The Architecture of Innovation: The Economics of Creative Organizations

New
Hardcover
2012
$23.64

The developed world is struggling with unsustainable promises and unappealing choices, and sustained economic growth represents one of the few ways out. And over the centuries, growth in advanced economies has been strongly linked to innovation. Despite the vast amounts written about innovation over the years, understanding of its drivers remains surprisingly limited. This book, by top Harvard Business School professor Josh Lerner, seeks to remedy this shortfall. It highlights that while organizational economists have made strides in understanding what combinations of incentives and organization structure can encourage innovative breakthroughs, many of these insights have not yet received the attention they deserve in the real world, or been developed in ways that can easily be applied in real situations. The author focuses on two models for encouraging innovation, the corporate research laboratory and the start-up. Each model, while proven and successful, also faces significant challenges and ambiguities. A central argument is that there remains considerable potential for hybrids between these two approaches. This book draws on important research in economics and reviews different approaches to innovation, combining this with a series of case examples to explore the challenges that face start up firms, large firms, and nations. It is essential reading for anybody faced with the challenge of innovation.

Synopsis

The developed world is struggling with unsustainable promises and unappealing choices, and sustained economic growth represents one of the few ways out. And over the centuries, growth in advanced economies has been strongly linked to innovation. Despite the vast amounts written about innovation over the years, understanding of its drivers remains surprisingly limited. This book, by top Harvard Business School professor Josh Lerner, seeks to remedy this shortfall. It highlights that while organizational economists have made strides in understanding what combinations of incentives and organization structure can encourage innovative breakthroughs, many of these insights have not yet received the attention they deserve in the real world, or been developed in ways that can easily be applied in real situations. The author focuses on two models for encouraging innovation, the corporate research laboratory and the start-up. Each model, while proven and successful, also faces significant challenges and ambiguities. A central argument is that there remains considerable potential for hybrids between these two approaches. This book draws on important research in economics and reviews different approaches to innovation, combining this with a series of case examples to explore the challenges that face start up firms, large firms, and nations. It is essential reading for anybody faced with the challenge of innovation.

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 224
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Published: 06 Sep 2012
ISBN 10: 0199639892
ISBN 13: 9780199639892

Media Reviews

Paul Romer, Professor of Economics, New York University Stern School of Business; Founder, Aplia--
In his latest book, Josh Lerner shows that by following a few basic principles, any organization can innovate more successfully. You couldn't ask for a better guide to the solid knowledge about what works, or a better antidote to the misleading parts of conventional wisdom.

Hal Varian, Chief Economist, Google--
Which is a better model for innovation: corporate labs or venture-funded start-ups? Josh Lerner argues convincingly for a hybrid model that combines the best of both approaches. The Architecture of Innovation offers practical advice for those in both the public and private sectors who seek to stimulate innovation.

Scott Anthony, Managing Director, Innosight Asia-Pacific; author, The Little Black Book of Innovation --
An important contribution whose lucid and thorough analysis provides practical guidance for leaders trying to transform innovation intent into substantial and sustainable impact.

Pontus Braunerhjelm, Chair, 2010 Global Award for Entrepreneurship--
Josh Lerner is a superstar, a contemporary giant of entrepreneurship scholarship in the domain of VC-backed business venturing. His empirical research on the interrelationships between venture capital, innovation, and entrepreneurship has greatly extended and improved our understanding of one of the engines of modern economic growth.

Author Bio

Josh Lerner is the Jacob H. Schiff Professor of Investment Banking at Harvard Business School, with a joint appointment in the Finance and the Entrepreneurial Management Areas. He co-directs the National Bureau of Economic Research's Productivity, Research, and Innovation Program and serves as co-editor of their publication, Innovation Policy and the Economy. He founded and runs the Private Capital Research Institute, a non-profit devoted to encouraging data access to and research about venture capital and private equity. His research examines the structure and role of venture capital and private equity organizations, in books such as The Venture Capital Cycle, The Money of Invention, and Boulevard of Broken Dreams, and policies towards intellectual property protection, and how they impact firm strategies in high-technology industries, as discussed in Innovation and Its Discontents and The Comingled Code.