Citation (IEEE): C. H. Fine, Clockspeed: Winning Industry Control in the Age of Temporary Advantage. Reading, MA, USA: Perseus Books, 1998.
What it argues
Fine argues that every industry evolves at its own “clockspeed”, the rate at which its products, processes and organizations change, and that fast industries act as fruit flies revealing dynamics slower ones will face. Since all competitive advantage is temporary, he contends that a company’s ultimate core competency is designing its supply chain. He describes the “double helix” by which industries oscillate between vertical, integrated structures and horizontal, modular ones, and advocates concurrently designing product, process and supply chain.