America.gov-Innovation: Business

Innovation in Sports Technology -- Inevitable or Unfair?

Paul Levitan — Mon, 19 May 2008 08:42:22 -0400

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

Elizabeth Kelleher — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 20:54:25 -0400

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

Andrzej Zwaniecki — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 17:54:48 -0400

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

Helen Rouce — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 18:44:48 -0400

Social Networking 2.0

Amor Safi — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 18:28:34 -0400

Small Business Plays a Big Role in Innovation

Ralph Dannheisser — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 15:26:37 -0400

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

Elizabeth Kelleher — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 15:32:15 -0400

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.

American Life, Diversity Explained, Point by Data Point

Elizabeth Kelleher — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 13:52:07 -0400

America is changing in big ways. It’s getting older, and it’s getting more racially and ethnically diverse, the U.S. Census Bureau says in its annual Statistical Abstract of the United States. The publication, a compendium of data on American life, includes everything from how much Americans volunteer (27 percent of the population volunteers an hour per week) to which U.S. cities are most popular with travelers from abroad (New York wins by far).

Venture Capital Is Key to Making Innovative Ideas Succeed

Jeffrey Thomas — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 15:36:27 -0400

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

Jeffrey Thomas — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 14:17:21 -0400

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.

New Approach to Development Embraces Information Technology

Kathryn MCconnell — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 13:59:39 -0400

The United States is embracing a new approach to international development that involves expanded use of information technology and more private-public partnerships. The Global Development Commons, launched by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), will use technology to allow aid donors and recipients to communicate better and to find needed information online from such sources as libraries and databases. It will involve tools like computers connected to the Internet that are located in cities and rural areas and informal online interchanges and conferences, creating "a comprehensive network accessible to all," according to a USAID fact sheet.

Innovative Firms Change Corporate, Social Landscapes

Andrzej Zwaniecki — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 13:56:02 -0400

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

Andrzej Zwaniecki — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 14:05:35 -0400

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

Janelle Simmons — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 14:04:13 -0400

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.

Protecting Intellectual Property Rights Key To Economic Development

Ralph Dannheisser — Wed, 04 Jan 2006 09:52:08 -0400

Copyrights, patents and trademarks all protect intellectual property. Find out more about how they work and why they are important to social, cultural and economic development.