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The Competitive Innovator
Author(s) -
Cross Nigel,
Cross Anita Clayburn
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
creativity and innovation management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.148
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1467-8691
pISSN - 0963-1690
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8691.1995.tb00217.x
Subject(s) - innovator , championship , management , reputation , world championship , marketing , engineering , computer science , business , sociology , advertising , economics , intellectual property , social science , operating system
The study reported here is of an engineer who has established a long and distinguished record as a highly successful and highly innovative designer in a highly competitive environment ‐ Formula One racing car design. Gordon Murray joined the Brabham racing car team as a designer‐draughtsman in 1971, and was appointed chief designer in 1973. Brabham cars designed by him were driven by Nelson Piquet to win the World Championship in 1981 and 1983. In 1987, he moved to the McLaren Formula One team as technical director, and again his car designs, driven by Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna, won the World Championship in 1989 and 1990. In some 20 years as a Formula One designer, he established an outstanding reputation not only as a successful designer (over 50 race wins) but also as a consistently radical innovator. Gordon Murray then became technical director of McLaren Cars Limited, and became responsible for the design and development of a completely new, road‐going ‘super car’ ‐ the McLaren F1, which has attracted immense attention as the ‘ultimate’ motor car.