America.gov-Innovation: Business

Innovation in Sports Technology -- Inevitable or Unfair?

Mon, 19 May 2008 08:42:22 GMT

Today, controversies abound over the use of technology in sports. Two examples of controversial innovations are the use of Ossur’s Cheetah Flex-Foot and the Speedo LZR Racer swimsuit. The cases raise the issue of fairness and equal access in the face of technological innovation.

Businesses Find New Ways To Make Money Online

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 20:54:25 GMT

U.S. companies are innovating on the Internet through complex, multiplayer games like Second Life and boosting profits by bringing together collaborators from around the globe to help them solve problems. “They use the Internet to create a work force that couldn’t be assembled otherwise,” says Stanford University professor Byron Reeves.

Without Profits, Innovation Goes Nowhere in Corporate World

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 17:54:48 GMT

Companies continuously must question their knowledge and experience to nourish innovative thinking and must rigorously manage innovation to generate profits, according to experts. Only those companies that can turn their ideas into sales and profits can be called truly innovative, a business expert tells America.gov.

The Future of Travel

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 18:44:48 GMT

Social Networking 2.0

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 18:28:34 GMT

Small Business Plays a Big Role in Innovation

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 15:26:37 GMT

Paula King and Susan Lawens turned their common problem of allergies into a thriving business: they started HealthyGoodiesGifts.com, marketing customized gift baskets to those, like themselves, with special dietary needs. Two years later, their business received a Stevie Award for Women in Business as the most innovative company of 2005.

Companies Find Advantages in Moving Near Fiercest Competitor

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 15:32:15 GMT

Locating business competitors together, which might seem counterintuitive, helps an entire industry succeed, according to many economic development experts. This strategy increases business innovation and boosts wages, according to Michael Porter, a business cluster expert and professor at Harvard University.

Venture Capital Is Key to Making Innovative Ideas Succeed

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 15:36:27 GMT

Innovation stems not just from a great new idea and hard work. "Venture capital is largely responsible for the commercialization of many modern innovations that would have otherwise not made it out of the labs of scientists and the minds of entrepreneurs," says Emily Mendell, National Venture Capital Association vice president.

Web Site Lets People Offer Microloans to Borrowers Worldwide

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 14:17:21 GMT

Kiva.org, a nonprofit microlending Web site, has enabled people to make small loans that can make a big difference to other individuals. Thanks to Kiva, Chiyenure Uwobodo, a Nigerian mother of four, was able to borrow $250 to expand her beauty salon business. Grace Ayaa, a mother of four in Uganda, borrowed $475 for a refrigerator to store the peanut butter she was making until she could sell it, and to buy packing materials. Kiva is “all about connecting people” and “connecting lenders with microbusinesses online,” says Matt Flannery, the chief executive officer and one of the co-founders of the Web site.

Innovative Firms Change Corporate, Social Landscapes

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 13:56:02 GMT

Innovative U.S. companies are transforming the business paradigm through products, services and operations that address social and environmental problems. “We have a different definition of success,” says the founder and chief executive officer of a company that supplies and markets organic products made of the açai fruit from the Amazon rain forest in Brazil. “Being financially strong but weak on ecological conservation and social equality is not a success for us.”

Work on Market Imperfections Wins Three Americans Nobel Prize

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 14:05:35 GMT

Three U.S. economists win the 2007 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for advancing a theory that helps to identify market imperfections and design mechanisms that make some market operations and social interactions more efficient. Leonid Hurwicz, Eric Maskin and Roger Myerson will share the $1.5 million prize for their work on mechanism design theory, which has found broad-ranging applications in economic policies and public life that range from auctions of government bonds and public goods to voting procedures and labor negotiations.

Energy Official Discusses Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 14:04:13 GMT

Mark Ginsberg, a member of the board of directors for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, answers questions in a Webchat on the impact of energy-efficient technologies and renewable energy on the environment.