PVMI Research

Studying Industry Disruption Using Crowdsourced Tournaments

Funded Research Proposal

We seek to explore how individuals evaluate the uncertainty during the nascent period of industry disruption, and to identify factors that can help improve their forecasting accuracy. To do so, we will draw on a recently developed research methodology of forecasting tournaments.…Read More

Thriving Innovation Amidst Manufacturing Decline: The Detroit Auto Cluster and the Resilience of Local Knowledge Production

Analyzing the comprehensive 35-year patent data set associated with the Detroit auto cluster we confirm that innovation in clusters can increase in spite of a long-term decline in manufacturing activity. The “stickiness” of local knowledge is sustained by: (i) increasing technological specialization at the local level and (ii) growing connectedness to global centers of excellence.…Read More

Knowledge Generation and Innovation Diffusion in the Global Automotive Industry—Change and Stability During Turbulent Times

This introduction to the April 2015 Industrial and Corporate Change special section establishes the context within which automotive firms cope with turbulence caused by globalization, new governmental regulations, and advances in electronics, communication, and drive train technologies.…Read More

Institutional Change and Productivity Growth in China’s Manufacturing: The Microeconomics of Knowledge Accumulation and “Creative Restructuring”

This article investigates the microeconomics underlying the spectacular growth of productivity in China’s manufacturing sector over the period 1998–2007. Underlying the aggregate evidence of such dramatic growth, one observes a large, albeit shrinking, intra-sectoral heterogeneity coupled with an even more important process of learning and knowledge accumulation.…Read More

The Patterns of Chinese Firm Growth: A Conditional Estimation Approach of the Asymmetric Exponential Power Density

This article investigates the impact of ownership type on the entire growth rate distributional mass of Chinese firms, using a conditional estimation approach of the asymmetric exponential power density that goes beyond simple location-shift analysis.…Read More

Is it a car or truck?: managerial beliefs, the choice of product architecture, and the emergence of the minivan market segment

New markets segments are a common setting for studies in technology strategy. These studies generally assume that new segments already exist, or have formed following the introduction of a product innovation by an entering firm. Thus, theory on the role of established firms in the emergence of new market segments is underdeveloped.…Read More

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

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.…Read More

Business model configurations and performance: A qualitative comparative analysis in Formula One racing, 2005-2013

We investigate the business model configurations associated with high and low firm performance by conducting a qualitative comparative analysis of firms competing in Formula One racing. We find that configurations of two business models — one focused on selling technology to competitors, the other one on developing and trading human resources with competitors — are associated with high performance.…Read More

Using an online community for vehicle design: project variety and motivations to participate

Firms increasingly seek to use online communities as sources of ideas, innovations, and designs. However, many such open innovation efforts lack sustained participation and ultimately fail. This research sought to understand motivations to participate in a firm-hosted design community and how the nature of the design task influences sustained participation.…Read More

Managing systemic and disruptive innovation: lessons from the Renault Zero Emission Initiative

Some innovations are challenging to deploy because they destabilize existing technologies and value chains (systemic) as well as traditional customer preferences (disruptive). The existing literature does not provide clear guidance as to effective management methods for systemic and disruptive innovations (SDIs).…Read More