In the business world, those with the most technology win.
That's the general assertion in Strategic, Organizational, and Managerial Impacts of Business Technologies, a new book by David J. Good, a professor of Marketing at Grand Valley State University, and Roberta J. Schultz, assistant professor of Marketing at Western Michigan University.
Technology is a broad term that has evolved in meaning over the last few centuries, says Good. No matter how one defines technology however, it is clear that its usage has historically provided its owners and users a distinctive competitive advantage.
Good explains that such advantage can range from owning technology, or by a devising a unique way to use the technology to gain an advantage. The book demonstrates how the careful identification and management of technologies provides a significant advantage, that for many managers and firms, far outweigh the disadvantages imposed through the invention of these technologies by others. Good and Schultz explore the strategic, organizational, and managerial impacts of technology in a variety of venues.
Specifically, the book examines the roots and directions of technology, how technology will change organizational teamwork, its influence on internal and external relationships, opportunities provided for technological entrepreneurs, and the influence of technology on marketing, employees, customer partnerships, information systems, and resource strategies. Good and his co-author introduce a host of business applications.
This book provides managers a strategic roadmap to using technology as a competitive advantage, while remaining free from the entanglement of specific technologies, Good says.
Before receiving his Ph.D. in Marketing from the University of Arkansas, Good worked in sales and sales management for AT.&T, and in sales management, training, and strategic planning for Sprint.
After leaving Sprint, Good became a principal and marketing manager for Business Systems Management. He has also written many articles addressing the strategic impacts of technologies and the management of competitive sales organizations.
