From Novelty to Utility: George Westinghouse and the Business of Innovation during the Age of Edison

Steven W. Usselman

Business History Review, 1992, vol. 66, issue 2, 251-304

Abstract: This article argues that Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse, despite some shared characteristics in their approach to technical problems and a common interest in electric power, pursued distinct markets for innovation. Edison sold novelties to upper-class urbanites, whereas Westinghouse provided equipment to railroads and other industrial customers. As a consequence, the two entrepreneurs consistently exhibited different attitudes toward the process of innovation and different inclinations as businessmen. Westinghouse, more than Edison, foreshadowed the coming of corporate research and development.

Date: 1992
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