Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 26, 2011

China's brilliant "Fast Follower" innovation policy is generating the biggest transfer of technology in history. It isn't producing results in terms of new companies, jobs, or economic growth in general, yet billions more flow into NIH and universities every year.

Policies 15

Policies Innovation Fast Follower Long-term 15

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 10, 2011

There is still a debate in strategy circles about whether it is better to be the first mover or a fast follower, and whether missing out on the first wave of disruptive innovation means falling behind forever.

Wireless 16

Wireless Suri Power Long-term 16

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 22, 2010

But don't count them out for long; if there's one thing Chinese companies are good at, it's implementing a "fast follower" strategy. At the corporate level, they're looking to the U.S. and the West for best practices.

NGO 15

NGO Chemicals Energy Hotels 15

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 6, 2012

Samsung has built its name over the past two decades on being the world's greatest Fast Follower. That would be a fundamental shift in strategy, and one Samsung has shown little interest in making. Until recently, this wasn't such a big deal.

Innovation 16

Innovation Supply Chain Short-term Long-term 16

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 4, 2014

In my experience, most companies are risk-averse and like to fashion themselves as great “fast followers.” But Kruschwitz makes an important point: “Being a fast follower on climate change…may be more complex and require longer lead times than most companies are anticipating.” That’s exactly right.

Supply Chain 9

Supply Chain Company Short-term Fast Follower 9

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 22, 2010

But dont count them out for long; if theres one thing Chinese companies are good at, its implementing a "fast follower" strategy. But dont count them out for long; if theres one thing Chinese companies are good at, its implementing a "fast follower" strategy. At the corporate level, theyre looking to the U.S.

NGO 15

NGO Chemicals Guidelines Telecommunications 15

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

Even when Bezos appears to be a fast follower, he's attempting to generate leapfrog momentum. Amazon's ability to create and coordinate a constellation of partners, suppliers and lead users to consistently generate new value goes beyond the remarkable.

Innovation 12

Innovation Technology Software Fast Follower 12

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 12, 2012

A version of this question came up, and my answer was to always be one step ahead of fast-followers by having a robust pipeline that kept people on their toes. How should companies hedge against the practice of copying your products as you go into those markets? IKEA is a great example of this.

Marketing 15

Marketing Hedge Chief Technology Officer Supply Chain 15

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 3, 2017

Despite what many think, there are not generically great ways to win — e.g., being a first mover or a fast follower or a branded player or a cost leader. Moreover, no meaningful How to Win choice exists outside the context of a particular Where to Play.

First-mover Advantage 15

First-mover Advantage Retail Strategy Pharmaceuticals 15

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 14, 2012

More often than not, the real "speed" challenge most leaderships face is quickly determining whether they're trying to better follow, lead or transform the customers and clients they have. Being a "fast follower" is much easier to manage than being a "fast transformer."

Consensus 10

Consensus Welch Retail CEO 10

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 18, 2012

It is possible, for example, to point to the same data and argue that because the developing countries are getting richer, what they want out of the global economic system will come to more closely match the preferences of today's rich countries. This convergence hypothesis is reassuring on many fronts.

Globalization 14

Globalization Banking Restructuring Politics 14

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 12, 2013

More importantly, by changing your organization's leadership development mindset, you can create the momentum needed to build a talent pipeline that will keep your organization strong as you grow, and grow fast. Follow the Scaling Social Impact insight center on Twitter @ScalingSocial and register to stay informed and give us feedback.

Banking 9

Banking Fast Follower Tools Survey 9

Harvard Business Review

JULY 27, 2015

But Samsung’s new mobile wallet strategy may be a sign that they are finally becoming a true leader and shedding their image as a fast follower. Its foray into this industry comes on the heels of product entries by Google and Apple.

Technology 8

Technology Retail System Industry 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 15, 2016

Sprints encourage fast follow-up. The team could have endlessly debated the merits of each approach until everyone agreed on one, or just gone with the CEO’s hunch, but instead they launched a sprint to prototype and test both. After Friday’s customer test, the results were clear: the simpler marketing was more effective.

Hotels 8

Hotels Consensus Project Products 8

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 1, 2015

The contrast could not be clearer: Amazon – fearlessly making big, risky bets like a serial entrepreneur; and Microsoft, eschewing disruptive innovation in favor of remaining the “ fast follower ” it has always been, wringing profit from previously proven technologies.

Company 8

Company Software Long-term Short-term 8

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 23, 2014

For example, new product development may be the lifeblood of a consumer products company—and thus need to be cultivated and resourced carefully—while in a low-cost producer, or fast follower company, product development may be only a nice-to-have activity.

Ulrich 8

Ulrich Cost Efficiency Consultative 8

N2Growth Blog

APRIL 29, 2012

Many successful bloggers today were not necessarily first-movers, but rather fast-followers able to leap frog the early adopters. In fact, blogging has been around long enough we’re now starting to experience the second and third comings of those who once abandoned their blogs only to come back again. Where Are We Now?

Blog 353

Blog Early Adopters Niche Marketing Magazine 353

Harvard Business Review

JULY 7, 2016

“This is one of the risks of a fast-follower strategy,” Soledad said. .” After a pause, the nose ring guy spoke again. “Still doesn’t make sense to me. Something’s fishy.” ” Miguel put his head in his hands. “Consumers assume the lower-priced product is lower quality.”

Case Study 12

Case Study Price Brand Focus Group 12

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 6, 2018

They are planning to be “fast followers” — a strategy that has worked with most information technologies. While some companies — most large banks, Ford and GM, Pfizer, and virtually all tech firms — are aggressively adopting artificial intelligence, many are not. We think this is a bad idea.

Company 8

Company Maturity System Engineering 8

Innovation Excellence

JULY 3, 2020

In many cases, incumbent companies don’t want to spend a lot of money on R&D, so they wait to see a technology develop and become more widely adopted, and then seek to be fast followers. While smart on paper, this strategy has become much harder to implement successfully in the digital age.

Innovation 98

Innovation Price Technology Blue Ocean Strategy 98

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 31, 2011

Further, while some start-ups legitimately have the potential to change the world, many more are fast followers looking for a "quick flip." Sure, there are entrepreneurs like Mason or Zuckerberg who win big. But the vast majority of new businesses fail. Corporate innovation?

Innovation 15

Innovation Health Care Entrepreneur Fast Follower 15

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 8, 2013

Market leaders and fast followers seek transformational change; cautious adopters and laggards dip their toe into incremental change. Market leaders and cautious adopters proactively seek change; fast followers and laggards take a reactive approach. Organizational DNA. See accompanying chart.)

CIO 9

CIO Succession Fast Follower Chief Information Officer 9