In the 21st century, the key to remaining competitive with China, India, and the rest of the world will be innovation, a national core competency that will play a critical role in the battle to preserve the American Dream.
This view is the subject of a forthcoming book written by Kenneth Harrington, managing director of the Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, and Robert Skandalaris, founder and chairman of Noble International Ltd. While America was built by entrepreneurs, and continues its stronghold on innovation, the co-authors contend that it is no longer a forgone conclusion that America will lead the world in innovation.
They cite an unprecedented surge in the rate of innovation over the past 20 years that has given rise to a momentum that innovation tends to generate. Evidence lies in a sharp increase in US patent applications and grants, exponential growth in new technologies, the spread of capitalism, and movement to information-based organizations. “More information was produced in the past 30 years than in the previous 5000,” they write, “and the amount of information currently being produced is doubling every two years and accelerating.”
What has been the response to this surge? Americans are enrolling in an increasing number of entrepreneurship programs nationwide. After years of implementing cost-cutting measures and more recently, outsourcing, CEOs are turning to growth and innovation to gain the competitive edge. And state governments, along with economic development concerns, have stepped up efforts to foster entrepreneurship as a means of creating economic growth.
Undercutting the very systems that support entrepreneurship, however, is a dangerous act, caution the authors. While the academic community is playing a greater role in the innovation process by expanding entrepreneurial programs and technology transfer capabilities, it is also struggling for research dollars vital for breakthroughs in science and technology.