The Life Cycle of Converging Industries: The Evolution of the Tablet Sector and Its Impact on Competitive Dynamics

Background of the study. In recent years a series of academic research projects in the economic managerial field have investigated the relationship between innovation and industrial evolution, providing new interpretive keys to improve the understanding of one of the most important events in the industries’ transformation in the current economy, that of digital convergence. Purpose of the paper and methodology. This research work provides an original contribution to the question of how market convergence affects industry evolution. The paper analyzes the convergence process that has influenced the evolution of the tablet sector and the dynamics of entry, exit, innovation and competition over the industry life cycle. From a methodological point of view, a historical-longitudinal study was carried out, which was aimed at examining – supported by a qualitative/quantitative analysis – the sequence of events that, over 30 years, influenced the development of the tablet industry. Findings and implications. From the analysis some interesting findings emerged. Firstly, it was found that the life cycle curve of the converging tablet industry defined on the basis of sales data followed the ‘S-shaped pattern’ empirically detected by product and industry life cycle studies. Secondly, we have verified that the evolution of firm population and the level of product innovation in the tablet industry are consistent with two temporal patterns that characterize the evolutionary model, identified by evolutionary economics and technology management studies. It has also been found that the sectoral convergence process has affected the dynamics of competition in the tablet industry. It emerged, in fact, that the leading companies in introductory stages of the development of the tablet market – which came from the personal computer industry – quickly lost their market position in favor to newcomer firms that came from different converging sectors. The analysis has also made it possible to highlight that tablet market leaders tend to compete with each other in multiple sectors within the scope of a broader convergent mobile digital device market. Therefore, a ‘hybrid competition’ seems to have been affirmed between technological devices – smartphones, notebooks, tablets, smartwatches, e-readers – different in shape, but united by satisfying, in different ways, a need for simplified access on the move to a series of advanced digital functions and services.

Industry life cycle, geographic diversification and performance of international new ventures

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how geographic diversification affects the performance of international new ventures. Design/methodology/approach This study develops hypotheses about the individual and joint effects of geographic diversification and industry life cycle on the performance of international new ventures. This paper also introduces industry technology characteristics as a contingent factor for the above relationships and tests the hypotheses on a large panel data set. Findings Based on the analyses of the strategies and performance of 699 listed Chinese international new ventures between 1991 and 2014, this study finds that the impact of geographic diversification on performance is contingent on the stage of the industry life cycle and that the moderating effect differs across high-technology and low-technology industries. The results suggest that it is fruitful for international new ventures in high-technology industries to undertake geographic diversification in earlier stages of the industry life cycle, but international new ventures in low-technology industries are better off undertaking geographic diversification during the later stages of the industry life cycle. Originality/value The study contributes to the literature on international entrepreneurship by identifying the industry life cycle conditions under which the learning advantages of international new ventures are effective and facilitate the achievement of better performance. This paper also shows that industry technology type matters for geographic diversification strategies of international new ventures.

Technological- and Non-Technological Innovation During the Growth Phase of Industry Life Cycle: An Evidence From Vietnamese Manufacturing Enterprises

In the context of Industrial 4.0, Vietnam has emerged to play a critical role in the global supply chain while facing intense competition and fast changes. However, what drives manufacturing enterprises in Vietnam to innovate themselves and how well they perform in coping with business obstacle remains one of the central questions in the extent of studies. Therefore, this research primarily attempts to establish how innovation investment and obstacles affect technological and non-technological innovations, especially in the growth phase of the industry life cycle (ILC), with an analysis of available data obtained from the General Statistics Office of Vietnam and World Bank Enterprise Survey data with the use of descriptive statistics and regression analysis. The outcome of this article highlights that researchers and practitioners should consider the importance of the industry life cycle in the choice of technological or non-technological innovation through third significant contributions. First, the innovation investment is driven by R&D, and formal training enables both technological- and non-technological innovation. Second, the innovation obstacle related to finance, policy, competition, and regulation directly impacts the choice of innovation activities. Third, this study demonstrates that the firm’s engagement in technological- and non-technological innovation in line with innovation investment can help maintain successful post-innovation performance.

Experimentalist Governance for Technology Upgrading

The chapter extends the familiar Schumpeterian notion of creative destruction to the public-sector domain by asking a practical “how to” question: how policymakers can set priorities assuming that they have neither the panoramic view of the economy nor good capabilities to learn. The key notion is a trial-and-error policy process—with new experimentalist public programs and policies at the center—which shifts attention from one-time choice to incremental and continuous error-detection and correction of policy choices. Central governance procedure of such policy process is diagnostic monitoring which motivates stakeholders to learn by revealing both mistakes and new possibilities for action. Such problem-solving monitoring is contrasted with conventional (accounting) monitoring. Echoing the industry life-cycle literature, a policy life cycle of a new experimentalist program is introduced. A distinction is made between experimental policy process in the managerial sense (medium-term horizon) and in the evolutionary sense (long-term horizon).

