Corning and the Craft of Innovation

Corning and the Craft of Innovation

by Alec T. Shuldiner (Author), Margaret B. W. Graham (Author)

Synopsis

For 150 years, Corning Incorporated has repeatedly succeeded in their quest to create new products for an ever-changing marketplace. Corning and the Craft of Innovation is the story of the extraordinary research and development strategy that propelled this company to its leadership position in leading-edge technologies for the new world economy. Since its founding in the mid-nineteenth century, Corning has placed a premium on research and development in tandem with an unending spirit of innovation. Corning's innovations made possible such essential items as light bulbs, television, Pyrex, catalytic converters for cars, and high-speed telecommunications through fiber optics. Most impressive is Corning's evolution into a highly innovative producer of specialty materials. In its early days, Corning developed specialty glass for use in railroad signal lenses that had to withstand the rigors of high and low temperatures; and developed its high speed Ribbon Machine - still used today - to produce glass envelopes for light bulbs more quickly and efficiently than anyone else. Today Corning leads the world in fibre optics and is a premier provider of cable and photonic products. In 1999 Wired magazine nominated Corning for its coveted Wired Index, confirming Corning's astonishing staying power as a leading-edge company. Corning and the Craft of Innovation examines how Corning fostered a culture of innovation while showing extraordinary patience in backing long-term projects. The book illustrates how a pattern of deliberate, regular, and profitable innovation begun 150 years ago has put Corning at the vanguard of leading-edge technologies for the fastest-growing markets of the global marketplace. It will be essential reading for anyone interested in strategic management, innovation, science and technology or knowledge management.

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More Information

Format: Illustrated
Pages: 524
Edition: Illustrated
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 21 Jun 2001

ISBN 10: 0195140974
ISBN 13: 9780195140972

Media Reviews
... a comprehensive guide, written in non-technical language, to the variety of products developed over the company's 150-year history. * R&D Management *
... a fascinating account from an industrial history perspective. * R&D Management *
The book is constructed in a narrative style that makes for easy reading, and the combination of technical, social and organisational aspects is nicely balanced to produce a well-rounded reference work. * R&D Management *
Corning and the Craft of Innovation is a book of far-reaching significance for historians of business and technology. Not only do Graham and Shuldiner provide a wealth of information on the role of Corning and materials research in major technological developments of the twentieth century, but they also advance our understanding of the relationship between innovation and corporate strategy in medium-sized speciality firms ... conceptually innovative and should hold great appeal for business historians ... well conceived and worthy of the attention of a broad audience. * The Economic History Review *
Drawing on detailed and painstaking research it provides a full account of how a company constructs and reinforces key routines which enable it to manage and develop innovation ... of immense relevance to other firms as an account of how innovation management evolves and can be nurtured. * Technovation *
The examples of Corning's early interest in creating the right environment for innovation - and fitting scientific breakthroughs to the needs of the market place - shine through in Margaret Graham's and Alec Shuldiner's thoughtful history of the company. * Peter Marsh, Financial Times *
This book is more than a typical corporate biography ... the authors concern throughout is to identify the essential ingredients that have made Corning so innovative for so long. * The Economist *
Author Bio
Margaret B.W. Graham is the founder of The Winthrop Group, a company that assists corporations, foundations, and other organizations to document and make use of their experience. Currently, she is a visiting professor of management at McGill Univeristy in Quebec. Alec Shuldiner is a member of The Winthrop Group.