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 Preface vii

engineering students in mind. For example, Chapter Six (Defining the Organization’s Stra-
tegic Direction) provides basic strategic analysis tools with which business students may
already be familiar, but which may be unfamiliar to engineering students. Similarly, some
of the material in Chapter Eleven (Managing the New Product Development Process) on
computer-aided design or quality function deployment may be review material for infor-
mation system students or engineering students, while being new to management students.
Though the chapters are designed to have an intuitive order to them, they are also designed
to be self-standing so instructors can pick and choose from them “buffet style” if they prefer.

New for the Fifth Edition

This fifth edition of the text has been comprehensively revised to ensure that the
frameworks and tools are rigorous and comprehensive, the examples are fresh and
exciting, and the figures and cases represent the most current information available.
Some changes of particular note include:
Six New Short Cases
Tesla Motors. The new opening case for Chapter Three is about Tesla Motors.
In 2015, Tesla Motors was a $3.2 billion company on track to set history. It had cre-
ated two cars that most people agreed were remarkable. Consumer reports had rated
Tesla’s Model S the best car it had ever reviewed. Though it was not yet posting prof-
its (see Exhibits 1 and 2), sales were growing rapidly and analysts were hopeful that
profits would soon follow. It had repaid its government loans ahead of the major auto
conglomerates. Most importantly, it looked like it might survive. Perhaps even thrive.
This was astonishing as there had been no other successful auto manufacturing start
up in the United States since the 1920s. However, getting the general public to adopt
fully electric vehicles still required surmounting several major hurdles.
A Battle Emerging in Mobile Payments. Chapter Four now opens with a case describ-
ing the mobile payment systems that are emerging and competing around the world.
In the developing world, mobile payment systems promise to help bring the unbanked
and underbanked access to fast and efficient funds transfer and better opportunities for
saving. In the developed world, competing mobile payment standards were b­ attling
to achieve dominance, and threatening to obviate the role of the major credit card
­companies—putting billions of dollars of transaction fees at stake.
Reinventing Hotels: citizen M. Chapter Six opens with a case about how Michael
Levie, Rattan Chadha, and Robin Chadha set out to create a fundamentally different
kind of hotel. Levie and the Chadhas dramatically reduced or eliminated key features
typically assumed to be standard at upscale hotels such as large rooms, in-house res-
taurants, and a reception desk, while increasing the use of technology at the hotel and
maintaining a modern and fresh aesthetic. This enabled them to create a stylish hotel
that was significantly less expensive than typical upscale hotels. This case pairs very
well with the new Research Brief in Chapter Six on Blue Ocean Strategy.
The Mahindra Shaan: Gambling on a Radical Innovation. Chapter Seven opens with a
case about the decision of Mahindra & Mahindra to make a very unusual tractor. Mahindra
& Mahindra had long made traditional tractors and focused on incremental innovation.
However, in the late 1990s, Mahindra’s management decided to try to find the way to
meet the needs of smaller farmers, who could not afford a regular tractor. They ended
viii Preface

up creating the Shaan, a tractor/transporter hybrid that could serve for farming, per-
sonal transportation, and for transporting goods (a job small farmers performed in the
off season to earn additional income). Developing the tractor was a major break with
their traditional innovation choices, and this case details how they were able to get this
unusual project approved, and nurture it through the new product development process.
Ending HIV? Sangamo Biosciences and Gene Editing. Chapter Eight opens with a
case ripped straight from the headlines—the development of ways to alter a living
person’s genes to address critical ailments. Sangamo Biosciences has developed a
way to edit a person’s genes with Zinc Finger Nucleases (ZFNs). This innovation has
the potential to eliminate monogenic diseases such as hemophilia or Huntington’s
disease. Even more intriguingly, Sangamo was exploring a way to use ZFNs to cure
HIV by giving people a mutation that renders people naturally immune to the disease.
In the case, Sangamo must decide how to address this huge—but incredibly risky—­
opportunity. It already has partnerships with major pharma companies for some of its
other projects, but it is unclear whether the pharma companies would want to partici-
pate in the HIV project, and whether Sangamo would want to go this route.
Managing Innovation Teams at Disney. Chapter Twelve now opens with a case about
how Disney creates and manages the teams that develop animated films. Disney, and
Pixar (from whom it acquired several of its current innovation practices) are world
renown for their ability to develop magically innovative animated films. This opening
case highlights the roles of having a small team size, being collocated, and instilling
a culture of brutally honest peer feedback.
Cases, Data, and Examples from Around the World
Careful attention has been paid to ensure that the text is global in its scope. The open-
ing cases feature companies from India, Israel, Japan, The Netherlands, Kenya, and the
United States, and many examples from other countries are embedded in the chapters
themselves. Wherever possible, statistics used in the text are based on worldwide data.
More Comprehensive Coverage and Focus on Current Innovation Trends
In response to reviewer suggestions, the new edition now provides more extensive
discussions of topics such as crowdsourcing and customer co-creation, patenting
strategies, patent trolls, Blue-Ocean Strategy, and more. The suggested readings for
each chapter have also been updated to identify some of the more recent publications
that have gained widespread attention in the topic area of each chapter. Despite these
additions, great effort has also been put into ensuring the book remains concise—a
feature that has proven popular with both instructors and students.
Supplements
The teaching package for Strategic Management of Technological Innovation is available
online from the book’s Online Learning Center at www.mhhe.com/schilling5e and includes:
∙ An instructor’s manual with suggested class outlines, responses to discussion ques-
tions, and more.
∙ Complete PowerPoint slides with lecture outlines and all major figures from the text. The
slides can also be modified by the instructor to customize them to the instructor’s needs.
∙ A testbank with true/false, multiple choice, and short answer/short essay questions.
∙ A suggested list of cases to pair with chapters from the text.
Acknowledgments
This book arose out of my research and teaching on technological innovation and new
product development over the last decade; however, it has been anything but a lone
endeavor. I owe much of the original inspiration of the book to Charles Hill, who
helped to ignite my initial interest in innovation, guided me in my research agenda,
and ultimately encouraged me to write this book. I am also very grateful to colleagues
and friends such as Rajshree Agarwal, Juan Alcacer, Rick Alden, William Baumol,
Bruno Braga, Gino Cattanni, Tom Davis, Sinziana Dorobantu, Gary Dushnitsky,
Douglas Fulop, Raghu Garud, Deepak Hegde, Hla Lifshitz, Tammy Madsen, Rodolfo
­Martinez, Goncalo Pacheco D’Almeida, Jaspal Singh, Deepak Somaya, Bill Starbuck,
and Christopher Tucci for their suggestions, insights, and encouragement. I am grateful
to executive brand manager Mike Ablassmeir and marketing manager Casey Keske.
I am also thankful to my editors, Laura Hurst Spell and Diana Murphy, who have been
so supportive and made this book possible, and to the many reviewers whose sugges-
tions have dramatically improved the book:

Joan Adams Cathy A. Enz

Baruch Business School Cornell University
(City University of New York) Robert Finklestein
Shahzad Ansari University of Maryland–University
Erasmus University College
B. Rajaram Baliga Sandra Finklestein
Wake Forest University Clarkson University School of Business
Sandy Becker Jeffrey L. Furman
Rutgers Business School Boston University
David Berkowitz Cheryl Gaimon
University of Alabama in Huntsville Georgia Institute of Technology
John Bers Elie Geisler
Vanderbilt University Illinois Institute of Technology
Paul Bierly Sanjay Goel
James Madison University University of Minnesota in Duluth
Paul Cheney Andrew Hargadon
University of Central Florida University of California, Davis
Pete Dailey Steven Harper
Marshall University James Madison University
Robert DeFillippi Donald E. Hatfield
Suffolk University Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State
Deborah Dougherty University
Rutgers University ix
x Acknowledgments

Glenn Hoetker Robert Nash

University of Illinois Vanderbilt University
Sanjay Jain Anthony Paoni
University of Wisconsin–Madison Northwestern University
Theodore Khoury Johannes M. Pennings
Oregon State University University of Pennsylvania
Rajiv Kohli Raja Roy
College of William and Mary Tulane University
Vince Lutheran Linda F. Tegarden
University of North Virginia Tech
Carolina—Wilmington Oya Tukel
Steve Markham Cleveland State University
North Carolina State University Anthony Warren
Steven C. Michael The Pennsylvania State University
University of Illinois

