Retired from life after 38 years in several roles at IBM, the prolific academic production of James W. Cortada now continues telling his side of the story of his long-term employer. In particular the challenges and tribulations of a unique organizational culture, how it was created, how it led to success, how it resisted a process of reconfiguration. IBM: The Rise and Fall and Reinvention of a Global Icon (MIT Press, 2019) covers a significant time span. The 20 chapters in the book are organised into four sections: origins (1880s-1945), market dominance (1945-1985), crisis (1985-1994), and renewal (1995-2012). Reading this title cover to cover is no small feat and not recommended (or intended) for everyone. In this podcast, Cortada tells us about his trajectory as a writter and how the book was put together.
Bernardo Batiz-Lazo is currently straddling between Newcastle and Mexico City. You can find him on twitter on issues related to business history of banking, fintech, payments and other mussings. Not always in that order. @BatizLazo
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