We formalize the phenomenon of disruptive technologies that initially serve isolated market niches and, as they mature, expand to displace established technologies from mainstream segments. Using a model of horizontal and vertical differentiation with discrete customer segmentation, we show how...

We study the impact of a General Purpose Technology that changes the cost structure turning fixed costs into variable ones in most sectors. A major recent example is cloud computing, whose adoption allows firms to avoid large up-front costs in IT and to rent computing capability online. We study...

This paper explores an equilibrium model for industry entry dynamics and technological change. We focus on the share valuation of firms in the transition as technology changes, and whether or not share prices are always increasing when technology improves. We find that there can be a U-shaped...

Studying the US personal computer industry from its inception in 1974 through 1994, we address the following questions. What product technology strategies increase the survival chances of entrants into new, technologically dynamic industries? Does the effectiveness of these strategies differ by...

Are some management practices akin to a technology that can explain company and national productivity, or do they simply reflect contingent management styles? We collect data on core management practices from over 11,000 firms in 34 countries. We find large cross-country differences in the...

The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of China’s science and technology, their related institutions and use in the business world since the reforms started in 1978. Special attention will be given to the re-integration of high-technology into the private sector and the...

In this paper we focus on the different strategies used by companies during the process of development and diffusion of breakthrough technologies. We distinguish three phases in this process and show that, depending on the length of these phases, pioneers might be confronted with completely...

It is a triumph of technology and of economics that our computer chips are so universal. Countless applications are only possible because of the staggering variety of calculations that modern chips can compute. But, this was not always the case. Computers used to be specialized, doing only...

Businesses are responding to the threat of disruptive innovation technologies by upgrading their capabilities and practices. These upgrades ensure implementing organizations become more adaptable, and flexible, with respect to their ability to alter business strategies in response to changing...

The present paper proposes a new way of thinking regarding the relation between innovation and knowledge using a Physics-borrowed model, trying to prove whether knowledge resources can "flow" (be percolated) in a network or a grid, in order to be transformed in technological innovation. In the...