Same as it ever was: the search for evidence of increasing hypercompetition

McNamara, Gerry; Vaaler, Paul M.; Devers, Cynthia E.

doi:10.1002/smj.295

Cited by 157 publications

(161 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…More recent research also evaluated how the ability of firms to sustain performance has changed over the years. Here we have mixed results: while some have empirically observed declining persistence rates (Thomas & D'Aveni, 2009;Wiggins & Ruefli, 2005), which is consistent with the view that industries are becoming increasingly hypercompetitive, others have found no such effect (McNamara, Vaaler, & Devers, 2003). Furthermore, there is flagrant variability in coefficients of persistence both across and within industries (e.g.…”

Section: Persistence Of Profitssupporting

confidence: 70%

Conduits of innovation or imitation?assessing the effect of alliances on the persistence of profits in U.S. firms

Lazzarini

Brito

Chaddad

2012

BAR, Braz. Adm. Rev.

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This paper examines if a firm's alliances affect the persistence of its financial performance. The literature suggests two conflicting views concerning this effect. In particular, access to resources and innovation and the risk of imitation from alliances can have different impacts on performance. In our empirical analysis, based on a panel of 509 firms covering the years 1992 to 2002, return on assets was regressed on the number of alliances and other control variables using hierarchical linear modeling. Results support the positive view of alliances as mechanisms to sustain competitive advantage and escape from competitive disadvantage through access to external, valuable resources held by other firms. Alliances also help firms to constantly innovate and buffer themselves from external shocks that erode existing advantages. Our results, however, may be specific to the period and the institutional context under consideration and we do not distinguish between types, purposes and "strength" of alliances. We contribute to the debate about profit persistence by examining one particular factor that has been neglected in the literature: the extent to which firms engage in alliances with other actors. From a managerial perspective, our study shows that alliances can be used as an effective tool to support superior performance or avoid lock-in into inferior performance.

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Section: Persistence Of Profitssupporting

confidence: 70%

Conduits of innovation or imitation?assessing the effect of alliances on the persistence of profits in U.S. firms

Lazzarini

Brito

Chaddad

2012

BAR, Braz. Adm. Rev.

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“…These proponents argue that continuous change represents a more appropriate perspective than punctuated equilibrium does. It also acknowledges the kinds of hypercompetitive (see [68], [69]; cf., [70]) and high-velocity environments that are in perpetual flux [71] and the kinds of nonlinear dynamic environmental patterns that never establish equilibrium [72], [73]. It remains unclear, however, whether fitness represents a management goal, as in most of the approaches earlier, or whether the goal of fitness should be abandoned in lieu of balance (e.g., between order and flexibility).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Designing Organizations for Dynamic Fit: System Stability, Maneuverability, and Opportunity Loss

Nissen

Burton

2011

IEEE Trans. Syst., Man, Cybern. A

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Abstract-Fit represents a central concept for organizational design, but extant research maintains a static focus on fit, a focus that is incommensurate with the fundamentally dynamic nature of organizations and their environments. Most key organizational environments are inherently dynamic; hence, the corresponding organizational designs required for fit are necessarily dynamic too. The problem is, the dynamics of fit are not addressed well by extant theory in organization and management sciences. Alternatively, organizations can be viewed as systems of purposeful design, and designing organizations to maintain fit and respond to dynamic environments over time may be informed well by theory and practice in engineering fields where such design is well established. In this paper, we abstract to the level of airplane design, and we utilize the dynamical language and integrated system of concepts, definitions, and interrelationships from the engineering field Aerodynamics to extend organization and management sciences and address the problem of organizational design in a dynamic context. We begin with a focused summary of the literature regarding the nature of organizational fitness. We then outline a conceptual model adapted to organizational design from Aerodynamics, and we summarize the key aerodynamics concepts stability and maneuverability to inform our conceptualization in terms of both airplane and organization design. This paper enables us to articulate a set of propositions and measures that form a basis for empirical testing. This paper also reveals important, dynamic organizational design tradeoffs and implications, and it shows how such conceptualization can elucidate new insights via comparison with and extension to extant theory.

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“…The ubiquitous availability of information technology and the widespread digitalization of our society has led to an increase in market balancing speed and created a hyper reactive, highly competitive business environment. Some scholars argue, though not undisputed [21], that sustained competitive advantage may no longer achievable in more and more markets and should therefore not be driving organizational strategies, but organizations should rather strive to be agile to compete better in such times of hypercompetition [8,22,30]. The technological advancement of society has thus not only led to an increase in innovation opportunities but at the same requires firms to continuously engage in such radical, disruptive changes in order to survive on the market.…”

Section: Digital Innovation and Identitymentioning

confidence: 99%