| Abstract: | Practitioners provide reviews of four recent books. K. G. Peeples finds that Mass Customization by B. Joseph Pine describes a trend to replace mass production with a more responsive and tailored approach. She reports that this emerging direction applies to both manufacturing and service firms. It offers numerous benefits to both the supplier and the customer, such as greater variety, lower cost, and more responsive availability. Next, Martha Dohm examines Corporate Venturing by two academics, Zenas Block and Ian MacMillan. She finds it to be a useful primer on this important subject, although lacking in recent practical examples.
The final two reviews are of books that cite, in part, examples from the same high-technology firms, but cover these from very different perspectives. Vic Prushan assesses Winning in High- Tech Markets by Joseph G. Morone. He reports that this book is built around three detailed case studies, from which four lessons are drawn for corporate managers. Jimmy Loon reviews Lightning Strategies for Innovation by Willard I. Zangwill, another academic. He says that the book offers a seven- step process that primarily will be of value to the less experienced practitioner. |
