Nick Carr

There has been much discussion about the effects of rampant automation on the economy and on the labor market in particular. There has been much less attention paid to its effects on human talent and motivation. But what decades of human-factors research tell us is that when computers and other machines take challenging tasks away from us, we turn into observers rather than actors. Distanced … [ Read more ]

The Ignorance of Crowds

The open source model can play an important role in innovation, but know its limitations.

Bridging the Breakthrough Gap

Creating disruptions is fine, but mending them may be even better. The case for cautious inventiveness.

Mastering Imitation

The cult of innovation seems healthy on the face of it. In a free market, after all, innovation underpins competitive advantage, which in turn undergirds profitability. Being indistinguishable from everyone else means operating with a microthin profit margin, if not outright losses. So why not try to innovate everywhere – to let, as Chairman Mao famously put it, a thousand flowers bloom?

Here’s why not: For … [ Read more ]

Does IT Matter? Information Technology and the Corrosion of Competitive Advantage

Over the last decade, and even since the bursting of the technology bubble, pundits, consultants, and thought leaders have argued that information technology provides the edge necessary for business success.

IT expert Nicholas G. Carr offers a radically different view in this eloquent and explosive book. As IT’s power and presence have grown, he argues, its strategic relevance has actually decreased. IT has been transformed … [ Read more ]

Why IT Doesn’t Matter Anymore

Are we spending too much on technology? This provocative Harvard Business Review excerpt suggests that IT no longer conveys competitive advantage, so invest your capital elsewhere.

Editor’s Note: read a series of letters from business luminaries discussing the original controversial HBR article, along with the author’s reply at:
Content: Article | Author: Nicholas G. Carr | Source: “Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge” | Subjects: IT / Technology / E-Business, Strategy