The Early Computer Industry

Uses case studies to explore why large scale electronics failed to win a leadership position in the early computer industry and why IBM, a firm with a heritage in the business machines industry, succeeded. The cases cover both the US and the UK industry focusing on electronics giants GE, RCA, English Electric, EMI and Ferranti.

"For those of a certain age, it is impossible to read this comprehensive and fascinating book without an occasional tear." - David Birch, financialworld.co.uk

Autorentext
TONY GANDY is a reader at IFS School of Finance, UK. After a period as a journalist he worked for an investment bank and spent 15 years running his own small consulting firm mainly specialising in the overlap of banking and technology. His research interests include competition in the early computer industry, innovation in bank delivery channels, strategy and competition in services (financial enterprises) and industrial companies, and banking technology.

Inhalt
List of Tables List of Figures Prologue Acknowledgements A Note on Referencing Styles Historiography Scope, Scale, Concentric Diversification and the Black Box RCA and the Electronic Data Processing Business General Electric and the Commercial Data Processing Market The Ferranti Company and the Early Computer Industry Electrical and Musical Industries Strategies and organisations of IBM and ICT IBM's other Competitors Conclusions: Concentric Diversification versus Market Specialisation and the Problem of Resource Allocation