Fast Second: How Smart Companies Bypass Radical Innovation to Enter and Dominate New Markets is a book written by Paul Geroski

Paul Geroski

Paul Andrew Geroski was a leading economist in the United Kingdom. Although born in Pleasantville, New York, Geroski studied and spent most of his career in Britain, where he settled permanently in 1975.-Career:...

 and Constantinos Markides and published by Jossey-Bass in 2005.

According to the authors, a "fast second company" lets other companies innovate and experiment to create new markets. Then the fast second enters the market just as the dominant design is about to emerge, helps create the dominant design, and uses its size to capture the market.

The book identifies Microsoft

Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...

, Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....

, Amazon.com

Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...

, Canon Inc.

Canon Inc.

is a Japanese multinational corporation that specialises in the manufacture of imaging and optical products, including cameras, camcorders, photocopiers, steppers and computer printers. Its headquarters are located in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan.-Origins:...

, JVC

JVC

, usually referred to as JVC, is a Japanese international consumer and professional electronics corporation based in Yokohama, Japan which was founded in 1927...

 and Heinz

H. J. Heinz Company

The H. J. Heinz Company , commonly known as Heinz and famous for its "57 Varieties" slogan and its ketchup, is an American food company with world headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.Perhaps best known for its ketchup, the H.J...

 as successful fast second firms.

It was a nominee of the 2005 Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award

Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award

Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award is an annual award given to the best business book of the year as determined by the Financial Times and Goldman Sachs. It aims to find the book that has ‘the most compelling and enjoyable insight into modern business issues.’ The...

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