THE BOOK
CHAPTER SUMMARY
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Chapter 2
Strategy and Corporate Culture in High-Tech Firms |
Many large firms struggle mightily with the task of creating really
new products which change the competitive landscape of a given industry.
The characteristics of large firms (bureaucratic, focused on economies
of scale, and so forth) — characteristics which are useful for
developing incremental innovations — can seriously inhibit these
firms’ ability to develop break-through products. At the same
time that many large firms struggle with becoming more innovative
and nimble, many small firms struggle with their own unique marketing
problems. For example, the roots of many such small firms are often
found in the sophisticated technical leadership of the founders. The
technical orientation is a necessary ingredient for success, but not
the only ingredient. Technical leaders often do not recognize that
market savvy is a key ingredient for success.
The purpose of this chapter is to begin a discussion of the internal
considerations (within the high-tech firm) that must be addressed
in order to effectively formulate and implement effective high-tech
marketing strategies. Such internal considerations include:
- the strategic market planning process
- pros/cons of being a market pioneer
- requirements for competitive advantage
- understanding when core competencies become core rigidities
- techniques to avoid core rigidities, and maintain innovativeness,
including
- creative destruction
- unlearning
- corporate imagination (includes using technology life cycles
to overturn price/performance assumptions, escaping the tyranny
of the served market, working closely with customers)
- expeditionary marketing
- a culture of innovation
- the role of product champions and skunk works in stimulating
innovation
- liabilities small high-tech start-ups face in the market, including
access to financial resources and other resources.
The chapter’s opening vignette is on Hyperion. Later in
the chapter, the strategic planning process for Medtronic is highlighted.
The chapter’s technology
tidbit deals with the development and applications of the thin
air display, a projection of a video image in “thin air.”
The chapter’s expert is:
Charlie Walker, Managing Partner at Black
Wolf Partners (Silicon Valley) who highlights various considerations
in the chase for venture capital.
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Book: |
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ISBN:
0-13-141168-3
Publisher: Prentice Hall
Copyright: 2005 |
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