I am also very grateful to the many students of the Technological Innovation and
New Product Development courses I have taught at New York University, INSEAD,
Boston University, and University of California at Santa Barbara. Not only did these
students read, challenge, and help improve many earlier drafts of the work, but they
also contributed numerous examples that have made the text far richer than it would
have otherwise been. I thank them wholeheartedly for their patience and generosity.
Melissa A. Schilling
Brief Contents
Preface  vi
1 Introduction  1

PART ONE
Industry Dynamics of Technological Innovation   13
2 Sources of Innovation   15
3 Types and Patterns of Innovation   43
4 Standards Battles and Design Dominance   67
5 Timing of Entry   89

PART TWO
Formulating Technological Innovation Strategy   107
6 Defining the Organization’s Strategic Direction   109
7 Choosing Innovation Projects   129
8 Collaboration Strategies  153
9 Protecting Innovation  183

PART THREE
Implementing Technological Innovation Strategy   209
10 Organizing for Innovation   211
11 Managing the New Product Development Process   235
12 Managing New Product Development Teams   265
13 Crafting a Deployment Strategy   283

INDEX  311

xi
Contents

Chapter  1 Universities and Government-Funded

Introduction  1 Research  28
Private Nonprofit Organizations   32
The Importance of Technological Innovation in Collaborative Networks   32
Innovation  1 Technology Clusters  34
The Impact of Technological Innovation Technological Spillovers  37
on Society  2 Summary of Chapter   37
Innovation by Industry: The Importance of Discussion Questions  38
Strategy  4 Suggested Further Reading   39
The Innovation Funnel   4 Endnotes  39
The Strategic Management of Technological
Innovation  6 Chapter 3
Summary of Chapter   9 Types and Patterns of Innovation   43
Discussion Questions  10
Suggested Further Reading   10 Tesla Motors  43
Endnotes  10 History of Tesla   43
The Roadster  44
The Model S   45
PART ONE The Future of Tesla   46
INDUSTRY DYNAMICS Overview  47
OF TECHNOLOGICAL Types of Innovation   48
INNOVATION  13 Product Innovation versus Process
Innovation  48
Chapter 2 Radical Innovation versus Incremental
Innovation  48
Sources of Innovation   15
Competence-Enhancing Innovation versus
Getting an Inside Look: Given Imaging’s Competence-Destroying Innovation  49
Camera Pill  15 Architectural Innovation versus Component
Overview  19 Innovation  50
Creativity  20 Using the Dimensions   51
Individual Creativity  20 Technology S-Curves  51
Organizational Creativity  20 S-Curves in Technological Improvement   52
Translating Creativity Into Innovation   22 S-Curves in Technology Diffusion   54
The Inventor  22 S-Curves as a Prescriptive Tool   56
Innovation by Users   24 Limitations of S-Curve Model as a Prescriptive
Research and Development by Firms   26 Tool  57
Firm Linkages with Customers, Suppliers, Technology Cycles  57
Competitors, and Complementors   27 Summary of Chapter   63
xii

Discussion Questions  64
Suggested Further Reading   64
Endnotes  65
Chapter 4
Standards Battles and Design
Dominance  67
A Battle Emerging in Mobile Payments   67
Overview  70
Why Dominant Designs are Selected   71
Learning Effects  71
Network Externalities  73
Government Regulation  75
The Result: Winner-Take-All Markets   76
Multiple Dimensions of Value   77
A Technology’s Stand-Alone Value   77
Network Externality Value   77
Competing for Design Dominance
in Markets with Network Externalities   82
Are Winner-Take-All Markets Good for
Consumers?  84
Summary of Chapter   86
Discussion Questions  86
Suggested Further Reading   87
Endnotes  87
Chapter 5
Timing of Entry   89
From SixDegrees.com to Facebook: The Rise
of Social Networking Sites   89
Overview  93
First-Mover Advantages  93
Brand Loyalty and Technological
Leadership  93
Preemption of Scarce Assets   94
Exploiting Buyer Switching Costs   94
Reaping Increasing Returns Advantages   95
First-Mover Disadvantages  95
Research and Development Expenses   96
Undeveloped Supply and Distribution
Channels  96
Immature Enabling Technologies and
Complements  96
Uncertainty of Customer Requirements   97
Contents xiii
Factors Influencing Optimal Timing of Entry   99
Strategies to Improve Timing Options   103
Summary of Chapter   103
Discussion Questions  104
Suggested Further Reading   104
Endnotes  105
PART TWO
FORMULATING TECHNOLOGICAL
INNOVATION STRATEGY  107
Chapter 6
Defining the Organization’s Strategic
Direction  109
Reinventing Hotels: citizenM   109
Overview  111
Assessing The Firm’s Current Position   111
External Analysis  111
Internal Analysis  115
Identifying Core Competencies and Dynamic
Capabilities  119
Core Competencies  119
The Risk of Core Rigidities   120
Dynamic Capabilities  121
Strategic Intent  121
Summary of Chapter   126
Discussion Questions  126
Suggested Further Reading   127
Endnotes  127
Chapter 7
Choosing Innovation Projects   129
The Mahindra Shaan: Gambling
on a Radical Innovation   129
Overview  131
The Development Budget   131
Quantitative Methods for Choosing Projects   133
Discounted Cash Flow Methods   133
Real Options  138
Disadvantages of Quantitative Methods   140
Qualitative Methods for Choosing Projects   140
Screening Questions  141
The Aggregate Project Planning Framework   143
Q-Sort  145
xiv Contents
Combining Quantitative and Qualitative
Information  145
Conjoint Analysis  145
Data Envelopment Analysis   147
Summary of Chapter   149
Discussion Questions  149
Suggested Further Reading   150
Endnotes  150
Chapter 8
Collaboration Strategies  153
Ending HIV? Sangamo Biosciences and Gene
Editing  153
Correcting Monogenic Diseases   153
Drug Development and Clinical Trials   155
Competing Technologies  156
Sangamo’s Partnerships  157
A World-Changing Opportunity: Creating
Immunity to HIV   158
The Future . . .   159
Overview  160
Reasons for Going Solo   161
1. Availability of Capabilities  161
2. Protecting Proprietary Technologies  161
3. Controlling Technology Development
and Use  162
4. Building and Renewing Capabilities   162
Advantages of Collaborating   163
Types of Collaborative Arrangements   164
Strategic Alliances  165
Joint Ventures  167
Licensing  167
Outsourcing  168
Collective Research Organizations   170
Choosing a Mode of Collaboration   170
Choosing and Monitoring Partners   173
Partner Selection  173
Partner Monitoring and Governance   174
Summary of Chapter   177
Discussion Questions  178
Suggested Further Reading   179
Endnotes  179
Chapter 9
Protecting Innovation  183
The Digital Music Distribution
Revolution  183
Fraunhofer and MP3   183
Napster Takes the Lead   184
iTunes Just in Time   185
Overview  187
Appropriability  188
Patents, trademarks, and copyrights   188
Patents  189
Trademarks and Service Marks   194
Copyright  195
Trade Secrets  196
The Effectiveness and Use of Protection
Mechanisms  197
Wholly Proprietary Systems versus Wholly Open
Systems  198
Advantages of Protection   200
Advantages of Diffusion   201
Summary of Chapter   204
Discussion Questions  205
Suggested Further Reading   205
Endnotes  206
PART THREE
IMPLEMENTING TECHNOLOGICAL
INNOVATION STRATEGY  209
Chapter 10
Organizing for ­Innovation   211
Organizing for Innovation at Google   211
Overview  213
Size and Structural Dimensions of the Firm   214
Size: Is Bigger Better?   214
Structural Dimensions of the Firm   216
Centralization  216
Formalization and Standardization   217
Mechanistic versus Organic Structures   218
Size versus Structure   218
 Contents xv

