Major Speeches
Speech by the Financial Secretary John C. Tsang at the Workshop on Disruptive Innovation (English only)
Professor Christensen, Dr (Patrick) Wang, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good morning. It is a great pleasure for me to join you all at this Workshop on Disruptive Innovation.
The Hong Kong Science Park is where some of our brightest ideas are born. I hope this Workshop will help focus our minds on the advancement of research and development activities in Hong Kong.
I am truly honoured that so many leading lights from our academic, commercial and industrial institutions are here today. Your organizations, in both the public and the private sectors, are leaders in promoting innovation and technology and operating education and public health services in Hong Kong.
Thank you for taking the time to be here today.
Over the last two decades, trade tariffs and non-tariff barriers have been reduced substantially. Even though the Doha Round has not met with any success so far, international trade has been moving increasingly towards a rule-based multilateral system, with large planned economies, such as Mainland China, actively participating in the free market system.
Internet and efficient modern logistics have improved connectivity. Enterprises, and indeed, economies, around the world are now able to compete on a more level playing field. Global competition has shifted from a situation where price was the major determinant, to a world where creativity and innovation take the lead.
This shift has been taking place among the post-industrial economies for some time, but remains a challenge that other economies are having to address. For these economies, staying put really is not a practical option if they are to compete in a globalised world.
The innovation required to transform an economy, or an enterprise, requires highly focused and disciplined thinking as well as meticulous implementation skills.
We are hugely honoured to have Professor Clayton Christensen with us today to share his views on how to manage these challenges.
Professor Christensen is the Robert and Jane Cizik Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. He is also the man who coined the phrase “Disruptive Innovation” in his 1997 book “The Inventor's Dilemma”.
I am delighted that Professor Christensen will share with us today his theory of Disruptive Innovation and how to apply this theory to solve our daily problems.
Disruptive Innovation applies not only to the traditional way enterprises chase after technological superiority. It also applies to the provision of public services such as education and health care services.
Essentially it means delivering relatively simple, convenient and low-cost innovations to customers who don't necessarily need the latest technology to, for example, make a phone call or take a photograph.
Disruptive Innovation has equal relevance to public administrators and market practitioners.
Hong Kong, as we all know, has transformed itself in the early part of the last century, from a fishing village into an economy based on light industry. From there, we have continued to develop, such that we can today lay claim to be a world-class business, logistics and financial centre.
We take great pride in adhering to the “Big Market, Small Government” principle, upholding the rule of law and protecting the freedoms that we cherish so much. We are equally proud of our highly sophisticated and efficient markets, as well as our well-educated and versatile population. Hong Kong is recognised as the freest, and, indeed, one of the most open economies in the world.
The reality, of course, is that our situation is complicated by the fact that like other developed economies, Hong Kong faces many challenges.
Some of these challenges are universal, such as rising commodities prices and energy costs, environmental pollution and competition posed by emerging economies and some others are more local, such as an ageing population compounded by a low birth rate.
I look forward to Professor Christensen sharing his ideas on how we might use his theory to tackle these challenges.
Before I hand the forum over to Professor Christensen, I would like to take this opportunity to also thank Dr Patrick Wang. It was Dr Wang's initiative to invite Professor Christensen to run a Workshop for Hong Kong.
As Chairman and CEO of Johnson Electric, one of the world's largest providers of motion products and solutions, Dr Wang knows a thing or two about innovation.
We also look to Dr Wang's expertise in his role as Chairman of ASTRI, the Applied Science and Technology Research Institute. The Institute is part of Government's effort to facilitate applied Research & Delivery in support of an industry upgrading.
Once again, thank you all for your attendance.
I would like now to invite Professor Christensen to begin his Workshop on Disruptive Innovation.
I wish you all an enjoyable and fruitful Workshop.
Thank you.
September 17 , 2008
