Territories of Profit: Communications, Capitalist Development, and the Innovative Enterprises of G. F. Swift and Dell Computer (Innovation and Technology in the World E) [Paperback]

Gary Fields (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0804747229 | ISBN-13: 978-0804747226 | Publication Date: November 24, 2003 | Edition: 1

Territories of Profit compares Dell Computer, the dominant computer manufacturer of the late twentieth century, and G. F. Swift, the leading meatpacking firm of the late nineteenth century, to reveal how communications revolutions in different periods enabled businesses to innovate their operations, reorganize the structure of the firm, and reshape the geography of profit-making. By depicting the parallel experiences of Dell and Swift, which both deployed revolutionary communications technologies in their business systems and transformed patterns of development through their innovative advances, the book challenges simplified representations of the contemporary economy as historically unprecedented. Territories of Profit also incorporates information from interview sources within Dell to portray the “Dell Model” in ways never before revealed in existing studies of the PC maker.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This remarkable book, besides being timely, sophisticated, penetrating, informative, and well researched, also provides significant additional evidence that the hype surrounding the so-called information revolution of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries is just that."—Economic Geography

“Territories of Profit is a welcome addition to the literature on learning, innovation and regional development.”—Regional Studies

“In this interesting and thoughtful book, Gary Fields pursues the analogy with exceptional sophistication and rigor.”—The Journal of Economic History

From the Inside Flap

Territories of Profit compares Dell Computer, the dominant computer manufacturer of the late twentieth century, and G. F. Swift, the leading meatpacking firm of the late nineteenth century, to reveal how communications revolutions in different periods enabled businesses to innovate their operations, reorganize the structure of the firm, and reshape the geography of profit-making. By depicting the parallel experiences of Dell and Swift, which both deployed revolutionary communications technologies in their business systems and transformed patterns of development through their innovative advances, the book challenges simplified representations of the contemporary economy as historically unprecedented. Territories of Profit also incorporates information from interview sources within Dell to portray the “Dell Model” in ways never before revealed in existing studies of the PC maker.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Stanford Business Books; 1 edition (November 24, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804747229
• ISBN-13: 978-0804747226
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #244,985 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #100 in Books > Business & Investing > Industries & Professions > High-Tech

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative and intriguing, February 24, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Territories of Profit: Communications, Capitalist Development, and the Innovative Enterprises of G. F. Swift and Dell Computer (Innovation and Technology in the World E) (Paperback)

The author does a wonderful job of bringing together two firms that are seperated in time, space and industry and draws a rich tapestry of parallels between them. Strong recommendation for anyone interested in understanding how the Internet/E-commerce affects firms, firm strategy and industrial organization with an intriguing parallel from the 19th century. The author provides a convinving argument that firms do not simply react to market forces but actively attempt to shape the market (in the case of Swift and Dell successfully) to meet their needs for profit and control.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent analysis, April 9, 2007

By 

Antonieta (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Territories of Profit: Communications, Capitalist Development, and the Innovative Enterprises of G. F. Swift and Dell Computer (Innovation and Technology in the World E) (Paperback)

By emphasizing the use of communication and transport technology by Swift and Dell, Fields' arguments illustrate the impact of innovation in logistics, not only in the creation, but also in the distribution of goods and its territorial consequences. Swift and Dell implemented a transformation in the way their products reached the customer and the territorial effect that this journey had, and not in the products themselves or in the demands of the market. Swift fresh beef was not all that different from the beef offered by other firms at the time, and Dell computers did not introduce radically different products that other companies were not also producing. What made those firms take full advantage of the communications revolution that they faced was their creative response and their adaptation to technological change, which translated into profound modifications in their internal organization, and external relationships with other companies and their logistics.

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Historical Analysis, January 31, 2006

By 

Yasuyuki Motoyama "a researcher" (cyber space) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Territories of Profit: Communications, Capitalist Development, and the Innovative Enterprises of G. F. Swift and Dell Computer (Innovation and Technology in the World E) (Hardcover)

The author explains how information technology affected organization of production, profit structure, and regional economic structure. I myself would not come up with a comparative analysis of these two cases, Swift (a meatpacking firm with railroad) and Dell (as you know), but he provides excellent data and develops arguments to grand theories.

His research style, writing, and theoretical argument should be a model for all economic historians.