The Ambidextrous Organization: The Best of Both Computer-Aided Design Computer-

Worlds?  220 Aided Engineering/Computer-Aided
Modularity and “Loosely Coupled” Manufacturing  256
Organizations  222 Tools for Measuring New Product Development
Modular Products  222 Performance  257
Loosely Coupled Organizational Structures   223 New Product Development Process Metrics   259
Managing Innovation Across Borders   226 Overall Innovation Performance   259
Summary of Chapter   229 Summary of Chapter   259
Discussion Questions  230 Discussion Questions  260
Suggested Further Reading   230 Suggested Further Reading   260
Endnotes  231 Endnotes  261

Chapter 11
Managing the New Product Development Chapter 12
Process  235 Managing New Product Development
Teams  265
Skullcandy: Developing Extreme
Headphones  235 Innovation Teams at the Walt Disney
The Idea  235 Company  265
Building an Action Sports Brand   236 The Making of an Animated Film   265
Developing the Ultimate DJ Headphone   236 Workspace and Collocation   266
Overview  240 Team Communication  266
Objectives of the New Product Development Creating a Creative Culture   266
Process  241 Overview  267
Maximizing Fit with Customer Requirements   241 Constructing New Product Development
Minimizing Development Cycle Time   242 Teams  267
Controlling Development Costs   242 Team Size  268
Sequential Versus Partly Parallel Team Composition  268
Development Processes  243 The Structure of New Product Development
Project Champions  245 Teams  271
Risks of Championing   245 Functional Teams  271
Involving Customers and Suppliers in the Lightweight Teams  272
Development Process  247 Heavyweight Teams  272
Involving Customers  247 Autonomous Teams  272
Involving Suppliers  248 The Management of New Product
Crowdsourcing  248 Development Teams  274
Tools for Improving the New Product Team Leadership  274
Development Process  249 Team Administration  274
Stage-Gate Processes  250 Managing Virtual Teams   275
Quality Function Deployment (QFD)—The House Summary of Chapter   278
of Quality  252 Discussion Questions  278
Design for Manufacturing   254 Suggested Further Reading   279
Failure Modes and Effects Analysis   255 Endnotes  279
xvi Contents

Chapter 13 Licensing and Compatibility   294

Crafting a Deployment Strategy   283 Pricing  295
Distribution  297
Deployment Tactics in the Global Video Game Selling Direct versus Using
Industry  283 Intermediaries  297
Pong: The Beginning of an Era   283 Strategies for Accelerating Distribution   299
The Emergence of 8-Bit Systems   284 Marketing  301
The 16-Bit Video Game Systems   284 Major Marketing Methods   301
32/64-Bit Systems  285 Tailoring the Marketing Plan to Intended
128-Bit Systems  286 Adopters  303
The Seventh Generation: A Second Round Using Marketing to Shape Perceptions and
of Competition in 128-bit Systems   288 Expectations  305
The Eighth Generation: Increasing Competition Summary of Chapter   308
from Mobile Devices    289 Discussion Questions  309
Overview  291 Suggested Further Reading   309
Launch Timing  292 Endnotes  310
Strategic Launch Timing   292
Optimizing Cash Flow versus Embracing
Cannibalization  293 Index  311
Chapter One

Introduction
THE IMPORTANCE OF TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION
technological In many industries technological innovation is now the most important driver of
innovation competitive success. Firms in a wide range of industries rely on products developed
The act of within the past five years for almost one-third (or more) of their sales and profits. For
introducing a
new device,
example, at Johnson & Johnson, products developed within the last five years account
method, or for over 30 percent of sales, and sales from products developed within the past five
material for years at 3M have hit as high as 45 percent in recent years.
application to The increasing importance of innovation is due in part to the globalization of mar-
commercial or kets. Foreign competition has put pressure on firms to continuously innovate in order
practical
objectives.
to produce differentiated products and services. Introducing new products helps firms
protect their margins, while investing in process innovation helps firms lower their
costs. Advances in information technology also have played a role in speeding the
pace of innovation. Computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing have
made it easier and faster for firms to design and produce new products, while flex-
ible manufacturing technologies have made shorter production runs economical and
have reduced the importance of production economies of scale.1 These technologies
help firms develop and produce more product variants that closely meet the needs
of narrowly defined customer groups, thus achieving differentiation from competi-
tors. For example, in 2015, Toyota offered 21 different passenger vehicle lines under
the Toyota brand (e.g., Camry, Prius, Highlander, and Tundra). Within each of the
vehicle lines, Toyota also offered several different models (e.g., Camry L, Camry LE,
and Camry SE) with different features and at different price points. In total, Toyota
offered 167 car models ranging in price from $14,845 (for the Yaris three-door lift-
back) to $80,115 (for the Land Cruiser), and seating anywhere from three passengers
(e.g., Tacoma Regular Cab truck) to eight passengers (Sienna Minivan). On top of
this, Toyota also produced a range of luxury vehicles under its Lexus brand. Similarly,
Samsung introduced 52 unique smartphones in 2014 alone. Companies can use broad
portfolios of product models to help ensure they can penetrate almost every conceiv-
able market niche. While producing multiple product variations used to be expensive

1
2 Chapter 1 Introduction

and time-consuming, flexible manufacturing technologies now enable firms to seam-

lessly transition from producing one product model to the next, adjusting production
schedules with real-time information on demand. Firms further reduce production
costs by using common components in many of the models.
As firms such as Toyota, Samsung, and others adopt these new technologies and
increase their pace of innovation, they raise the bar for competitors, triggering an
industrywide shift to shortened development cycles and more rapid new product
introductions. The net results are greater market segmentation and rapid product obso-
lescence.2 Product life cycles (the time between a product’s introduction and its with-
drawal from the market or replacement by a next-generation product) have become
as short as 4 to 12 months for software, 12 to 24 months for computer hardware and
consumer electronics, and 18 to 36 months for large home appliances.3 This spurs
firms to focus increasingly on innovation as a strategic imperative—a firm that does
not innovate quickly finds its margins diminishing as its products become obsolete.

THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION ON SOCIETY

If the push for innovation has raised the competitive bar for industries, arguably mak-
ing success just that much more complicated for organizations, its net effect on society
is more clearly positive. Innovation enables a wider range of goods and services to be
delivered to people worldwide. It has made the production of food and other neces-
sities more efficient, yielded medical treatments that improve health conditions, and
enabled people to travel to and communicate with almost every part of the world. To
get a real sense of the magnitude of the effect of technological innovation on society,
look at Figure 1.1, which shows a timeline of some of the most important technologi-
cal innovations developed over the last 200 years. Imagine how different life would be
without these innovations!
The aggregate impact of technological innovation can be observed by looking at
gross gross domestic product (GDP). The gross domestic product of an economy is its
domestic total annual output, measured by final purchase price. Figure 1.2 shows the average
product (GDP) GDP per capita (that is, GDP divided by the population) for the world, developed
The total annual countries, and developing countries from 1969 to 2014. The figures have been con-
output of an
economy as verted into U.S. dollars and adjusted for inflation. As shown in the figure, the average
measured by its world GDP per capita has risen steadily since 1969. In a series of studies of economic
final purchase growth conducted at the National Bureau of Economic Research, economists showed
price. that the historic rate of economic growth in GDP could not be accounted for entirely
by growth in labor and capital inputs. Economist Robert Merton Solow argued that
this unaccounted-for residual growth represented technological change: Technologi-
cal innovation increased the amount of output achievable from a given quantity of
labor and capital. This explanation was not immediately accepted; many researchers
attempted to explain the residual away in terms of measurement error, inaccurate price
deflation, or labor improvement. But in each case the additional variables were unable
to eliminate this residual growth component. A consensus gradually emerged that the
 Chapter 1 Introduction 3

