It's easy to bash Microsoft and its monopolistic practices. (In fact, I did it -- quite gently -- several times: check Microsoft's Palladium -- or TCP/MS?, Bill Gates: Trust me (really!) or Stephen Ballmer: We know that Microsoft software has bugs for example.) But it's hard to deny that it is a very successful -- and profitable -- company.
Now two Harvard professors come with a new study about Microsoft and their results might surprise you. Sean Silverthorne has the story. Here are the opening paragraphs.
Now two Harvard professors come with a new study about Microsoft and their results might surprise you. Sean Silverthorne has the story. Here are the opening paragraphs.
Critics say Microsoft's incredible two-decade run at the top of the computer industry has less to do with innovation than it does with bully tactics. But new research from Harvard Business School professors Marco Iansiti and Alan MacCormack suggest a different reason: the company's ability to spot technological trends and exploit key software technologies.
Perhaps no technology company outside of IBM has been able to keep on top of the industry as much as Microsoft. What's more, Bill Gates & Co. have achieved this success during times of incredible technological transformation, usually just the period when titans are vulnerable to being knocked off by disruptive technologies.
Critics often argue that Microsoft can't innovate its way out of a paper bag -- instead it has used its monopoly position to stamp out competition and force an industry to bend to its standards. But now comes a serious and much-to-be discussed study of the inner workings of the company from Harvard Business School professors Marco Iansiti and Alan MacCormack. Their take: Microsoft wins through brilliant management of its intellectual property and an ability to spot and react to important trends before they take hold.
For more substance, please the e-mail interview that Sean Silverthorne conducted with Marco Iansiti and Alan MacCormack.
Source: Sean Silverthorne, Harvard Business School Working Knowledge (HBSWK), December 2, 2002
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