Formation of the Enterprise Strategy based on the Industry Life Cycle

The article considered the process of forming an enterprise strategy in the following stages: analysis of the external and internal environment of an enterprise, formation of a system of enterprise goals, assessment of alternative development strategies and the choice of one of them, implementation of the chosen strategy, and adjustment of the strategy. It is proposed to analyze the external environment in accordance with the concept of the industry life cycle. The concept of the life cycle of the industry, in particular the main stages of development of the industry and the criteria that are the basis for their identification, has been investigated. It is proposed to use the scientific developments of Porter and use the following characteristics as criteria: behavior of buyers of products (services), changes in goods, the nature of competitive relations in the market, profits of enterprises in the industry and marketing activities. Accordingly, it is proposed to highlight the stages of the industry development: implementation, growth, maturity, decline. Alternative strategies of enterprise development at various stages of the industry life cycle are considered: the strategy for realizing the advantages of the pioneer, the strategy of change response, the strategy of change management, the strategy of stabilization, the strategy of reduction, the strategy for finding segments of steady demand, as well as the strategy of the "last time". The main characteristics of these strategies are studied. The analysis of the life cycle of the agricultural industry in Ukraine has been carried out and it has been established that according to most of the characteristics it is at the stage of maturity. The industry has established relationships between producers and business consumers, enterprises receive average profits and specialize in the production of certain types of agricultural products of sufficiently high quality, and there are processes of gradual ousting of competitors from the market. It is proposed to agricultural enterprises as a possible strategy to implement a stabilization strategy that best suits the conditions of the external environment.

Industry evolution: Evidence from the Italian brewing industry

This paper provides historical evidence about structural change in the Italian brewing industry. After the WWII, the industry gradually became highly concentrated, dominated by multinationals. In the late 1980s, a new wave of entrants, i.e. craft breweries, revolutionized the industry. This paper discusses the causes of rising of concentration and the successive advent of the craft breweries. In the discussion, we highlight how the evolution of the brewing industry conforms to the predictions of the industry life cycle and resource-partitioning models. Various factors played a key role in rising concentration and successive late-stage entries although some of these have been disregarded in the economic literature on industry evolution. The findings and analysis provides important insights and help advance our understanding of the current and future competition and business strategies in this industry.

Competitive Revenue Strategies in the Medical Consumables Industry: Evidence from Human Resources, Research and Development Expenses and Industry Life Cycle

This study attempted to explore the competitive advantage strategies of the medical consumables industry (MCI) from the perspectives of human resources, research and development (R&D) and the industry life cycle. As one of the essential branches of modern medical device industry, the MCI has developed rapidly in recent years as global demand for medical consumables has shown continual growth, but it also faces market uncertainty. This study took Taiwan’s small/medium medical consumables enterprises (SMMCEs) as a sample, and used the translog revenue function to study the competitive advantage of the MCI through human resource and R&D investment strategies and the stage characteristics of the industry life cycle curve. The results showed that the various human resources and R&D expenses of the small/medium medical consumables industry (SMMCI) can interact with each other to influence total revenue and that the SMMCI needs more varied types of human resources to enhance its competitive advantage. The total revenue of the SMMCI decreased as education inputs rose, but it increased along with increases in the number of employee and R&D inputs. Observed from the life cycle curve of the SMMCI, total revenue increased rapidly during the startup and growth stages, increased slowly during the maturity stage, and decreased during the decline stage. Finally, we put forward competitive advantage strategies and management suggestions for medical consumables enterprises (MCEs). We are the first to document the life cycle curve and competitive advantage strategies of the MCI, thereby contributing to the related literature.

Understanding apparel brand evolution patterns in Bangladesh: an industry life cycle perspective

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to identify the emergence of apparel brands in Bangladesh: their timing, order and the reasons behind the patterns. This study also examined whether these evolution patterns followed the same path in Korea and India.Design/methodology/approachBy employing secondary research method, this study gathered and analyzed data from companies, trade organizations, news media and academic articles to determine the socioeconomic backgrounds and underlying dynamics that propelled the evolution patterns. Following Jin et al.'s (2013) approach, we analyzed three types of apparel brands (international, national and private) in Bangladesh.FindingsThe findings indicated that in contrast with Korea and India, in Bangladesh (a) the emergence of international brands occurred after the national brands' appearance in the More Advanced Production of Fabric and Apparel stage, (b) national brands also emerged at the same stage and earlier than the international brands developed, and (c) internationalization of national brands and emergence of private brands were not observed. The differences in the emergent timing and order were explained by socioeconomic and cultural aspects, along with industry life cycle perspectives.Practical implicationsFindings indicate that the Bangladeshi market is dominated by national apparel brands. Therefore, international brands are advised to consider the business strategies of local competitors and develop their own pricing and merchandising strategies to maintain their supremacy as premium brands.Originality/valueThis study addressed apparel brand evolution patterns in a lower middle-income country. The results revealed some unique aspects. Unlike in other developing countries, national brand development in Bangladesh was initiated by entrepreneurs.