FIGURE 1.1 residual did in fact capture techno-

1800 - 1800—Electric battery
Timeline logical change. Solow received a
- 1804—Steam locomotive
of Some of Nobel Prize for his work in 1981,
- 1807—Internal combustion engine
The Most and the residual became known as
- 1809—Telegraph
Important - 1817—Bicycle the Solow Residual.4 While GDP
Technological
1820 - 1821—Dynamo has its shortcomings as a measure
Innovations In
The Last 200
- 1824—Braille writing system of standard of living, it does relate
- 1828—Hot blast furnace
Years very directly to the amount of
- 1831—Electric generator
- 1836—Five-shot revolver goods consumers can purchase.
1840 - 1841—Bunsen battery (voltaic cell) Thus, to the extent that goods
- 1842—Sulfuric ether-based anesthesia improve quality of life, we can
- 1846—Hydraulic crane ascribe some beneficial impact of
- 1850—Petroleum refining technological innovation.
- 1856—Aniline dyes
Sometimes technological inno-
1860 - 1862—Gatling gun
externalities vation results in negative extern-
- 1867—Typewriter
Costs (or benefits)
- 1876—Telephone alities. Production technologies may
that are borne create pollution that is harmful to
- 1877—Phonograph
(or reaped) by
individuals
- 1878—Incandescent lightbulb the surrounding communities; agri-
other than those 1880 - 1885—Light steel skyscrapers cultural and fishing technologies
responsible for - 1886—Internal combustion automobile can result in erosion, elimination
- 1887—Pneumatic tire
creating them. of natural habitats, and depletion
Thus, if a - 1892—Electric stove
- 1895—X-ray machine of ocean stocks; medical technolo-
business emits
pollutants in a 1900 - 1902—Air conditioner (electric) gies can result in unanticipated
community, it - 1903—Wright biplane consequences such as antibiotic-
imposes a nega- - 1906—Electric vacuum cleaner resistant strains of bacteria or
tive externality - 1910—Electric washing machine moral dilemmas regarding the use
on the community - 1914—Rocket
of genetic modification. However,
members; if a 1920 - 1921—Insulin (extracted)
business builds a technology is, in its purest essence,
- 1927—Television
park in a commu- - 1928—Penicillin knowledge—knowledge to solve
­
nity, it creates a - 1936—First programmable computer our problems and pursue our
positive external- - 1939—Atom fission goals.5 Technological innovation is
ity for community 1940 - 1942—Aqua lung thus the creation of new knowledge
members. - 1943—Nuclear reactor that is applied to practical prob-
- 1947—Transistor
lems. Sometimes this knowledge
- 1957—Satellite
- 1958—Integrated circuit is applied to problems hastily,
1960 - 1967—Portable handheld calculator without full consideration of the
- 1969—ARPANET (precursor to Internet) consequences and alternatives, but
- 1971—Microprocessor overall it will probably serve us
- 1973—Mobile (portable cellular) phone better to have more knowledge
- 1976—Supercomputer
than less.
1980 - 1981—Space shuttle (reusable)
- 1987—Disposable contact lenses
- 1989—High-definition television
- 1990—World Wide Web protocol
- 1996—Wireless Internet
2000 - 2003—Map of human genome
4 Chapter 1 Introduction

FIGURE 1.2
Gross $50,000
Domestic
Product per $45,000
Capita, 1969–
$40,000
2014 (in Real
2010 $US $35,000
Billions)
Source: USDA
$30,000
Economic Research
Service, International $25,000
Macroeconomic
Dataset (http://www.
$20,000
ers.usda.gov, accessed
August 17, 2015)
$15,000

$10,000

$5,000

$0

20 9
20 5
20 3

20 7
20 1
69

99
95
89
85

13
93
83
79

97
75

87
73

77

11
0
0
0
0
0
91
81
71

20

20
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
World Developed Countries Developing Countries

INNOVATION BY INDUSTRY: THE IMPORTANCE OF STRATEGY

As will be shown in Chapter Two, the majority of effort and money invested in tech-
nological innovation comes from industrial firms. However, in the frenetic race to
innovate, many firms charge headlong into new product development without clear
strategies or well-developed processes for choosing and managing projects. Such firms
often initiate more projects than they can effectively support, choose projects that are
a poor fit with the firm’s resources and objectives, and suffer long development cycles
and high project failure rates as a consequence (see the accompanying Research Brief
for a recent study of the length of new product development cycles). While innova-
tion is popularly depicted as a freewheeling process that is unconstrained by rules and
plans, study after study has revealed that successful innovators have clearly defined
innovation strategies and management processes.6

The Innovation Funnel

Most innovative ideas do not become successful new products. Many studies suggest
that only one out of several thousand ideas results in a successful new product: Many
projects do not result in technically feasible products and, of those that do, many fail
to earn a commercial return. According a 2012 study by the Product Development and
Management Association, only about one in nine projects that are initiated are success-
ful, and of those that make it to the point of being launched to the market, only about
half earn a profit.7 Furthermore, many ideas are sifted through and abandoned before
 Chapter 1 Introduction 5

Research Brief  How Long Does New Product

Development Take?a

In a large-scale survey administered by the Prod-
uct Development and Management Association
(PDMA), researchers examined the length of time
it took firms to develop a new product from initial
concept to market introduction. The study divided
new product development projects into catego-
ries representing their degree of innovativeness:
“radical” projects, “more innovative” projects, and
“incremental” projects. On average, incremental
projects took only 33 weeks from concept to mar-
ket introduction. More innovative projects took
significantly longer, clocking in at 57 weeks. The
development of radical products or technologies
took the longest, averaging 82 weeks. The study
also found that on average, for more innovative
and radical projects, firms reported significantly
shorter cycle times than those reported in the pre-
vious PDMA surveys conducted in 1995 and 2004.
a
Adapted from Markham, SK, and Lee, H. “­ Product
Development and Management Association’s 2012
comparative performance assessment study,” ­Journal
of Product Innovation Management 30 (2013), issue 3:
408–429.

a project is even formally initiated. According to one study that combined data from
prior studies of innovation success rates with data on patents, venture capital fund-
ing, and surveys, it takes about 3,000 raw ideas to produce one significantly new and
successful commercial product.8 The pharmaceutical industry demonstrates this
well—only one out of every 5,000 compounds makes it to the pharmacist’s shelf, and
only one-third of those will be successful enough to recoup their R&D costs.9 Further-
more, most studies indicate that it costs at least $1.5 billion and a decade of research to
bring a new Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved pharmaceutical product
to market! 10 The innovation process is thus often conceived of as a funnel, with many
potential new product ideas going in the wide end, but very few making it through the
development process (see Figure 1.3).

FIGURE 1.3
The New Prod-
uct Develop-
ment Funnel in
Pharmaceuticals

5,000 125
2-3 drugs tested 1 drug
Compounds Leads Rx

Discovery & Preclinical Clinical Trials Approval

3–6 years 6–7 years ½–2 years
6 Chapter 1 Introduction

The Strategic Management of Technological Innovation

Improving a firm’s innovation success rate requires a well-crafted strategy. A firm’s
innovation projects should align with its resources and objectives, leveraging its core
competencies and helping it achieve its strategic intent. A firm’s organizational struc-
ture and control systems should encourage the generation of innovative ideas while
also ensuring efficient implementation. A firm’s new product development process
should maximize the likelihood of projects being both technically and commercially
successful. To achieve these things, a firm needs (a) an in-depth understanding of the
dynamics of innovation, (b) a well-crafted innovation strategy, and (c) well-designed
processes for implementing the innovation strategy. We will cover each of these in
turn (see Figure 1.4).
In Part One, we will cover the foundations of technological innovation, gaining an
in-depth understanding of how and why innovation occurs in an industry, and why
some innovations rise to dominate others. First, we will look at the sources of innova-
tion in Chapter Two. We will address questions such as: Where do great ideas come
from? How can firms harness the power of individual creativity? What role do cus-
tomers, government organizations, universities, and alliance networks play in creating
innovation? In this chapter we will first explore the role of creativity in the generation of
novel and useful ideas. We then look at various sources of innovation, including the role
of individual inventors, firms, publicly sponsored research, and collaborative networks.
In Chapter Three, we will review models of types of innovation (such as radical ver-
sus incremental and architectural versus modular) and patterns of innovation (including
s-curves of technology performance and diffusion, and technology cycles). We will
address questions such as: Why are some innovations much harder to create and imple-
ment than others? Why do innovations often diffuse slowly even when they appear to
offer a great advantage? What factors influence the rate at which a technology tends to
improve over time? Familiarity with these types and patterns of innovation will help
us distinguish how one project is different from another and the underlying factors that
shape the project’s likelihood of technical or commercial success.
In Chapter Four, we will turn to the particularly interesting dynamics that emerge in
industries characterized by increasing returns, where strong pressures to adopt a single
dominant design can result in standards battles and winner-take-all markets. We will
address questions such as: Why do some industries choose a single dominant standard
rather than enabling multiple standards to coexist? What makes one technological
innovation rise to dominate all others, even when other seemingly superior technolo-
gies are offered? How can a firm avoid being locked out? Is there anything a firm can
do to influence the likelihood of its technology becoming the dominant design?
In Chapter Five, we will discuss the impact of entry timing, including first-mover
advantages, first-mover disadvantages, and the factors that will determine the firm’s
optimal entry strategy. This chapter will address such questions as: What are the
advantages and disadvantages of being first to market, early but not first, and late?
What determines the optimal timing of entry for a new innovation? This chapter
reveals a number of consistent patterns in how timing of entry impacts innovation suc-
cess, and it outlines what factors will influence a firm’s optimal timing of entry, thus
beginning the transition from understanding the dynamics of technological innovation
to formulating technology strategy.
 Chapter 1 Introduction 7

