Leading Blog

MARCH 18, 2011

Technology enables velocity—the speed of getting products to market, the speed of delivery, the speed of analytics, and the list goes on. The thing you want to be these days is a “fast follower.” Instead, you want to quickly follow the first movers who are trying to capitalize on a blossoming trend.

Chief Information Officer 284

Chief Information Officer CIO ROI Technology 284

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 14, 2012

Transformational developments are swirling around the banking industry — as they are in nearly every industry. The first innovators in the market are often too early in the technology curve. Here's one of the biggest that would-be innovators should ask: Should I lead or follow? Do the panelists agree?".

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Fast Follower Banking Innovation Follow-up 16

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 12, 2012

The topic — part of a series on innovation sponsored by Singapore's Economic Development Board and coordinated by Harvard Business Review — was "What's the Right Entry Point for Emerging Markets: Target Customers at the Bottom or the Middle of the Pyramid?". billion by 2030. Reaching this vast middle won't be easy, I said.

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Marketing Hedge Chief Technology Officer Supply Chain 15

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 18, 2012

This was just one round in a developing fight over the rules and norms that govern the international political economy. Writing in 1979, Roger Hansen (in Beyond the North-South Stalemate ) succinctly characterized the choices faced by developed and developing countries in the face of these demands.

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Globalization Banking Restructuring Politics 15

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

Amazon's presence will intensify the innovation tempo in every market touched. Even when Bezos appears to be a fast follower, he's attempting to generate leapfrog momentum. The ultimate competition here isn't just for customers and their time; it will be for developers, creatives, and innovators of all kinds.

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Innovation Technology Software Fast Follower 14

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 22, 2010

The theme of the big event was "Technology-led Transition and Innovation-driven Development," which sounds broad. But dont count them out for long; if theres one thing Chinese companies are good at, its implementing a "fast follower" strategy. This last article is the one that really grabbed my attention.

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NGO Chemicals Guidelines Telecommunications 15

Harvard Business Review

JULY 7, 2016

“It feels weird eavesdropping like this,” Alejandra Chirinos told Ricardo Rodriguez, her marketing VP, and Miguel Martinez, her head of sales. Soledad Orellana, the market research consultant who’d arranged the session, concurred. Ricardo chuckled. “They know they’re being watched,” he said.

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Case Study Price Brand Focus Group 12