Richard S. Rosenbloom

Strategic maneuvering and mass-market dynamics : the triumph of VHS over Beta

This article deals with the diffusion and standardization rivalry between two similar but incompatible formats for home videocassette recorders (VCRs): the Betamax, introduced in 1975 by the Sony Corporation, and the VHS (Video Home System), introduced in 1976 by the Victor Company of Japan (Japan Victor or JVC). Despite being first to the home market, the Beta format fell behind the VHS in market share during 1978 and declined thereafter. By the end of the 1980s, Sony and its partners had ceased producing Beta models. This study analyzes the history of this rivalry and examines its context—a mass consumer market with a dynamic standardization process subject to “bandwagon” effects that took years to unfold and that were largely shaped by the strategic maneuvering of the VHS producers.

Leadership, capabilities, and technological change : The transformation of NCR in the electronic era

Scholars have advanced various theories to explain the common failure of market leaders in the face of revolutionary technological change. The history of NCR Corporation provides an instructive exception to that general pattern. This paper examines how NCR addressed the introduction of electronics to the field of business equipment and the advent of digital computers to widespread use. It describes NCRs entry into the computer industry in the 1950s and its commitment to evolutionary adaptation of its core products. It shows how persistence in old modes of practice led eventually to a crisis, which was resolved favorably when new management and fundamental organizational transformations reversed adverse trends and restored robust profitability. While established academic theories can help to explain aspects of the story, no single theoretical perspective is sufficient to explain the path of NCRs behavior. NCR survived, we conclude, because new leadership provided the impetus to actualize latent dynamic capabilities. Copyright

The climate for innovation in industry: The role of management attitudes and practices in consumer electronics

Abstract This article explores policy factors that may have systematically influenced the innovative vitality of the U.S. consumer electronics industry during the post World War II period. A series of successful innovations in electronic equipment that have become the foundation of international rivalry in this industry are examined with a focus on the several factors that might explain the relatively sluggish performance of U.S. firms in comparison with counterparts from Japan and elsewhere. The article suggests that the institutional climate for innovation, pertaining to considerations that are internal to the firm like management attitudes, practices and conventions, are predominantly important in explaining the innovative behavior of the industry. These tend to dominate the more frequently cited external or macroeconomic factors like inflation, industry structure, government regulation, the propensities to save and invest, etc. A great potential for improving economic progress lies in opportunities in research and education to provide a better basis for top executives to understand the key role of technology in management and corporate strategy.

Parallel and sequential R&D strategies: Application of a simple model

It is common in technological development to identify and explore several approaches to a particular objective so that the best approach may be chosen. The outcome of any approach is uncertain; hence, it is difficult to choose the best one at an early date. To deal with this uncertainty, two or more approaches to the objective may be continued in parallel until a clear choice between them can be made, i.e., a parallel strategy. Such a strategy can provide better information for a decision, maintain options, or hedge against the occurrence of an unsatisfactory outcome. This paper addresses the managers problem of deciding when to use or continue a parallel strategy. The principal focus is based on studies of 14 projects and illustrates the application, in one setting, of a general model appropriate to the structure of the decision as it is widely faced in practice. It discusses the information requirements for a sound choice between parallel and sequential strategies and the consequences of choosing a strategy on the basis of incomplete information.

Planning Your Firm's R&d Investment

OVERVIEW: Setting the level of R&D spending is one of the most important strategic decisions made by top management of technology-based firms. The delay between the commitment to expenditure for R&D and the realization of consequent revenues and profits complicates the analysis of R&D budgets. Common budgeting practices often fail to reflect the likely revenue consequences of incremental changes in aggregate spending for R&D. The authors suggest that this “missing dimension” should be incorporated in analysis of budgeting choices. They propose a framework for R&D budgeting and incorporate a measure of the missing dimension, named “R&D Gain,” defined as the ratio of the lifetime revenue of products launched in a particular year to the total investment needed to develop those products. This Gain can be estimated from historical data on revenues and R&D expenditures, and used to project future revenues.

Notes on the development of network models for resource allocation in R & D projects

The extension of PERT and Critical Path planning models for analysis of cost-time trade-offs and resource allocation is discussed. Various scheduling algorithms with and without resource constraints are noted and compared as reported in the literature. Key assumptions and some practical limitations are analyzed. Recommendations for further research are offered.

A Conjecture about Fashion and Vertical Process Integration

The prosperity of an industrial enterprise depends upon its ability to adapt continuously to the evolving market for its goods. This paper considers the consequences of one kind of industrial strategy — vertical integration — when the relevant market is strongly influenced by fashion.

Reflections on the evolution of the field

This paper offers the authors personal reflections on the past 50 years of research in engineering management. I suggest that the most important development in this field has been the continuing broadening of the relevant bodies of knowledge and the increased attention paid by scholars in the pertinent social science and systems disciplines to issues involving technology and its management. The paper concludes with a brief speculation on the future of the field.

STANDARDIZATION AND THE STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT OF TECHNOLOGY

Effective strategies reflect a high degree of “fit” with the competitive environment (Andrews 1987). Product standardization has long been a visible element of the environment for competitors in many industries, but its incidence and significance have increased greatly in recent years. In some industries (e.g. microprocessors), the fortunes of rival firms have been profoundly shaped by the consequences of standardization. As industrial managers cope with the dynamic forces of an era dominated by information technologies, standardization will be an increasingly common element of the strategic mix.