Innovation and Competition in the Global Communications Technology Industry

In the 2000s, communications technology remains a highly innovative industry, with intense competition among companies, some over a century old and others just getting off the ground – and still others that are entering the industry from bases in information technology.  The markets for the products of the communications technology industry are global, with the important opportunities for growth coming from the developing economies. 

In August 2007, three dozen people, half from industry and half from academia, gathered together for two days at INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France to engage in deep discussion about the past, present, and future of the communications technology industry.  The conversation centered around a number of papers on the evolution of the leading companies in the industry.  Many of these papers were collaborations between academic and industry participants. 

We are now in the process of producing a volume on innovation and competition in the global communications technology industry.  The partners in this collaborative effort are UMass Lowell Center for Industrial Competitiveness (CIC), Stockholm School of Economics Institute of International Business (IIB), and Arthur D. Little (ADL), the world’s first management consultancy, founded in 1886, that focuses on the links among strategy, innovation, and technology.  The editors are Marie Carpenter (Bordeaux Business School), Henrik Glimstedt (IIB), William Lazonick (CIC), Edward March (Dartmouth College and CIC), and Martyn Roetter (ADL).