Technological Extinctions of Industrial Firms: An Inquiry into Their Nature and Causes

Steven Klepper () and Kenneth L. Simons

Industrial and Corporate Change, 1997, vol. 6, issue 2, pages 379-460

Abstract: After a buildup in the number of firms, new industries commonly experience a "shakeout" in which the number of firms declines sharply. Three theoretical perspectives on how technological change contributes to industry shakeouts are analyzed. The theories are used to synthesize predictions concerning technological change and industry evolution. The predictions inform an analysis of four US industries that experienced sharp shakeouts: automobiles, tires, televisions and penicillin. Using data on firm participation and innovation from the commercial inception of the four products through their formative eras, we uncover regularities in how the products evolved. The regularities suggest that shakeouts are not triggered by particular technological innovations nor by dominant designs, but by an evolutionary process in which technological innovation contributes to a mounting dominance by some early-entering firms. Copyright 1997 by Oxford University Press.

Date: 1997
View citations in EconPapers

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: http://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:indcch:v:6:y:1997:i:2:p:379-460

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.oup.co.uk/journals

Access Statistics for this article

Industrial and Corporate Change is edited by David Teece, Glenn R. Carroll, Nick Von Tunzelmann, Giovanni Dosi and Franco Malerba

More articles in Industrial and Corporate Change from Oxford University Press
Address: Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP, UK
Series data maintained by Christopher F. Baum ().