World-renowned economist Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, explains that we have an opportunity to shape the fourth industrial revolu­tion, which will fundamentally alter how we live and work. Schwab argues that this revolution is different in scale, scope and complexity from any that have come before. Characterized by a range of new technologies that are fusing the physical, digital and biological worlds, the developments are affecting all disciplines, economies, industries and governments, and even challenging ideas about what it means to be human. Artificial intelligence is already all around us, from supercomputers, drones and virtual assistants to 3D printing, DNA sequencing, smart thermostats, wear­able sensors and microchips smaller than a grain of sand. But this is just the beginning: nanomaterials 200 times stronger than steel and a million times thinner than a strand of hair and the first transplant of a 3D printed liver are already in development. Imagine “smart factories” in which global systems of manu­facturing are coordinated virtually, or implantable mobile phones made of biosynthetic materials. The fourth industrial revolution, says Schwab, is more significant, and its ramifications more profound, than in any prior period of human history. He outlines the key technologies driving this revolution and discusses the major impacts expected on government, business, civil society and individu­als. Schwab also offers bold ideas on how to harness these changes and shape a better future—one in which technology empowers people rather than replaces them; progress serves society rather than disrupts it; and in which innovators respect moral and ethical boundaries rather than cross them. We all have the opportunity to contribute to developing new frame­works that advance progress.

'Understanding Industrial and Corporate Change' contains pioneering work on technological, organizational, and institutional change and explores three distinct themes: Markets and Organizations; Evolutionary Theory and Technological Change; and Strategy, Capabilities, and Knowledge Management.

This wide-ranging handbook studies and defines the paradigm of evolutionary economic geography. The distinguished contributors highlight the key conceptual, theoretical and empirical advances, and present a clear statement of their aims, objectives and methods.

The Foundations of Complex Evolving Economies seeks to offer an integrated analysis of the anatomy and physiology of the capitalist engine of generation and exploitation of technological organizational and institutional innovations - from the drivers of knowledge accumulation, to the modes in which such knowledge is incorporated into business firms, all the way to the processes of innovation-driven “Schumpeterian competition” and macroeconomic growth. In that, it advances the interpretation of such patterns, in terms of economies seen as complex evolving systems. The basic objects of analysis are the history of the emergence and development of modern capitalist economies and their current functionings. Indeed , the tall ambition of the book is to address two basic questions at the core of the whole economic discipline since its inception. They regard, first, the drivers and patterns of change of the capitalistic machine of production and innovation and, second, the mechanisms of coordination among a multitude of self-seeking economic agents often characterized by conflicting interests. In order to do that, this Manual, in addition to the nature of technology and innovation, considers from a profoundly alternative perspective, all domains of analysis typically addressed (or not) by microeconomic texts, including micro behaviours, the theory of the firm, the theory of production, consumption patterns, market dynamics, and industrial evolution.

How can we best understand the impact of revolutionary technologies on the business cycle, the economy, and society? Why is economics meaningless without history and without an understanding of institutional and technical change? Does the 'new economy' mean the 'end of history'?an we best understand the impact of revolutionary technologies on business organization and the business cycle? These are some of the questions addressed in this authoritative analysis of modern economic growth from the Industrial Revolution to the 'New Economy' of today. Chris Freeman has been one of the foremost researchers on innovation for a long time and his colleague Francisco Louçã is an outstanding historian of economic theory and an analyst of econometric models and methods. Together they chart the history of five technological revolutions: water-powered mechanization, steam-powered mechanization, electrification, motorization, and computerization. They demonstrate the necessity to take account of politics, culture, organizational change, and entrepreneurship, as well as science and technology in the analysis of economic growth. This is an well-informed, highly topical, and persuasive study of interest across all the social sciences.

In our increasingly digital, mobile, and global world, the existing theories of business and economics have lost much of their appeal with the phenomenal rise of Chindia, the reality of Brexit, the turmoil caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and the seismic shifting of the global center of gravity from west to east. In the area of innovation, the traditional thinking that a developed country, often the US, will come up with the next major innovation, launch at home first, and then take it to other markets does not ring true anymore. Similarly, the world where conglomerates go bargain-hunting for acquisitions in emerging markets has been turned upside-down. This book reveals and illustrates the Global Rule of Three phenomenon, which stipulates that in competitive markets only three companies (which the authors call "generalists") can dominate the market. All other players in the market are specialists. Further, whereas the financial performance of generalists improves as market share increases, specialist companies see a decrease in financial performance as their market share increases, as the latter are margin-driven companies. This theory powerfully captures the evolution of global markets and what executives must do to succeed. It is based on empirical analyses of hundreds of markets and industries in the US and globally. Competitive markets evolve in a predictable fashion across industries and geographies, where every industry goes through a similar lifecycle from beginning to end (or revitalization). From local to regional to national markets, the last stop in the evolution of markets is going global. The pattern is so consistent that it represents a distinct and natural market structure at every level. The authors offer strategies that generalists and specialist should follow to stay competitive as well as twelve expansion strategies for global companies from emerging markets. This book chronicles this global evolution and provides impactful managerial implications for executives and students of marketing and corporate strategy alike.

This book is designed for those scholars, students, policy-makers – or just curious readers– who are looking for heterodox thinking on the issue of environmental economics and policy. Contributions to this book draw on multiple streams of institutional and evolutionary economics and help build an approach to environmental policy that radically diverges from mainstream prescriptions. No 'silver bullet' solutions emerge from the analyses. Even market-based tools – such as green taxes or tradable pollution permits – are bound to fail if they are not incorporated into an integrated, multi-dimensional and multi-actor policy for structural change.