David W. Thornton

Deep Stall applies a framework of strategic analysis to the Boeing Company. Boeing is the world's largest aerospace / defence company, with turnover in the region of US $60bn. The book examines the relative decline of Boeing in the civil aircraft market in relation to European manufacturer, Airbus. The aim of the book is to utilize the concept of strategic value to explain Boeing's decline. The authors define this concept as investment in people and technology to leverage future market success by developing innovative new products, arguing that Boeing has neglected strategic value in favour of shareholder value, defined in terms of short-term cash benefits. The rationale for the book exists both in the fact that the story in itself is interesting and also in the wider framework of analysis concerning the correct strategic approach for running a high technology business. The argument illustrates what can happen when quarterly returns become the predominant strategic rationale for a company. In the U.S. the business media (Economist, Forbes, Fortune, and Business Week etc) are now focusing on the question of Boeing's decline and the major implications for the U.S. national interest. Boeing is one of the jewels in the US technology crown, but today U.S. jobs and capability are being exported abroad, with most of its aircraft program work based in Asia. This is a hot topic in the US which explains why the business media are now so interested in this question. The book sits squarely in the centre of this debate. Deep Stall concludes with a brief analysis of the recent fight-back that has been evident in Boeing's fortunes and the successful campaign to sell the new 787. The authors probe the question of whether Airbus or Boeing is likely to dominate in the next ten or fifteen years.