The Development Factory
Subtitle: Unlocking the Potential of Process Innovation
Publisher: Harvard Business School Press
Published: November 1996
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 343
ISBN-13: 9780875846507
Subjects: Management & management techniques; Manufacturing industries; Production & quality control management; Technology; General; Chemical And Mineral Industries (Economic Aspects); Business / Economics / Finance; Technological Innovations; Business/Economics; Pharmacology; Manufacturing; Case studies; Chemical industry; Economic aspects; Pharmaceutical industry
First sentence: THIS BOOK WILL explore the determinants of process development performance, as well as the impact of superior performance on a firm's competitive position.
Description: When the pharmaceuticals giant Merck reports promising results for a potential "blockbuster" drug, the story makes the evening news. Now, at a time when new product development has become critical to success in so many industries, The Development Factory proves that process innovation - not just product innovation - can be the key to competitive edge.

In this multiyear study of pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms, Gary Pisano explores the dynamics of superior product and process development in a highly competitive industry that lives and dies by its R&D and depends heavily on rapid time to market. His work reveals that behind the success of many new product introductions lies the development of novel process technologies that provide lower costs, higher quality, and increased flexibility.

Pisano challenges the widely held product-process life cycle view of competition, which suggests that industries tend to emphasize either product innovation or process innovation. He also questions the notion that there is a conflict between pursuit of product innovation and pursuit of lower costs, arguing that product development and process development capabilities are complementary.

Extending the lessons to a wide variety of manufacturing industries, The Development Factory will guide companies toward unlocking the potential of process development and understanding the patterns of organizational behavior and managerial actions that help create and implement new capabilities over time.