found it could more quickly adapt its product to customer needs and was able to bring innovations to market at a speed only dreamed of by its larger competitors. To most people in the 1970s, the merger of computers and telephones was a far-fetched proposition. Mihaylo committed to growing his business through increased research into microprocessors. This costly gamble allowed Inter-Tel to introduce the first microprocessor-based phone system, bringing features never before available to small businesses. As a result, in 1981 Mihaylo took his company public. Opening at $12.50 a share, the stock sold out its initial offering in 30 minutes and reached $16 per share. By 1982 the stock reached $54 a share, and it was a tremendous financial success. Just one year after such notable success, tragedy loomed, and Inter-Tel experienced unexpected disconnection problems on its key phone system the SPK. As a result, Inter-Tel was forced to redesign its product. Assembling a team of talented software engineers, a new more programmable phone was created, and once again this innovative company was poised for tremendous growth. Using its financial acumen, Inter-Tel introduced its own financing program, and purchased several distributors in order to handle the growth in sales that resulted. In Inter-Tels quest for the most efficient selling relationships, it created the most flexible product for its customers, and a very capable sales force that could sell all of the benefits of the new phone system. Today, as Inter-Tel introduces a new Internet based long distance phone system to the market, it is poised for even greater growth and continued long-term success. Inter-Tel has perfected a customer driven formula for success. This formula is initiated by engaging a talented sales force that can discover the clients exact needs. Next, Inter-Tel employs technology to customize a phone system that affordably meets the clients exact needs. Then Inter-Tel finances its products and remains in contact to offer system upgrades that fulfill future needs. Clients find that this approach builds a relationship and leads to better customer service. In this era of diminished customer service, these basic steps can be applied to almost any business, resulting in lasting success. Entrepreneurs will find this work insightful. This book showcases real-world methods used in growing a small business to a large one and addresses issues of managing growth, increasing financial strength and attracting talented employees to a small business.

Customer Reviews:

This author needs a fact checker.......2006-05-22

Jeffrey L. Rodengen is a writer/publisher who specializes in small circulation corporate ego books, with such sleep-inducing titles as "The Legend of Litton Industries" and "The Spirit of AMD."

His company boasts of "meticulous research," and that one of Jeff's specialties is "advanced technology." The book acknowledges "accurate and resourceful" research assistants.

These folks produced a book about phone system maker Inter-Tel (now selling at Amazon for 41 cents), that is filled with easily-avoidable errors.

For example, Jeff claims that in the early 1970s, "there were no domestic phone system manufacturers except AT&T," inexplicably ignoring GTE (with roots going back to 1892), Stromberg-Carlson (1894), ITT (1897), and Northern Telecom (founded in 1895 in Canada and operating a US factory since 1972).

Jeff also misspells company names, and confuses intercom systems with phone systems.

The book is very frustrating because it has a lot of material that is interesting to its intended audience; but errors put its authority in doubt. Readers who might know more than the author does about some things, don't know what they can believe.

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