Professor Thomas S. Robertson
Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Marketing, Emory University
Diffusion of Innovation: How to Achieve Rapid Take-off
9 February 2006
A curious phenomenon occurs in global markets today: technology is often considerably in front of the ability of companies to develop successful applications. This phenomenon is found in industries as diverse as health sciences, information technology, consumer entertainment, industrial automation, and financial services.
The need to achieve rapid take-off and diffusion for new products and services is a central concern of CEOs and CMOs. Slow take-off delays return on R&D investments, allows competitive entry, and hinders the development of consumer loyalty to brands and standards.
New research provides guidelines for meeting rapid take-off objectives. Next practice ideas include a focus on the application alternatives rather than the technology; the need to pre-announce to customers; the value of partnering and creating alliances to create the dominant standard and to leverage network effects; and the need to manage the customer's adoption process. These next practice ideas will be illustrated with examples from recent research with major global corporations.
About The Speaker
Professor Thomas S. Robertson is currently the Dean of the Wharton School and Reliance Professor of Management and Private Enterprise at the University of Pennsylvania since August 2007.
Robertson comes from Emory University where he was executive faculty director of the Institute for Developing Nations. He was dean of the Goizueta Business School at Emory University from 1998-2004, and is widely credited with building Goizueta into one of the strongest schools at Emory, positioning it as a leading international business school.
An expert in marketing strategy and innovation with extensive international experience in higher education and the business community, Robertson most recently led various internationalization efforts at Emory. He developed and implemented a university-wide plan for internationalization, and he created and launched the Institute for Developing Nations, a joint research initiative with The Carter Center.
He led Goizueta into an unprecedented era of growth, increasing the size of the faculty by 73 percent, doubling revenues, and nearly doubling the endowment. He also developed new international alliances for the school, spurred major growth in executive-education programs, added a major new building, and launched a new PhD program.
In 1971 to 1994, he was Pomerantz Professor of Marketing and Chair of the Marketing Department. As Associate Dean for Executive Education, he led the effort to build the Steinberg Conference Center, designed an innovative set of new senior-management programs, and substantially increased financial contributions.
An expert in marketing strategy and competitive behavior, the diffusion of innovation, and consumer behavior, Robertson is author, co-author, or editor of a dozen books and almost 100 scholarly articles and book chapters.