The Only Sustainable Edge

Author John Hagel says many Western execs see only cost savings when they can learn so much more from Chinese and Indian companies. I think he's right.

Offshoring has been a hot topic in recent months, as Western companies have cut tech labor costs drastically by shipping such jobs to countries like China and India. But the trend means more than just job loss at home or short-term wage arbitrage for the West. This is something I have been saying for the past two years. I feel like a broken record at times.

In their book The Only Sustainable Edge ($25, Harvard Business School Press), John Hagel and John Seely Brown argue that the rise of the tech industry in China and India will lead to the creation of formidable overseas competitors. The advantage has less to do with sheer population figures, they say, and more with the differences in how these new economic powers conduct business.