Customer Experience, Technology and Innovation: Evidence from Georgian London and the Victorian Era

Abstract

Although mainstream innovation literature emerged on economic and industrial grounds, it began to expand dramatically in the Information Age. However, the concept of innovation is as old as the humankind by its nature; and history reveals many successful innovations realized by talented entrepreneurs and pioneers of their respective times. In this context, this chapter depicts two cases in different settings. The first case illustrates a picture of the coffeehouses in Georgian London and examines how an unfamiliar commodity like coffee built strong ties between people and inspired coffeehouse owners like Edward Lloyd to generate more experience-driven innovations. The second case takes place during the Victorian era and expands on the entrepreneurial mindset of William Davidson, the pioneer of the refrigerated food shipping industry, who decisively made use of an unfamiliar technology and managed to export frozen meat from New Zealand to London.