The Limits Of Business Development And Economic Growth: Why Business Will Need To Invest Less In The Future

The Limits of Business Development and Economic Growth Also by Mats Larsson THE TRANSPARENT MARKET (with David Lundberg) The Limits of Business Development and Economic Growth Why business will need to invest less in the future Mats Larsson © Mats Larsson 2004 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2004 978-1-4039-4239-5 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2004 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 Companies and representatives throughout the world PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-52129-6 ISBN 978-0-230-51143-9 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230511439 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Larsson, Mats, 1963– The limits of business development and economic growth : why business will need to invest less in the future / Mats Larsson. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-349-52129-6 1. Information technology – Economic aspects. 2. Technological innovations – Economic aspects. 3. Competition. 4. Business enterprises. 5. Economic development. I. Title. HC79.I55L373 2004 338 – dc22 2004042100 10 9 8 13 12 11 7 10 6 09 5 4 08 07 3 06 2 05 1 04 Contents Introduction 1 1 A Grim View of Development: The End of Growth as We Know it? Part I 4 The Historic Development of Competitive Advantage 2 Product Proliferation, Quality and Price 27 3 Time as a Competitive Advantage 38 4 Agility as a Source of Competitive Advantage 49 Part II Strategic and Operational Limits of Competitive Advantages 5 Strategy and Operational Efficiency 57 6 Production Processes 66 7 Transportation Processes and Vehicle Maintenance 72 8 Product Speed and Capacity 75 9 Research and Development Processes 79 10 E-Business and the Promise of Creativity and Economic Growth 11 The Limits of Development Part III 81 107 The Race Towards Zero 12 The General Drive to Compress Time and Reduce Cost 125 13 Print-on-Demand 143 14 The Gradual Growth of Broadband Communication and Print-on-Demand 156 v vi Contents Part IV New Sources of Competitive Advantage 15 Secondary Qualities 169 16 Customers Can Help to Create New Economic Growth by Demanding New Features and Secondary Qualities 179 17 Governments and Political Parties Can Support the Development of Secondary Qualities