The Fast Path to Corporate Growth: Leveraging Knowledge and Technologies to New Market Applications / Edition 1

by Marc H. Meyer

Overview

Every company can point to a growth strategy. Few, however, systematically implement it; instead, they tweak current products with incremental innovations, or attempt to buy growth through acquisitions. Neither is a satisfactory solution. Internally generated growth accomplished thorugh product line renewal and new service development is essential to the long-term vitality of business across industries.

The Fast Path to Corporate Growth takes on the challenge large corporations have in developing new product lines that address new market applications and provide new streams of revenue. The book integrates the key disciplines—new product strategy, user research, concept development and prototyping, market testing, and business modeling—into a practical framework for generating enterprise growth.

The book illustrates that framework with in-depth examples of companies—including IBM, Honda, and Mars—that have generated impressive results by leveraging their core technologies to new markets and to new uses. Many of these examples contain templates that readers can use in their own projects. The book also addresses the human side of new market applications, providing advice on what executives and innovation team leaders must do to execute the steps of Meyer's framework for developing new market applications.

This comprehensive guide to growth will appeal to R&D practitioners, new business development strategists, product managers, and to students in engineering management, innovation management, and corporate strategy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195180862
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	06/04/2007
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	9.43(w) x 6.41(h) x 0.84(d)

About the Author

Marc H. Meyer Matthews Distinguished University Professor and Department Chair, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Group of the the College of Business at Northeastern University.

Table of Contents

1. IBM Rises from the Ashes2. A Framework for Action3. Segmenting Markets for Growth4. Understanding User Needs5. Creating Design Concepts, Prototyping, and Validating Design Choices6. How Honda Innovates7. Product Line and Platform Development8. Hondas Element Comes to Life9. Business Model Innovation10. New Brand and Product Line Development at Mars11. Making the Business Case12. Executive Decision Making13. Leading Teams to GrowthAppendix: Underlying Technology Principles in IBMs Renewal

Editorial Reviews

"Professor Meyer's Fast Path framework is an essential tool for developing and commercializing new product lines from within a corporation. We have used this approach at Masterfoods USA and have found it invaluable in creating the process and culture needed for new venture success."—Robert Gamgort, President Masterfoods USA

"Grow or die. The Fast Path to Corporate Growth shows how to execute the compellingly pragmatic growth strategy of new market applications growing into markets adjacent to your core business. This is a can do book—each chapter is rich in examples that show how the method can be applied across a broad range of industries. Straightforward, insightful, actionable—the state of the art in real world business innovation."—Harry West, VP of Strategy and Innovation Continuum

"Fast Path To Corporate Growth does an excellent job of turning business experience into an actionable strategy for growth. Professor Meyer combines the insights of accomplished academic research, with the practical experience of companies whom he has assisted in the development of effective growth strategies. This work is easy to read and is filled with real world examples that the reader can use to develop plans for their own companies. We recommend this book to all business managers interested in platform management and growth."—Mark Anzani, Vice President, IBM System z Hardware Products, and George Walsh, Chief Technology Officer, System z

From the Publisher