Many warn that the next stage of globalization—the offshoring of research and development to China and India—threatens the foundations of Western prosperity. But in The Venturesome Economy, acclaimed business and economics scholar Amar Bhidé shows how wrong the doomsayers are.
Using extensive field studies on venture-capital-backed businesses to examine how technology really advances in modern economies, Bhidé explains why know-how developed abroad enhances—not diminishes—prosperity at home, and why trying to maintain the U.S. lead by subsidizing more research or training more scientists will do more harm than good.
When breakthrough ideas have no borders, a nation's capacity to exploit cutting-edge research regardless of where it originates is crucial: "venturesome consumption"—the willingness and ability of businesses and consumers to effectively use products and technologies derived from scientific research—is far more important than having a share of such research. In fact, a venturesome economy benefits from an increase in research produced abroad: the success of Apple's iPod, for instance, owes much to technologies developed in Asia and Europe.
Many players—entrepreneurs, managers, financiers, salespersons, consumers, and not just a few brilliant scientists and engineers—have kept the United States at the forefront of the innovation game. As long as their venturesome spirit remains alive and well, advances abroad need not be feared. Read The Venturesome Economy and learn why—and see how we can keep it that way.
Amar Bhidé is the Thomas Schmidheiny Professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, editor of Capitalism and Society, member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and the author of The Origin and Evolution of New Businesses. A former McKinsey & Company consultant, Bhidé was educated at the Indian Institute of Technology and Harvard Business School, where he graduated as a Baker Scholar and later served as an associate professor.
Table of Contents
Preface ix
Introduction 1
Book 1 Cautious Voyagers Why VC-Backed Businesses Still Favor Home 31
1 VCs in New Ventureland 41
2 Advancing the Frontier: The Nature of Mid-level Innovation 59
3 Marketing: Edging into International Arenas 101
4 Offshortng: The Ins and Outs 152
5 Founders and Staff: Global at Home 206
6 On Methods and Models 239
Book 2 Embrace or Resist? 251
7 Alarmist Arguments 257
8 The Reassuring Realities of Modern Cross-Border Flows 272
9 Valuable Differences 287
10 Serving the Service Economy 296
11 Venturesome Consumption 308
12 Winning by Using 324
13 Nondestructive Creation 341
14 Immigrants: Uppers or Downers? 356
15 The Elusive Underpinnings 380
16 First Do No Harm 477
Acknowledgments 439
Appendix: Tables 443
Notes 467
References 483
Index 499
What People are Saying About This
Gogel
In The Venturesome Economy, Amar Bhidé takes on the increasingly noisy chorus of critics worried about the effects of globalization on the national economy. He demonstrates that the application and commercialization of technology is far more important than whether the underlying science originated at home or abroad. The winners will be those countries and businesses that have the insight and energy to apply innovations effectively. This is an optimistic and important message. — Donald J. Gogel, president and CEO of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice
Baumol
A book full of solid if unconventional deductions, all based on extensive observations. Amar Bhidé is an author who knows whereof he speaks and to whom one should listen. — William J. Baumol, author of "The Free-Market Innovation Machine"
Peters
If I were asked to recommend to the next president just one book on the trajectory of the U.S. economy in the next several years, it would unhesitatingly be Amar Bhidé's The Venturesome Economy. The book is an utterly original interpretation of the nature of the complex process of innovation. Among other things, it makes a mockery of the simplistic, alarmist writings that have become so popular in these troublesome economic times. As a student myself of the lovely, kinky history of real innovation, I almost found myself audibly cheering as I raced through this seminal text. — Thomas J. Peters, coauthor of "In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America's Best-Run Companies"
Edmund Phelps
The strides made by China and India, notably their unexpected technological advances, have made America anxious, prompting calls to double federal spending on basic research. In The Venturesome Economy, Amar Bhidé draws on his unmatched knowledge of the mechanisms of innovation to show the benefits to us of Asia's advances and the errors in the techno-fetishism that grips Washington officialdom. This book deepens radically our understanding of how the global economy functions. — Edmund Phelps, 2006 Nobel Laureate in Economics
From the Publisher
"If I were asked to recommend to the next president just one book on the trajectory of the U.S. economy in the next several years, it would unhesitatingly be Amar Bhidé's The Venturesome Economy. The book is an utterly original interpretation of the nature of the complex process of innovation. Among other things, it makes a mockery of the simplistic, alarmist writings that have become so popular in these troublesome economic times. As a student myself of the lovely, kinky history of real innovation, I almost found myself audibly cheering as I raced through this seminal text."—Thomas J. Peters, coauthor of In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America's Best-Run Companies"Amar Bhidé provides a fresh and reassuring perspective on America's technological position in an increasingly global economy. Anyone interested in our economic future and especially our technology policies should read this book."—Lawrence Summers, Harvard University"The strides made by China and India, notably their unexpected technological advances, have made America anxious, prompting calls to double federal spending on basic research. In The Venturesome Economy, Amar Bhidé draws on his unmatched knowledge of the mechanisms of innovation to show the benefits to us of Asia's advances and the errors in the techno-fetishism that grips Washington officialdom. This book deepens radically our understanding of how the global economy functions."—Edmund Phelps, 2006 Nobel Laureate in Economics"In The Venturesome Economy, Amar Bhidé takes on the increasingly noisy chorus of critics worried about the effects of globalization on the national economy. He demonstrates that the application and commercialization of technology is far more important than whether the underlying science originated at home or abroad. The winners will be those countries and businesses that have the insight and energy to apply innovations effectively. This is an optimistic and important message."—Donald J. Gogel, president and CEO of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice"A book full of solid if unconventional deductions, all based on extensive observations. Amar Bhidé is an author who knows whereof he speaks and to whom one should listen."—William J. Baumol, author of The Free-Market Innovation Machine
Lawrence Summers
Amar Bhidé provides a fresh and reassuring perspective on America's technological position in an increasingly global economy. Anyone interested in our economic future and especially our technology policies should read this book. — Lawrence Summers, Harvard University
