Models of growth in organizational ecology: a simulation assessment

J. Richard Harrison

Industrial and Corporate Change, 2004, vol. 13, issue 1, 243-261

Abstract: Organizational ecologists investigate the dynamics of organizational populations. Ecological analysis has focused explicitly on organizational founding and mortality processes in these populations with notable success, but has lagged behind in its understanding of organizational growth, which plays an important role in ecological processes. Using computer simulation analysis, this paper examines four models for organizational growth: Gibrat's law, a proportional growth model; an extension of Gibrat's law that includes density and age effects on growth; a Schumpeterian growth model based on R&D investment; and a demographic growth model based on Poisson processes for the arrival and departure of individuals. The simulation findings are compared with empirical observations, and the implications of the findings for modeling organizational growth are discussed. In particular, I argue that it is unlikely that 'one growth model fits all', and suggest that separate growth models need to be developed for different industrial and organizational contexts. Copyright 2004, Oxford University Press.

Date: 2004
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:indcch:v:13:y:2004:i:1:p:243-261

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://academic.oup.com/journals

Access Statistics for this article

Industrial and Corporate Change is currently edited by Josef Chytry

More articles in Industrial and Corporate Change from Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP, UK.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Oxford University Press ().