FIGURE 1.4
The Strategic Management of Technological Innovation

Part 1: Industry Dynamics of

Technological Innovation

Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5

Sources of Types and Patterns Standards Battles Timing of Entry
Innovation of Innovation and Design
Dominance

Part 2: Formulating Technological

Innovation Strategy

Chapter 6
Defining the Organization’s
Strategic Direction

Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9

Choosing Innovation Collaboration Protecting Innovation
Projects Strategies

Part 3: Implementing Technological

Innovation Strategy

Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13

Organizing for Managing the New Managing New Crafting a
Innovation Product Development Product Deployment
Process Development Teams Strategy

Feedback
8 Chapter 1 Introduction

In Part Two, we will turn to formulating technological innovation strategy. Chapter

Six reviews the basic strategic analysis tools managers can use to assess the firm’s
current position and define its strategic direction for the future. This chapter will
address such questions as: What are the firm’s sources of sustainable competitive
advantage? Where in the firm’s value chain do its strengths and weaknesses lie? What
are the firm’s core competencies, and how should it leverage and build upon them?
What is the firm’s strategic intent—that is, where does the firm want to be 10 years
from now? Only once the firm has thoroughly appraised where it is currently can it
formulate a coherent technological innovation strategy for the future.
In Chapter Seven, we will examine a variety of methods of choosing innovation
projects. These include quantitative methods such as discounted cash flow and options
valuation techniques, qualitative methods such as screening questions and balancing
the research and development portfolio, as well as methods that combine qualitative
and quantitative approaches such as conjoint analysis and data envelopment analysis.
Each of these methods has its advantages and disadvantages, leading many firms to
use a multiple-method approach to choosing innovation projects.
In Chapter Eight, we will examine collaboration strategies for innovation. This
chapter addresses questions such as: Should the firm partner on a particular project or
go solo? How does the firm decide which activities to do in-house and which to access
through collaborative arrangements? If the firm chooses to work with a partner, how
should the partnership be structured? How does the firm choose and monitor partners?
We will begin by looking at the reasons a firm might choose to go solo versus working
with a partner. We then will look at the pros and cons of various partnering methods,
including joint ventures, alliances, licensing, outsourcing, and participating in col-
laborative research organizations. The chapter also reviews the factors that should
influence partner selection and monitoring.
In Chapter Nine, we will address the options the firm has for appropriating the
returns to its innovation efforts. We will look at the mechanics of patents, copyright,
trademarks, and trade secrets. We will also address such questions as: Are there ever
times when it would benefit the firm to not protect its technological innovation so
vigorously? How does a firm decide between a wholly proprietary, wholly open, or
partially open strategy for protecting its innovation? When will open strategies have
advantages over wholly proprietary strategies? This chapter examines the range of
protection options available to the firm, and the complex series of trade-offs a firm
must consider in its protection strategy.
In Part Three, we will turn to implementing the technological innovation strategy.
This begins in Chapter Ten with an examination of how the organization’s size and
structure influence its overall rate of innovativeness. The chapter addresses such ques-
tions as: Do bigger firms outperform smaller firms at innovation? How do formaliza-
tion, standardization, and centralization impact the likelihood of generating innovative
ideas and the organization’s ability to implement those ideas quickly and efficiently?
Is it possible to achieve creativity and flexibility at the same time as efficiency and
reliability? How do multinational firms decide where to perform their development
activities? How do multinational firms coordinate their development activities toward
a common goal when the activities occur in multiple countries? This chapter examines
how organizations can balance the benefits and trade-offs of flexibility, economies of
scale, standardization, centralization, and tapping local market knowledge.
Another random document with
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treasure such as this, is it to be wondered that the natives of Egypt
spend so much time in looking for them?
Treasure hunting must be a most fascinating pursuit. But it is
seldom a remunerative one. Still it is a curious fact that peridots used
formerly to be known in the trade as “Esna peridots,” which rather
points to the fact that they were brought in to be marketed in that
town, perhaps by the road alluded to in this book.
When I broached the subject of Zerzura to the ’omda of Rashida,
he said he did not know of any place called the Der el Banat
(convent of the girls), but the old name of the Der Abu Madi was, he
said, the “der el Seba’a banat” (convent of the seven girls), and that
there was supposed to be a book and a mirror buried somewhere
near there. By following the directions contained in the book, and
then looking in the mirror the way to Zerzura would, he said, appear.
He told me—I don’t guarantee his veracity—that three years
before, while he was staying in an hotel in Egypt, a waiter had come
up to him and asked him if he were not the ’omda of Rashida. On
hearing that he was, he told him that he wanted to go to the “Der el
Seba’a Banat,” as he had read in a book of treasure that seven
hundred cubits to the north of the Der, there were three mastabas
round a round hill, and that under each of them was buried a pan of
large gold coins called gurban. He then showed him a specimen
which the ’omda said was very old, larger than a five-piastre piece
and very thick and heavy. The waiter told him he had found the coin
in the Nile Valley by following the directions given in his book of
treasure, and offered, if he would go into partnership with him, to
give him half of anything they found.
The ’omda had apparently refused this offer, and started digging
on his own account; but having failed to find the treasure, he was
very anxious for me to go into partnership with him, and said that by
combining our instructions we ought to be able to find something. I
was not, however, sufficiently sanguine as to the result to feel
justified in entertaining his offer—still three pans full of gurban. . . !
After a night spent at Rashida we started for Qasr Dakhl, stopping
on our way to visit Budkhulu, a poor little place with but a scanty
water supply. Like Rashida it lies close to the cliff that bounds the
oasis; but being situated at a considerably higher level than either
Qasr Dakhl or Rashida, the number of modern wells sunk in these
two districts are said by the inhabitants to have greatly diminished
their water supply. Its ’omda was only noted for his drunken habits.
On leaving Budkhulu we rode past the little hamlet of Uftaima, and
soon afterwards entered a stretch of soft sandy ground, a mile or two
in width, beyond which we could see Qasr Dakhl with its palms and
fields. This is the biggest town in the oasis, and is said by its
inhabitants to produce the richest dates in Egypt.
Approached from the south-east, Qasr Dakhl looked a singularly
picturesque and fertile place. The view of it from this side, across a
reed-grown pool, reflecting the palm plantation with the village and
blue scarp in the background, was one of the prettiest to be seen in
the oasis.
 The Gate of Qalamun.
The houses all join up to form a continuous wall as a defence against raids, having
palm leaf hedges round some of the roof tops. (p. 48).
 The ’Omda of Rashida and his Family.
The natives spend a great deal of their time on the flat house tops. Note the painted
decoration of the wall in the background and the open work crest of the walls. (p.
50).

Just before entering the town, we passed the Bir el Hamia, one of
the chief wells of the district, and the one from which most of the
drinking water of Qasr Dakhl is drawn. The water from the well,
effervescing strongly, rushed from beneath a stone platform that had
been built over its mouth into a large clear pool, in which a number of
the inhabitants were bathing as we passed, the water from this well
being hot, is considered to have medicinal properties. It is said to
have formerly been much hotter than at present; it is even stated that
eggs could be boiled in it.
The ’omda invited the whole party to lunch with him, and an
excellent lunch it proved to be. The sheykhs of this village claim to
be descended from the Qoreish tribe of Arabia, to which the prophet,
Mohammed, belonged, and state that they settled in the oasis about
A.D. 1500. They give themselves no small airs in consequence.

