The Limits of Business Development and Economic Growth : Why Business Will Need to Invest Less in the Future

The economy has hit a soft patch.' - US Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, reacting to the weak US job growth in June 2004 Mats Larsson: 'No, the economy is closing in on the limits of business development and economic growth and we are starting to see the consequences. In the next few years we will need to rethink economic policies and business strategies.' The Limits of Business Development and Economic Growth details what this means for your company, your industry or your country! There are limits to business development and economic growth. With the help of modern production and information technologies, companies are coming ever closer to the limits of what can be achieved but ultimately nothing can be done in less than no time and at less than no cost. We now need to find areas of competitive advantage that have not yet been fully exploited. This book presents both the problems and the solutions in an accessible way for experts and non-experts alike. Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 6 Introduction......Page 10 1 A Grim View of Development: The End of Growth as We Know it?......Page 13 Part I The Historic Development of Competitive Advantage......Page 34 2 Product Proliferation, Quality and Price......Page 36 3 Time as a Competitive Advantage......Page 47 4 Agility as a Source of Competitive Advantage......Page 58 Part II Strategic and Operational Limits of Competitive Advantages......Page 64 5 Strategy and Operational Efficiency......Page 66 6 Production Processes......Page 75 7 Transportation Processes and Vehicle Maintenance......Page 81 8 Product Speed and Capacity......Page 84 9 Research and Development Processes......Page 88 10 E-Business and the Promise of Creativity and Economic Growth......Page 90 11 The Limits of Development......Page 116 Part III The Race Towards Zero......Page 132 12 The General Drive to Compress Time and Reduce Cost......Page 134 13 Print-on-Demand......Page 152 14 The Gradual Growth of Broadband Communication and Print-on-Demand......Page 165 Part IV New Sources of Competitive Advantage......Page 176 15 Secondary Qualities......Page 178 16 Customers Can Help to Create New Economic Growth by Demanding New Features and Secondary Qualities......Page 188 17 Governments and Political Parties Can Support the Development of Secondary Qualities......Page 193 Part V Structural Change Could Create Further Growth......Page 198 18 Existing Structures in the Economy Determine the Limits of Growth......Page 200 19 Innovation within the Monetary System Can Create New Work and Sustainable Abundance......Page 209 Conclusion......Page 220 References......Page 224 D......Page 226 I......Page 227 R......Page 228 Z......Page 229 There are limits to business development and economic growth. With the help of modern production and information technologies, companies are coming ever closer to the limits of what can be achieved. Ultimately nothing can be done in less than no time and at less than no cost, and in more cases than we may think development in the past has pursued time and cost as the main goals. This will pose a tremendous challenge to business practice and to economic theory, since the main avenues of business development and economic growth used in the past will be closed. The author argues that there are still solutions to this dilemma. There are numerous new ways in which we can create new business opportunities and new economic growth. Consumers have a key role in this development and entrepreneurs as well as multinationals may use the new situation to develop new business. We now need to find areas of competitive advantage that have not yet been fully exploited. This book presents both the problems and the solutions in an accessible way for experts and non-experts alike

There are limits to business development and economic growth. With the help of modern production and information technologies. Companies are coming ever closer to the limits of what can be achieved. This book presents both the problems and the solutions in an accessible way for experts and non-experts alike.

This book presents both the problems and the solutions in an accessible way for experts and non-experts alike."--Jacket