Policies in Industry

Abstract

The previous chapters of this book confirmed that a major reason for the long-term decline in Britain’s competitiveness in manufactured goods has been an inability to compete in innovative products and processes. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the performance of British management in the light of current knowledge about the successful management of innovative firms. The discussion will concentrate on British weaknesses in managing innovation, because Britain’s economic performance in general suggests that the weaknesses highlighted here are widespread. This book, however, also reveals some strengths, such as the steady commitment of the chemical industry to innovative activities, and the considerable British achievement in technical innovation and international competitiveness in coalmining machinery. There are also examples of retrenchment and recovery, for example, in textile machinery. The British weaknesses are neither universal, nor irremediable. We discuss them here in the hope of stimulating action that will eventually eliminate them.