After lunch, from which for a wonder Qway excused himself on

the plea that he wished to go and call on a friend, the inevitable tea
was brought in, and with it arrived several of the leading men in the
place, who all sat down on the floor in a line along one of the walls of
the guest chamber.
Hoping to elicit some information, I asked if anyone had ever
heard of the oasis Zerzura. Hadn’t they! Half a dozen of them began
to tell me all about it at once. Cows, I was told, had several times
come into the oasis from the desert. They were very wild, but
otherwise exactly like the cows of the oasis. They came from
Zerzura. Kimri sifi (palm doves) and crows came into the oasis in the
spring. They also came from Zerzura. Both the kimri and the cows
came from the south-west; but the whole desert there was covered
with sand and no one could go there. The last cows had come in
only seventeen years before.
Another man told me that a woman leading a boy had once
staggered into the oasis from the south, nearly dead from thirst, and
that the descendants of the boy were still living in Mut. The woman
and boy came from Zerzura too. In Mut, however, I was told
practically the same story; but was there most positively informed
that the boy’s descendants were not living in Mut, but in Qasr Dakhl,
so I found it a little difficult to know what to believe.
Having exhausted the subject of Zerzura we got on to that of
Rohlfs, who had visited the oasis in 1874. An aged individual said he
saw Rohlfs—or “Ro-hol-fus” as he called him—and remembered him
quite well. He knew all about him. He had got a “book of treasure,”
and had come out to Dakhla to dig for buried riches in the Der el
Hagar—a stone temple near Qasr Dakhl—and had employed a great
many men in the excavation. But the treasure was guarded by an
afrit (spirit), and for a long time he was unable to find it, and he got
very angry and disappointed. At last, one day he sent everyone out
of the temple, except a black man whom he kept with him. The rest
of the men went and sat on the ground a little way off waiting
developments, as they were sure that he was going to write a
talisman or do something to propitiate the afrit.

DER EL HAGAR, DAKHLA OASIS.

For a long time nothing happened. Then loud cries for help,
followed by the most piercing and blood-curdling shrieks were heard
coming from the temple, and they knew that the talisman must be
working, and guessed that the afrit was getting the worst of it.
Nothing more happened for some time. Then they heard a
crackling sound, followed by dense clouds of black smoke arising
from the temple. The crackling sound and the smoke continued for
some time, and then Rohlfs emerged from the temple, looking very
pleased and smiling, announced that he had found the treasure at
last, and invited them all to come and see it.
They all trooped in and found that he had discovered the opening
to the treasure chamber, which was a trap-door covering a flight of
steps that led down into a vault that was filled with gold and silver
and diamonds and treasure of all kinds, and Rohlfs was very
pleased.
Then they looked for the black man, but could not see him. At last,
in another part of the temple, one of them discovered the glowing
embers of an enormous fire, and in it were the charred skull and
some bones—the black man had been sacrificed by Rohlfs to
propitiate the afrit!
 Several of the men present concurred in this story. None of them,
though they were living in Qasr Dakhl, had been present on the
occasion; but they had heard of it, and everybody in the oasis knew
about it.
They did not quite know what had happened to the treasure, but
Rohlfs had a very large caravan with him, and all the camels were
loaded when he left, so they supposed he took it all away with him.
All this was told with the utmost gravity, and with considerable
detail, and they all unquestionably believed the story themselves. Yet
it was all supposed to have happened close to their own village, and
many of them were not only living at the time, but must have been
young men and not children. They, none of them, thought any the
worse of Rohlfs for this sacrifice—in fact they seemed to think all the
better of him for having overcome the afrit.
 CHAPTER V

A FTER lunch—and the tea that followed—we started off to pay a

visit to Sheykh Mohammed el Mawhub, the representative of the
Senussi in the oasis, at his zawia (monastery) close to the town.
His history is interesting, as throwing some light on the methods
of the Senussi sect. He was born somewhere between 1840 and
1850, at Jalo, in Tripoli, and early in life became a member of the
Senussia. While still quite a young man, probably under thirty, he
was sent by the head Senussi sheykh to try to convert the
inhabitants of Dakhla Oasis.
He arrived with practically no possessions beyond the clothes he
stood up in, and began to expound the doctrines of his order to the
inhabitants. He soon succeeded in collecting a following, upon
whom, after the manner of his kind, he lived.
His next step was to apply to the authorities in the oasis for a
permit to sink a well, and, having obtained it, asked his followers to
help him in the work. The first well he sank—Bir Sheykh Mohammed
—lies some four miles to the west of the village of Qasr Dakhl, and,
when sunk, turned out to be an extremely good one. Soon
afterwards, he sank a second well—Bir el Jebel—rather nearer to
the village, which proved to be an even better one than Bir Sheykh
Mohammed. This well was also sunk mainly by voluntary labour. The
two wells together irrigated a considerable area. Close to them
ezbas (farms) were built, which were inhabited by Sheykh
Mohammed’s sons. These farms being on the road from Dakhla to
Kufara, the headquarters of the Senussi, and well removed from the
village, without any of the ordinary fellahin of the oasis near them,
enabled the Mawhubs to come and go to Kufara, a journey always
conducted by them with a considerable amount of mystery, without
fear of being observed by the other natives of the oasis.
 While the property round these wells was being developed, the
building of his zawia was also being proceeded with. This also was
largely carried on by voluntary workers, not only from the members
of his sect, but also from other villages, who, without actually
belonging to the community, were sympathetic towards it and
considered it a pious act to assist in the building of a religious edifice
to be devoted to the service of Allah. Later on other wells were sunk.
The zawia consisted of a courtyard surrounded by a very high wall
of mud bricks that was not even plastered. The whole building had
no pretensions to any architectural beauty. I glanced into the court
through the door as we passed it. A man, sitting on the floor of a
small room opening out of it close to the entrance, and three small
boys he was teaching, were the only inhabitants to be seen.
Sheykh Mawhub’s house was of the same simple character as the
rest of his zawia. We were led up into a guest chamber of the usual
type, with settees round the walls, and were left for some time to our
own devices. After about ten minutes’ waiting a Sheykh Ibrahim—
whom I recognised as the schoolmaster I had seen in the courtyard
of the zawia—came in and announced that tea was coming shortly,
and that Sheykh Mawhub himself would follow it—he evidently
considered this a mark of considerable condescension on the part of
the sheykh.
Tea in due course appeared, and Sheykh Ibrahim, having seen
that we had all been duly served, departed and another interminable
delay occurred.
At length we heard sounds of slow shuffling footsteps, punctuated
by halts and questions and answers in a low voice in the distance,
and the mamur whispered to me that he thought it must be Sheykh
Mawhub who was coming. He seemed to stand rather in awe of him.
The sheykh himself at last appeared in the doorway, respectfully
—it would hardly be too much to say reverently—supported by
Sheykh Ibrahim. He seemed to be in the last stage of nervousness.
He just touched hands with us in an almost lifeless manner, and
then, still supported by Sheykh Ibrahim, sat down huddled up on a
settee in the far corner of the room, being tenderly tucked into his
place by the attendant sheykh. Hardly had he settled himself into his
corner than, rather to my surprise, Qway came in, just spoke to him
casually and then went and sat down as near as possible to the tea.
It was evident that Sheykh Mawhub was the friend that Qway had
asked leave to visit, and that he had already seen him, as the usual
greetings were omitted on his entry.
A very resplendent young man followed close on Qway’s heels,
went up and kissed Sheykh Mawhub’s hand, and then immediately
went out again and stationed himself just opposite the door with his
back to the wall of the passage, where he remained watching the
assembled guests. This proved to be Sheykh Ahmed, the eldest son
of Sheykh Mawhub.
It was noticeable that the native Government officials, who, while
at Rashida and during the journey through the oasis, had behaved in
the usual boisterous manner of their kind, laughing and chaffing
each other and perpetually bawling out orders, apparently for no
other object than to hear their own voices and assert their authority,
were all most subdued and almost timid in the presence of Sheykh
Mawhub.
His stage management was excellent, and he was certainly rather
an impressive looking individual. Since his access of prosperity, and
the advent of his sons to manhood, he had led an extremely retired
life and become practically a recluse, seldom emerging from his
zawia or seeing anyone except his followers, leaving the
management of his property largely to his sons and the men, such
as Sheykh Ibrahim, who were attached to his zawia. It was popularly
supposed that he devoted his whole life to study, the affairs of the
sect to which he belonged and to his religious observances. It was
probably this method of life, combined with the influx of so many
strangers, that accounted for his obvious nervousness.
The old sheykh, from the time of his entry, entirely dominated the
meeting. His manner was so quiet and subdued as to be almost an
affectation. He spoke at first in such a low voice as to be scarcely
audible, and replied to the remarks of the officials as briefly as
possible.
 The mamur took it upon himself to explain to the sheykh that I
was going off to map the desert, and had been making enquiries
about Zerzura; so, as he had introduced the subject, I asked Sheykh
Mawhub if he had ever heard of the place. He thought for a moment,
and then said he had. It was an enchanted oasis, and all the
inhabitants and cattle had been turned into stone, and would only
come to life when someone had been sacrificed there.
He then for a few moments gazed out of the window at the sky
with the rapt expression of a stained-glass saint, and added in a tone
of dreamy reminiscence that a Greek had once tried to look for
Zerzura, but that he had not been able to find it, and had died of
poison on his way back to Europe. He then came down to earth
again and glanced at me in an absent-minded way; but I thought that
I detected something like a twinkle in his bleary eyes.
Afterwards we got on the subject of natural history. The sheykh
woke up and became interesting. I had a long conversation with him
on a variety of subjects. Towards the end he rather overcame his
reserve and seemed to be trying to please, for on my expressing
regret that my knowledge of his language was insufficient to enable
me to converse with him, except through an interpreter, he
volunteered to teach me Arabic, if I would come to his zawia.
I own I was tempted. The chance of completing my education in a
Senussi monastery was unique; but it would have been an “eye-
washy” sort of job, and I had other work to do—besides I doubted his
motives, so I declined. He seemed genuinely disappointed. He had
hoped, I suppose, to keep me learning Arabic in his zawia, instead of
going off to explore the Libyan Desert that the Senussi looked upon
as their private property.
After some further conversation, the sheykh invited us all to be his
guests for the night at the ezba belonging to his son, Sheykh Ahmed.
Sheykh Ahmed’s ezba lay some five miles to the west of the
zawia. The first part of the way was mainly over uncultivated land. As
soon as he was removed from the restraining influence of his father’s
presence, Sheykh Ahmed shook off his odour of sanctity and
appeared in his true character of a very cheery and slim young
scamp. He and his two brothers, Sheykhs Mohammed and ’Abd el
Wahad—both of whom joined us before reaching the ezba—had by
no means the reputation in the oasis for sanctity that their father
possessed. Sheykh Ahmed was reported to be an extremely slim
fellow to deal with, and, even among the natives, had the character
of being “the biggest liar in the oasis.” ’Abd el Wahad, the youngest
brother, was still in his ’teens, and had not then attracted the gossip
of the oasis. But Sheykh Mohammed was considered to be even
more tricky than his elder brother.
It was the old, old story; too much pious teaching in the youth is
apt to lead to a reaction later on. One meets clergymen’s sons, for
instance, who are famous for many things, but excessive piety is
seldom one of them. History being based on human nature is
proverbially apt to repeat itself, and those in loco parentis would, I
fancy, always do well to remember that Robert the Devil was the son
of Richard the Good—he frequently is!
Old Sheykh Mawhub’s religion was obviously a very real and
genuine thing, but that of his sons was, from all I heard and saw,
largely a matter of conforming to the outward formalities of their
order. But the prestige of the sect they belonged to was so great
that, with the simple inhabitants of the oasis, their backslidings were
overlooked, and almost regarded as one of the privileges of their
holy character. In North Africa it is only necessary to label yourself as
a holy man, to say enough prayers and fast occasionally, and you
can do pretty much what you like in the meantime.
A ride of something over an hour brought us, just as the sun was
setting, to Sheykh Ahmed’s ezba. His guest house, like that of the
’omda of Rashida, was built on to his private dwelling, where his
wives and family lived. The house, and its guest house, were
surrounded by a series of open yards forming the farm buildings, and
used as places in which to house the stock at night, as threshing-
floors and so on.
 A Tea Party in Dakhla Oasis.
Enormous quantities of very strong tea are drunk by the natives, the making of which is a
regular ceremony. Note the large copper urn on the left. (p. 39).

