Knowledge and Competitive Advantage: The Coevolution of Firms, Technology, and National Institutions

by Johann Peter Murmann

• ISBN13: 9780521684156
• ISBN10: 0521684153
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-04-03
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

A comparison of the development of the synthetic dye industry in Great Britain, Germany, and the US. The rise of this industry constitutes an important chapter in business, economic, and technological history because synthetic dyes - invented in 1857 -represent the first time that a scientific discovery quickly gave rise to a new industry. British firms led the industry for the next eight years, but German firms came to dominate the industry for decades before WWI, while American firms played only a minor role during the entire period. This study identifies differences in educational institutions and patent laws as the key reasons for German leadership in this industry. Successful firms had strong ties to the centers of organic chemistry knowledge. The book also argues that a complex coevolutionary process linking firms, technology and national institutions resulted in very different degrees of industrial success for dye firms in the three countries.

Table of Contents

Series Editors' Preface	xiii
Author's Preface	xiv
Acknowledgments	xvi
Timeline of Key Events in Development of the Synthetic Dye Industry before 1914	xxi
Introduction	1	(31)
The Puzzle	2	(3)
Is This Book for You?	5	(3)
Key Ideas in Evolutionary Theory	8	(9)
Evolution of Technology	17	(2)
Evolution of Institutions	19	(2)
A Sketch of Coevolution	21	(3)
The Economics and Science of Dye-Making	24	(3)
The Road Ahead	27	(5)
Country-Level Performance Differences and Their Institutional Foundations	32	(62)
Intriguing Questions about Industrial Leadership	32	(3)
Performance under the Microscope	35	(10)
Background Information on the Three Countries	45	(5)
National Research and Training Systems	50	(12)
Supporting Organizations and the State	62	(7)
The Academic-Industrial Knowledge Network	69	(11)
Social Organization of Production at the Shop Floor	80	(4)
Intellectual Property Right Regimes	84	(10)
Three Times Two Case Studies of Individual Firms	94	(70)
Purpose of the Matched Comparisons	95	(2)
The Cast of Firms	97	(9)
The World of Pioneers (1857--65)	106	(14)
Science Unbound (1866--85)	120	(18)
The Age of Bayer (1886--1914)	138	(23)
Did Managerial Action Make a Difference?	161	(3)
The Coevolution of National Industries and Institutions	164	(30)
Overview of Collective Strategies	164	(1)
Forging a National Science Capability	165	(14)
Lobbying for a Supportive Patent System	179	(13)
Influencing Tariff Laws	192	(2)
Toward an Institutional Theory of Competitive Advantage	194	(75)
Theoretical Gaps	195	(4)
Evolutionary Interpretation of the Key Findings	199	(10)
A Theory of Coevolution	209	(12)
Implications for Industrial Organization Studies	221	(9)
Opportunities for Future Research on Industrial Development	230	(9)
Appendixes
Appendix I A Technological History of Dyes	239	(19)
Appendix II Short Description of Databases on Firms and Plants	258	(11)
Bibliography	269	(18)
Index	287