Corning and the Craft of Innovation [Hardcover]

Margaret B. W. Graham (Author), Alec T. Shuldiner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 21, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0195140974 | ISBN-13: 978-0195140972 | Edition: 1St Edition

For 150 years, Corning Incorporated has repeatedly succeeded in their quest to create new products for an ever-changing marketplace. Corning and the Craft of Innovation is the story of the extraordinary research and development strategy that propelled this company to its leadership position in leading-edge technologies for the new world economy.
Since its founding in the mid-nineteenth century, Corning has placed a premium on research and development in tandem with an unending spirit of innovation. Corning's innovations made possible such essential items as light bulbs, television, Pyrex, catalytic converters for cars, and high-speed telecommunications through fiber optics. Most impressive is Corning's evolution into a highly innovative producer of specialty materials. In its early days, Corning developed specialty glass for use in railroad signal lenses that had to withstand the rigors of high and low temperatures; and developed its high speed Ribbon Machine--still used today--to produce glass envelopes for light bulbs more quickly and efficiently than anyone else. Today Corning leads the world in fiber optics and is a premier provider of cable and photonic products. In 1999 Wired magazine nominated Corning for its coveted Wired Index, confirming Corning's astonishing staying power as a leading-edge company.
Corning and the Craft of Innovation examines how Corning fostered a culture of innovation while showing extraordinary patience in backing long-term projects. The book illustrates how a pattern of deliberate, regular, and profitable innovation begun 150 years ago, has put Corning at the vanguard of leading-edge technologies for the fastest-growing markets of the global marketplace. It will be essential reading for anyone interested in strategic management, innovation, science and technology or knowledge management.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Recognizing knowledge as a strategic asset, Corning transformed itself from a maker of kitchen products for more than a century into the inventor of the optical fiber that now supports the Internet. In , authors Margaret B.W. Graham and Alec T. Shuldiner argue that the company has not only improved its products over the years, it has also improved the processes by which it does business a distincti0n that makes Corning an ideal model of a traditional manufacturing company that has kept pace with an ever-changing marketplace.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

These two books, along with a third volume (the forthcoming Corning Through the Ages), were commissioned by Corning to mark 150 years in business. While such an endeavor is inevitably self-serving, the authors have been allowed to present both the accomplishments (and they are numerous) and the sticking points and warts. In The Generations of Corning, Dyer and Gross detail the history of the organization from its inception to the current day. From a business perspective, it is intriguing to learn how a company was able to take a fundamental material glass and both develop its particular formulation and engineer the industrial process to expedite manufacturing. This was true for the electric light bulb, fiber optics, and a host of other industrial and consumer products. The history also shows how Corning leveraged its competencies through large-scale partnerships. In Corning and the Craft of Innovation, history is subjugated to more specific topics. Hence, Gross and Shuldiner deal with glassmaking as both an art and a science, the realm of processes, and military applications. Perhaps the greatest value of the book is in showing how Corning came to embody what in today's jargon is a "learning organization." As a result, an organization that made its living off the mundane (e.g., the light bulb) was able to create the spectacular (e.g., the 200" telescope mirror). While each work covers much the same material, the scientist may prefer Craft and the social economist, Generations; both books are recommended. Steven Silkunas, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, Philadelphia
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 528 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1St Edition edition (June 21, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195140974
• ISBN-13: 978-0195140972
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,583,038 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read!, April 1, 2002

By 

Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Corning and the Craft of Innovation (Hardcover)

When you hire a corporate biographer, the result should be thorough, imbued with inside knowledge and, perhaps, a bit flattering. And so is this book, which was commissioned by Corning in conjunction with the firm's sesquicentennial celebration. As the title suggests, the focus of the book is on the innovational nature of the company and how Corning has capitalized on its creativity through flexible strategic responses to changing market demands. Although the corporate origins of the book cast doubts on its objectivity, we from getAbstract recommend Corning and the Craft of Innovation as an interesting case study in the management of a company that lives and dies with innovation.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Linear recount of Corning's R&D, July 17, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Corning and the Craft of Innovation (Hardcover)

A very exhaustive book, no doubt. In the extent of the material covered and in the feelings it generates. An early reference to innovation as a non-linear phenomenon does not apply to the book where a rigid timeline approach is applied throughtout. Few general conclusions are drawn so this one is strictly for those interested in extensive details of Corning's history. A few nuggest here and there that may apply to established technology companies focusing today on development over research.