The guest chamber was a long narrow room about twenty-five

feet from east to west by twelve from north to south. Two windows
and the door opened on to a kind of terrace, while on the opposite
side three windows looked out, to the north, on to a garden, in which
was the well that watered the ezba, and where a number of palms
and other fruit trees were planted, over the tops of which could be
seen the cliff bounding the oasis in the blue distance.
 SHEYKH AHMED’S GUEST HOUSE.

The windows were draped with red curtains, and a doorway,

leading into a small bedroom on the western end of the room was
covered by a pair of heavy and rather dusty velveteen curtains of the
same colour. The floor was carpeted, a few mats being placed here
and there over the carpet. The roof, which seemed to be built in the
usual way with palm trunk rafters supporting jerids (palm leaf stems),
was covered with a thin coating of plaster, whitewashed like the walls
and painted with broad red stripes—a form of decoration which,
though roughly executed, was both effective and tasteful, and, taken
with the subdued hues of the rugs on the floor, formed a colour
scheme of which a European artist need not have been ashamed.
Knowing the reputation that the Senussi bear for leading the
simple life, and their supposed aversion to adopting any European
innovations, the contents of the room filled me with complete
surprise.
On a plate by an open window, so as to be in the draught, stood
the inevitable gula—a porous terra-cotta bottle for cooling water, to
be found in every native’s house in Egypt. Nailed to the wall were
circular paper fans of Japanese make and two or three of a curious
hatchet shape, ornamented with bits of red cotton stuff, such as are
made in the oasis. A gaudy red and black print of Mecca was nailed
to the wall opposite to the door, and a second long print in silver on
silk, which stretched nearly across the eastern wall, showed another
view of the same subject in villainous perspective, together with
some other scenes of Eastern towns that I was unable to identify, the
spaces between the views being filled up with texts and Arabesque
ornamentations.
The remainder of the furniture was pure European—a shelf, with a
mirror beneath it fixed to the wall, might have been bought in
Tottenham Court Road; a hammock chair and some of bent wood
with cane seats of the usual type, a couple of deal tables, on one of
which stood a nickel-plated paraffin lamp and a sparklet bottle, and
on the other a few books, an ordinary black japanned tray, with a
glass water bottle and tumblers, and a gramophone. On one side of
the gaudy print of the sacred Ka’aba at Mecca, was a coloured
oleograph of the Khedive, and on the other was one of King Edward
VII!
Having seen us all settled comfortably in our places, Sheykh
Ahmed excused himself from attending on us any further, explaining
that it was time for the maghrib prayer, and departed downstairs,
where shortly afterwards we heard him fervently leading the prayers
in the room beneath us.
Soon after he returned with a servant bringing the inevitable tea.
Having seen that we were all served, Sheykh Ahmed departed again
to change his clothes, and returned in a more gorgeous raiment than
before.
While waiting for dinner to appear, Sheykh Ahmed’s two brothers
—Sheykh Mohammed and Sheykh ’Abd el Wahad—came in, went
up and kissed his hand and then remained standing till he waved
them permission to sit down.
The Senussi—or the better class among them at any rate—keep
up the ceremonious manners of the old patriarchal system of the
Arabs. Sheykh Ahmed, for instance, would not even stay in the room
with his father in the zawia, much less sit down in it without his
permission. His younger brothers, in his own home, kissed his hand
when they came into the room and waited his permission to sit down.
They stood up whenever he did, and remained standing till he went
out of the room, or till he signed them to be seated. When Sheykh
Mohammed, the second brother, came in, the youngest, Sheykh
’Abd el Wahad, at once stood up.
When dinner arrived the two younger brothers left, to go, I
understood, to Sheykh Mohammed’s ezba, which was not far from
that of Sheykh Ahmed. Sheykh Ahmed himself helped to lay the
cloth. A folding iron table was brought up to near where we were
sitting, and an enormous round tray in red enamel, having views of
Switzerland in panels all round it, was laid on the table. A cloth was
spread over it, and on this the dinner was laid. At nearly all the
’omdas’ houses we stayed at we ate with our fingers in the native
way; but at Sheykh Ahmed’s ezba we had nickel-plated spoons and
forks, plates, tumblers and knives with plated handles.
Sheykh Ahmed himself, in accordance with the strict Arab
etiquette, with his sleeves carefully rolled up to prevent them from
being soiled by coming in contact with the dishes, waited on his
guests at first—he was a good “bun hander”—and it was not till I
invited him to join us, that he took his seat at the table and joined in
the conversation. I was unfortunately unable to follow a good deal
that he said, as my Arabic at that time was not of the best, but from
the laughter that greeted many of his remarks, he was clearly an
amusing and witty talker. He joined freely in the chaff of the Egyptian
officials, and had evidently a gift of quick repartee.
The Mawhub family prided themselves upon keeping the best
table in the oasis, and the dinner that he provided for us was, without
any exception, the best meal I ever had the good fortune to take part
in, and I took a large part in it.
The mamur was one that the Senussi hoped to convert to their
sect—if they had not already done so. Much of their influence in
Egypt was gained by this form of “pacific penetration.” Sheykh
Ahmed was no fool, and probably realised that the easiest road to an
Egyptian’s heart is through his tummy. He had accordingly borrowed
his father’s cook from the zawia at Qasr Dakhl to do honour to the
occasion. This man was said in the oasis—probably correctly—to
have been at one time a chef to the Sultan of Turkey, and Turkish
cooking is probably the best in the world.
I do not know whether we in Europe borrowed our monastic
system from the Arabs, whether they got it from us, or whether we
both got it from some common source; but certainly there are a great
many points of resemblance between ours and theirs. The reputation
for “good living,” enjoyed by the monasteries of the Middle Ages in
Europe, when

