Convergenomics: Strategic Innovation in the Convergence Era

Citation

Law, D. (2012), "Convergenomics: Strategic Innovation in the Convergence Era", Library Review, Vol. 61 No. 1, pp. 61-62. https://doi.org/10.1108/00242531211207451

“Convergenomics” is an interesting book which in the normal course of events would probably pass most librarians by, but is well worth seeking out. It charts the mega trends that are shaping how people behave and organizations work, examining how organizations should respond to these. The authors are distinguished professors of business at the University of Nebraska‐Lincoln and they set out to describe how globalization, digitization, changing demographics, changing industry mix, deregulation and privatization, commoditization of processes, new value chains, emerging new economies, a deteriorating environment and cultural conflicts have led to what they define as a convergence revolution. They examine this revolution from the perspectives of technology, industry, knowledge, open‐source networking and bio‐artificial convergence explaining how human systems are transformed by what they have named convergenomics. They assert that an understanding of convergenomics can lead to innovative strategic approaches and claim that more agile businesses are already employing these approaches to become and remain competitive and to generate greater value in a world radically changed by e‐commerce.

Although the book is aimed at business and commercial organizations, it deserves a wider audience. It champions the importance of knowledge and knowledge workers and is therefore full of interesting and relevant, if lateral, thinking for those in the wider information world. Quite apart from a masterly analysis of global trends it is also full of apercus, some of which are highlighted below, giving all managers the opportunity to pause for reflection. The premise of the book is that the functionality of technology, including IT, has led to many opportunities to do things better within organizations, expanding managerial scope and forcing managers to think more globally. Organizations should focus less on economies of scale and more on economies of expertise and collaboration. They argue that organisations need to encompass:

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  Adaptation: maximization of local relevance;

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  Aggregation: globally consistent organization; and

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  Arbitrage: leveraging regional differences and local competitive advantages.

The authors suggest that there will be a surplus of individuals with outdated skills and a shortage of specialists with the necessary knowledge and technological skills. This should resonate with any library manager trying to develop new and customer‐relevant services. They also argue that knowledge workers should be viewed as capital assets rather than production costs, a suggestion that university managers need drawn to their attention!

Lee and Olson propose that technological superiority is no longer sufficient. The future belongs to those who can come up with new knowledge and better ways of doing things. They also examine the concept that instead of seeking economies of scale, businesses in the Web 2.0 environment should focus on the new measure of economic value – attention. So while never reaching the heights of being a must read book, it is certainly sufficiently thought‐provoking and full of insights to be worth seeking out. It can be repetitive in places – Moore's Law must be mentioned and explained a dozen times – but is generally fluently written, is well edited and well produced.