The Venturesome Economy: How Innovation Sustains Prosperity in a More Connected World

by Amar Bhide

Many warn that the next stage of globalization--the offshoring of research and development to China and India--threatens the foundations of Western prosperity. But in The Venturesome Economy , acclaimed business and economics scholar Amar Bhidé shows how wrong the doomsayers are.
Using extensive field studies on venture-capital-backed businesses to examine how technology really advances in modern economies, Bhidé explains why know-how developed abroad enhances--not diminishes--prosperity at home, and why trying to maintain the U.S. lead by subsidizing more research or training more scientists will do more harm than good.
When breakthrough ideas have no borders, a nation's capacity to exploit cutting-edge research regardless of where it originates is "venturesome consumption"--the willingness and ability of businesses and consumers to effectively use products and technologies derived from scientific research--is far more important than having a share of such research. In fact, a venturesome economy benefits from an increase in research produced the success of Apple's iPod, for instance, owes much to technologies developed in Asia and Europe.
Many players--entrepreneurs, managers, financiers, salespersons, consumers, and not just a few brilliant scientists and engineers--have kept the United States at the forefront of the innovation game. As long as their venturesome spirit remains alive and well, advances abroad need not be feared. Read The Venturesome Economy and learn why--and see how we can keep it that way.

Genres: Economics, Business, Nonfiction

508 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Francisco Vazquez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a bad book as much as it is a dated book. Published in 2005-06, the first half of the book describes the results of a survey applied to businessmen who have received funding from venture capital (VC) funds.
The second half tries to extrapolate the results of the survey to the US economy at large.
The main issue is that some of the conceptions around VC and capitalism have changed as a result of the 2008 Great Financial Crisis (GFC) and the COVID pandemic, such views around migration, and offshoring to China.
I guess people interested in history of ideas or capitalism will find this book valuable. But a generalist might want to read something more current.

[Arithmomaniac · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a surprisingly readable and very revealing look at how the American nature of innovation (adapted to locale-specific implementation rather than grand ideas) makes it a beneficiary of the globalization of high-end ideas. it changed the way I saw innovation and globalization.

Unless you really care about VC-backed firms, skip book 1. You won't miss anything.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mean... I guess this is good research (for a business school professor), and I usually find venture capital interesting, but I just got bored somewhere along the way and just stopped reading.