Palaam Inc, a Norcross-based international sourcing firm, hosted Jagdish Sheth, Emory University's Charles H. Kellstadt professor of marketing, for a Dec. 7 CIO Roundtable Forum. Palaam hosts roundtable forums for CIOs multiple times per month. Photo by Marc Master.

Emory Professor Says U.S. to Lose Position as Innovation Center

Nema Etheridge for GlobalAtlanta

As China and India allocate more resources to information technology development, the United States will lose its standing as the world’s No. 1 center for innovation, according to Jagdish Sheth, Charles H. Kellstadt professor of marketing at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School.

“The next major information technology innovation will not come from the United States. It will come from emerging economies. And you’d better watch China and India,” Dr. Sheth told approximately 25 senior-level executives of Georgia companies at a Dec. 7 luncheon held at the Buckhead Club.

According to a recent report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which studies international economic policies, the U.S. was still the world's top investor in research and development in 2006. But China is quickly gaining ground, beating out Japan to become the world's second highest investor in R&D projects for the year, Dr. Sheth said, citing the report.

Dr. Sheth spoke at the seventh CIO, or chief information officer, Roundtable Forum hosted by Paalam Inc. A Norcross-based international sourcing firm, Paalam started its roundtable forums in September as a way for local IT executives to network and discuss trends in the IT industry. Paalam hosts roundtable forums multiple times per month.

Dr. Sheth, who is well known for his study of consumer behavior, competitive strategy and geopolitical analysis, suggested that major U.S.-based firms may start moving their headquarters overseas to be on the cutting edge of the changing IT market.

In fact, during an American Marketing Association conference Nov. 29-Dec.1 in Orlando, International Business Machines Corp. Chairman and CEO Samuel J. Palmisano publicly questioned whether the next IBM chairman would be American and whether the company’s headquarters would remain in the U.S., Dr. Sheth said.

Dr. Sheth attended the AMA conference to present Mr. Palmisano with the inaugural Sheth Medal for Exceptional Leadership, which honors an individual who has made a significant, lasting impact on the practice of business. Dr. Sheth is one of 10 academic and corporate professionals who selects the medal’s recipient.

Also during Paalam’s roundtable forum, Dr. Sheth said that the mindset of senior-level IT officers should be shifting from a technological focus to become more business-oriented.

Since all companies are becoming increasingly reliant on technology to increase their efficiency and reduce their operational costs, a company’s IT management needs to be well versed in business management, too, Dr. Sheth said.

“If you’re strictly knowledgeable about technology, it’s not enough anymore. You need a strong business background,” he said, noting that some companies were even hiring business professionals as CIOs and then training them in IT management.

As business and technology become increasingly intertwined, successful CIOs will have to be good internal marketers, extolling the values of the business and its product within the company to keep all employees engaged, Dr. Sheth said.

Finally, an increasingly globalized economy and the rise of China and India as important players requires CIOs to travel internationally to learn more about foreign markets, Dr. Sheth said.

He also encouraged CIOs to get outside of the company to meet with customers and suppliers and learn more about the business’s operations and reputation.

In addition to teaching, Dr. Sheth has also worked as a consultant to private sector entities including AT&T Corp., BellSouth Corp., Cox Communications Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc. and General Electric Co.

In 2004, he received the American Marketing Association’s Richard D. Irwin Distinguished Marketing Educator and the Charles Parlin Awards, which are two of the association’s highest honors.

He has also published a number of books related to business and marketing. Visit GlobalAtlanta’s video homepage http://video.globalatlanta.com/GlobalAtlanta_00020.html to see Dr. Sheth discuss his most recent book, “Tectonic Shift: The Geoeconomic Realignment of Globalizing Markets.”

In January for its next roundtable forum, Paalam is planning to host Benn Konsynski, George S. Craft distinguished professor of business administration in decision and information analysis, at Emory.

To learn more about the CIO Roundtable Forums, which are held multiple times per month, contact Narsi Narasimhan, Paalam CEO at (770) 209-9700.

From http://stories.globalatlanta.com/stories/002211.html