The Development Factory: Unlocking the Potential of Process Innovation - Hardcover

Pisano, Gary P.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0875846505 ISBN 13: 9780875846507

Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press, 1996

Synopsis

Gary Pisano argues that the development of distinctive and superior process technologies is a key source of competitive advantage. In a multi-year study of international pharmaceutical firms (with references to a variety of other industries), he challenges the widely held product/process life cycle view of competition, which suggests that industries tend to emphasize either product innovation or process innovation. He also offers a set of recommendations for the practices and approaches that can be used to unlock the potential of process development. In doing so, he provides a window into the more general phenomenon of how organizations create, select, and implement new capabilities.

About this title

About the Author

Gary P. Pisano is the Harry E. Figgle Jr. Professor of Business Administration and Head of the Technology and Operations Management unit at Harvard Business School.

From the Back Cover

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 held 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.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0875846505
• ISBN 13: 9780875846507
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 343