| The performance implications of core, secondary, and solo firms in cognitive strategic groups |
| | McNamara, Gerry | Michigan State U. | mcnama39@pilot.msu.edu | 517-353-6422 |
| | Deephouse, David L. | Louisiana State U. | mgdeep@unix1.sncc.lsu.edu | 225-388-6249 |
| | This paper examines the performance implications of cognitive strategic groups within the banking industry.
We explore the possibility of significant performance differences across group boundaries. We also assess
the implications of positioning within cognitive groups. Contrary to expectations, we find no performance
differences across strategic groups. We do, however, find that positioning within strategic groups affected
performance. Specifically, secondary group members outperform both core group members and firms that
don't belong to any strategic multi-firm strategic group. We conclude that secondary firms outperform core
and solo firms due to their ability to balance the benefits of strategic isolation with the institutional pressures
for similarity. |
| | Keywords: strategic groups; cognition; strategic balance |
| Customer Erected Barriers to Entry: A New View of the Changing Landscape |
| | West, III, Page G. | Wake Forest U. | westp@wfu.edu | (336)-758-4260 |
| | Barriers to entry are one element of industry structure that limits competitive rivalry. While barriers to entry are typically viewed as the creations of competitors, this study explores barriers to entry erected by customers. Customer-erected barriers to entry exist in industries characterized by significant customer concentration. This empirical study reports a significant negative relationship between such barriers and both performance and growth-related investments of new entrants, and a significant positive relationship between such barriers and the pursuit of alternative low growth customer channels. These barriers create excessive financial demands or scale requirements that new entrants and smaller ventures are unable to meet. Thus potential new entrants are often denied access and the ability to fairly compete in the first place, or must pursue other low growth alternatives. Customer-erected barriers are not considered by existing federal restraint-of-trade legislation, originally designed to
encourage fair competition between large and small firms. Modifications in federal antitrust policy are considered which would recognize the potential discriminatory impact on manufacturers of the market power of customers. |
| | Keywords: entry barriers; regulation |
| An Evolutionary Perspective on Strategic Group Emergence: A Genetic Algorithm-Based Model |
| | Lee, Jeho | Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology | jlee@kgsm.kaist.ac.kr | 82 2 958 3678 |
| | Lee, Kyungmook | Seoul National U. | kmlee@plaza.snu.ac.kr | 82 2 880 6926 |
| | Rho, Sangkyu | Seoul National U. | srho@plaza.snu.ac.kr | 82 2 880 6922 |
| | The literature on strategic groups has identified mobility barriers as the key to understanding strategic group phenomena. We develop a genetic algorithm-based model to examine conditions under which strategic groups emerge and stabilize over time. We find that mobility barriers play an important role in isolating a high performing grou from a low performing group, but that two extra merchanisms, localization of competition and stability of a payoff structure, are more essential in the emergence and stability of strategic groups.
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| | Keywords: Evolutionary |
| Does group membership influence firm behavior? |
| | Nair, Anil | Old Dominion U. | anair@odu.edu | (757)-683-6096 |
| | Kotha, Suresh | U. of Washington | skotha@u.washington.edu | (206)-543-4466 |
| | This paper investigates the relationship between group membership
and firm behavior using data from the Japanese Steel Industry. Results
of our analyses indicate that group affiliation explains a greater
proportion of the variance of changes in firm strategies than industry
membership. However, effect of group performance on firm behavior
was mixed. |
| | Keywords: Strategic; Groups |