Do or die: competitive effects and Red Queen dynamics in the product survival race

M. Berk Talay and Janell D. Townsend

Industrial and Corporate Change, 2015, vol. 24, issue 3, 721-738

Abstract: This study explores the reciprocal relationship between the nature and duration of competition, and innovation outcomes. We propose that the perpetually driven, reciprocal sequence of competitive action and reaction known as the "Red Queen" in evolutionary biology is a cardinal force behind the success of innovations. We test our hypotheses applying a comprehensive data set of all automobile manufacturers known to compete in the US automobile market at any time between 1946 and 2008. Using data composed of 8203 model–year pairs, 1071 models from 148 different brands, we find that recent competitive experiences of models, rather than those in the distant past, make them more viable competitors. Additionally, superior reputation and market share are found to effectively shield models from the pernicious effects of Red Queen competition.

Date: 2015
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/icc/dtv017 (application/pdf)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

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:24:y:2015:i:3:p:721-738.

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 ().