How Transformative Innovations Shaped the Rise of Nations: From Ancient Rome to Modern America

Over the last 2,000 years, critical innovations have transformed small regions into global powers. But these powers have faded when they did not embrace the next big innovation. Gerard J. Tellis and Stav Rosenzweig argue that openness to new ideas and people, empowerment of individuals and competition are key drivers in the development and adoption of transformative innovations. These innovations, in turn, fuel economic growth, national dominance and global leadership. In How Transformative Innovations Shaped the Rise of Nations, Tellis and Rosenzweig examine the transformative qualities of concrete in Rome; swift equine warfare in Mongolia; critical navigational innovations in the golden ages of Chinese, Venetian, Portuguese and Dutch empires; the patent system and steam engine in Britain; and mass production in the United States of America.

Gerard J. Tellis is professor, Neely Chair of American Enterprise and director of the Center for Global Innovation at the Marshall School of Business, University of South California, USA. He is an expert in innovation, advertising, social media, new product growth and global market entry. Associate editor of the Journal of Marketing Research, Tellis is the author of 6 books and over 100 articles (http://www.gtellis.net) and has won more than 20,000 citations and 20 awards for his publications.

Stav Rosenzweig is assistant professor of marketing and business strategy at the Guilford Glazer Faculty of Business and Management, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel. An expert in innovation management and knowledge creation, Rosenzweig’s research focuses on the interrelations of innovation, knowledge and public policy in business strategy and consumer behavior.