Supply Chain

Innovation in China

Dec. 11, 2010

Human progress most often stems from dissatisfaction; when individuals or groups of people decide to challenge the status quo. When a series of events forces a change and improvement to what was going on before.

Today innovation is the word we most associate with human progress. From creating new products and services to designing better business processes to the way we acquire new knowledge, innovation is the desired end to a lot of what we do.

The formula is pretty simple: foster a culture of creative "destructors" and support them as they change the ways things are done. This will give us (our nation or organization) a sustainable competitive advantage for years to come.

These "destructors" are the ultimate dissenters. They are the ones who we hope will look at things with a very different set of eyes.

At it's core, innovation is about dissent.

So what about innovation in China- the country many choose to dominate the 21st century and beyond? How is the necessary dissent blossoming there?

We could learn a lot if we asked Liu Xiaobo, the most recent winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Unfortunately, he is in prison - with no prospect of being released anytime soon by the communist government.

It makes one wonder why, a generation after Tiannamen Square, China has still not yet created any discernible innovations.

But maybe we don't have to wonder. We already know the reason why.

About the Author

Andrew R. Thomas Blog | Associate Professor of Marketing and International Business

Andrew R. Thomas, Ph.D., is associate professor of marketing and international business at the University of Akron; and, a member of the core faculty at the International School of Management in Paris, France.

He is a bestselling business author/editor, whose 23 books include, most recently, American Shale Energy and the Global Economy: Business and Geopolitical Implications of the Fracking Revolution, The Customer Trap: How to Avoid the Biggest Mistake in Business, Global Supply Chain Security, The Final Journey of the Saturn V, and Soft Landing: Airline Industry Strategy, Service and Safety.

His book The Distribution Trap was awarded the Berry-American Marketing Association Prize for the Best Marketing Book of 2010. Another work, Direct Marketing in Action, was a finalist for the same award in 2008.

Andrew is founding editor-in-chief of the Journal of Transportation Security and a regularly featured analyst for media outlets around the world.

He has traveled to and conducted business in 120 countries on all seven continents.