The Software Industry in Emerging Markets

The software industry represents a unique example of a truly global industry, growing rapidly in both developed and developing countries. This important book provides the first serious study of the growth of the industry in emerging markets, with an excellent discussion of the key cases including India, China and Brazil. Simon Commander is to be congratulated producing such a timely and policy relevant book. Saul Estrin, London Business School, UK This book aims to promote an understanding of the origins and dynamics of the software industry in a number of key emerging markets Brazil, China, India and Israel, and to establish what experiences, if any, are potentially replicable in other prevailing markets. In-depth interviews with leading players in the industry are combined with other new data to provide a comparative study of the dynamics of the sector in emerging markets, to emphasise the public policy implications of these developments, and place them in a wider international context. The last 25 years have seen an explosive growth in the software industry, which is still overwhelmingly dominated by firms from North America and Europe. The authors argue that a number of companies from emerging markets have made significant headway and have even consolidated their positions on account of major cost advantages. They go on to explain the factors behind these developments, and conclude that the software industry, through its ability to project good corporate governance, its lack of hierarchy and widespread use of motivating working practices and compensation schemes, has proved a powerful example to other sectors in these emerging market economies. This book will be of immense interest to both academics and practitioners with an interest in development economics or technology.