“No baron or squire or knight of the shire

Lived half so well as a holy friar.”

has its exact counterpart in most of the Moslem monasteries at the

present day. That cook from zawia of the Senussi sect—so famed for
their abstemious simple life!—in Qasr Dakhl, was a past-master in
his art, and that dinner must have been one of his finest efforts.
First arrived a large basin full of broth with two or three young
chickens that had been boiled in it. The broth was strongly flavoured
with lemon, which is an acquired taste.
Then came the pièce de résistance—a turkey. The police officer
who was sitting next to me, who was himself an excellent cook, and
quite knew what he was talking about, said it had been boiled in milk
and then buttered, covered over with some sort of paste and put into
the oven for a few minutes. It was stuffed with almonds, rice, raisons
and ferikh, a sort of pop-corn, made, I believe, of green corn fried in
butter. The stuffing had also some sort of spice in it that I was not
able to identify.
The meat seemed to have lost all its fibre and almost melted in
one’s mouth; the skin was crisp and tasted like pastry; the stuffing—
but to give an idea of what that stuffing was like is beyond me—no
one but a poet could describe it.
After the turkey came chickens, roasted and also stuffed.
Rissoles, flavoured with some delicious herbs, followed.
By the time the rissoles had been finished, I already felt that I had
done more than justice to Sheykh Ahmed’s hospitality, and that to
attempt to pay him any further compliments in this direction might be
attended by serious consequences. I hoped that the end of the meal
might be in sight. But not a bit of it.
“The hardships of the lonely white man in Africa” have often been
described, but they have never been really done justice to—they’re
frightful! After the rissoles came an endless succession of sweets,
made as only a Turkish cook can make them. A spongy kind of
blancmange eaten with jam. Jam-tarts—the jam being apparently
made from dates. Crisp, thin flakes of pastry, covered with whipped
cream, coloured pink and eaten with honey. A kind of very sweet
nougat, also eaten with cream, followed by unmistakable Turkish
Delight, thickly covered with powdered white sugar, which was
infinitely superior to the best “Rahat lakum” that could be bought
even in Cairo—rahat lakum, by the way, was a name that no one
seemed to have even heard.
After dinner of course came tea, and following that kerkadi, or
Sudan tea—a drink made from the dried flowers of a plant that grows
somewhere in the Sudan.
The latter I had heard of in Egypt, but had never seen, so hearing
that Sheykh Ahmed had some, I asked for it. It is not only considered
by Moslems to be quite correct to ask your host to produce any little
thing in this way, but it is even considered as a compliment.
The kerkadi was first made cold. A few flowers were dropped into
a tumbler and stirred round for a few minutes till a pale pink
decoction was produced, and then sugar was added to sweeten it.
When made in this way it produced a drink with a curious slightly
acid flavour, that would have been very pleasant and refreshing on a
hot day. It can also be drunk hot, in which case it is made exactly in
the same manner as ordinary tea. But it is not nearly so good when
made in this way, and when it has been left standing for some time it
takes a strong acrid flavour, that would not be likely to appeal to
European tastes. But as a cold drink it is surprising that it is so little
known.
The policeman told me in a whisper that the tea which preceded
the kerkadi was of extremely fine quality, adding native-like that
Sheykh Ahmed must have paid a guinea a pound for it. He was very
likely correct, for this is by no means an unusual price for one of the
richer natives of the oasis to give for his favourite Persian tea.
When dinner and tea were over, and our cigarettes had been
lighted, the Coptic doctor took possession of the gramophone, and
we were regaled by Arab songs and tunes. Songs, band pieces and
an occasional recitation followed each other for about half an hour.
At length a very dreary tune was put on, and, as everybody voted it a
bore, Sheykh Ahmed went over to the pile of records and began
sorting them over, saying that he would find something better.
The record that he put on the machine proved to be a dialogue
between a man and his wife, who after a few sentences started to
quarrel violently, abusing each other and calling each other all the
filthy and disgusting names that even the Arabic language could
produce. This record evidently appealed to the audience, for they
fairly roared with laughter at some of the remarks. As soon as it was
finished and had been repeated, Sheykh Ahmed put on a song,
which I was quite unable to follow, but which, from the remarks of the
audience, must have been of an exceedingly racy character.
That gramophone was a great institution, but one that in my
second year in the desert nearly led to unpleasant complications. On
my return to Cairo, after my first season in the desert, I ordered half
a dozen records to be sent to Sheykh Ahmed as bakhshish—leaving
the choice of them to the shop assistant, as being more likely to
know what would appeal to native tastes.
I visited Sheykh Ahmed again during my second season, and the
gramophone was once more brought out and my records produced.
Sheykh Ahmed had kept them in a separate place from the others in
his collection, and I suspect had never put them on his gramophone
before. But he placed them, one by one, on his machine and sat
over it, beating time to the music, politely pretending to be thoroughly
enjoying them. From this I gathered that he was entirely unaware of
the nature of the music that his gramophone was producing—for
they were certainly not records that I should have selected to send to
a Senussi sheykh.
Some years later, owing to a slight difference of opinion with the
Government authorities, Sheykh Ahmed found it convenient to clear
out suddenly with his family and belongings to Kufara.
If some future visitor to that oasis should hear proceeding from a
native house a fine baritone voice, announcing that he will “sing him
songs of Araby and tales of fair Kashmir,” or a choir of voices,
accompanied by a brass band, exhorting him to further efforts by the
inspiring strains of “Onward, Christian soldiers! marching as to war,”
he will be able to locate Sheykh Ahmed’s house, and will know
where those records came from.
I called at the shop, when next I was in Cairo, to ask why records
so entirely inappropriate for a present to a Senussi sheykh had been
sent to him. During the course of a rather heart-to-heart talk on the
subject, the shop assistant explained that, as he had not expected
me to go out again to the oasis, he had chosen those records as “a
joke.” It certainly had a humorous side; the sight of that unsuspecting
Senussi sheykh politely beating time to “Onward, Christian soldiers!”
was quite worth seeing!
But to return to my first visit to Sheykh Ahmed’s ezba. When that
gramophone’s repertoire came to an end, a lengthy and serious
discussion took place as to whether our digestion of the dinner was
sufficiently far advanced to allow us to go to bed. Although it was
then past two o’clock in the morning, the conclusion that was