My dissertation is a study of firms’ strategic differences and the performance consequences of these differences in nascent industries. I relax the implicit assumption in the existing literature that a technological breakthrough is exogenous, and provide theoretical and empirical accounts of knowledge evolution before a new technology gets commercialized. In Chapter 2, I highlight the evolution of a technology at the industry level and argue that there exists a pre-commercialization technology life cycle. I develop a series of propositions related to the technology’s architectural evolution during the pre-commercialization phase, and show that an emerging architecture becomes fully integrated before the inception of a new market. In Chapter 3, I shift the focus to the firm level, and compare the pre-commercialization search strategies of market incumbents facing a technological obsolescence to those of technology incumbents disrupting an existing market. I show that these two groups of incumbent firms invest heavily in an emerging technology even before the market takes shape, and that they engage in different search strategies, specifically in the degree to which they integrate or modularize the knowledge about individual technology components across two stages of a pre-commercialization life cycle. In Chapter 4, I argue that such pre-commercialization strategies have post-commercialization consequences. This dynamic view suggests that a select group of established organizations enter a new product market and the heterogeneity in their pre-entry experiences has direct consequences for the product’s initial performance. Throughout, this study uses the emergence of the solid-state lighting (SSL) market as an empirical context. / Business Administration/Strategic Management

In this dissertation, I systematically explore the nature and role of two firm capabilities: absorptive capacity (or external learning capability) and technological capability. I examine how firm capability interacts with intra-firm and industry factors, and how it impacts organizational outcomes. In the first paper, I review literature on absorptive capacity and distill its distinct effect on various organizational outcomes. I identify key theoretical underpinnings behind the diverse conceptualizations of absorptive capacity and their corresponding measures, and use meta-analytical techniques to synthesize the effects of absorptive capacity. The second and third papers of my dissertation examine how technological capability interacts with certain internal and external contingency factors in influencing firm innovation and industry evolution. In the second paper, I take an intra-firm focus, and I identify managerial cognition as an important internal factor that impacts the relationship between technological capability and innovation. More specifically, I study how a firm's technological competence interacts with managerial experience in shaping that firm's innovation choices. Using data from the satellite industry, I show that diversity and relatedness of technological resource, as well as CEO experience, work differently in shaping product versus application innovations. In the third paper, I investigate how capabilities beyond focal technology producers influence industry evolution. Based on longitudinal analyses of the evolution of the satellite industry, I show that complementors, component suppliers, and customers are important external factors that shape industry evolution. Overall, my dissertation demonstrates the interrelated roles of firm capability, managerial cognition, and innovation ecosystem on firm and industry-level outcomes. / Ph. D.

The present study applies evolutionary and resource-based firm theories to three of the most prominent U.S. shale gas basins – the Barnett, Fayetteville, and Haynesville plays. Rather than broadly considering a host of factors that enabled what has often been labelled a shale gas revolution, an evolutionary approach recognizes the internal agents that have long been in place, but were triggered by technical and economic developments. As geologic understanding, along with innovation and competitive environments, evolves in each play so too does the entire shale gas industry. Building upon the Bureau of Economic Geology shale gas study funded by the Sloan Foundation, this study offers data-driven analyses to test theories of industrial evolution as applied to shale gas plays. Each of the three focus plays has undergone introductory and growth phases as well as a maturation phase in which there is an evident shakeout of operators. Industries are theorized to enter decline phases, yet none of the plays here have definitively declined. Certain economic signals, however, indicate that a decline is imminent, albeit variable in timing and pace. Conceptualizing the entire shale gas industry as an amalgamation of individual and evolving plays correctly describes how the industry is able to rejuvenate its growth trajectory through investment in emerging plays. Although heterogeneous geology, engineering capabilities, and economic environment, particularly natural gas prices, complicate the economics of shale gas extraction, an evolutionary approach proves to be a useful tool in describing the historical development of individual plays as well as the entire shale industry. Importantly, this application sheds light on the future development of valuable shale resources. / text

The grocery retailing industry is a key sector of the UK economy, accounting for 16% of consumer expenditure. As such developments in this sector will have an important effect on UK economic and social welfare. Arguably, competition in the sector has intensified in the last two decades. Yet significant consolidation in the sector has put it under the spotlight of the UK competition authorities. Previous research analysing factors affecting the performance and positioning of UK grocery retailers has tended to be restricted to a limited time period and a small sample size. This study extends this research by investigating industry evolution and factors affecting performance and industry structure with longitudinal panel data, covering a two-decade time period. The sample used covers a wide variety of grocery retailers with a range of different attributes over a significant period in the development of the industry, running from 1985 through to 2003. Strategic group theory is employed to study industry evolution and examine the effects of strategic positioning on performance. Specifically, fixed-effect panel econometric models are estimated at different levels of aggregation to analyse firm, industry and strategic group effects on the performance of retailers. Also, stochastic frontier models, in the form of Cobb-Douglas and Transcendental Logarithmic functions, are estimated at different levels of aggregation to analyse the efficiency of retailers in the sector. The results from cluster analysis on strategic groups suggest that industry structure is likely to become more concentrated, and the size of retailers will be a significant mobility barrier in the industry. The profitability analysis finds industry level factors and strategic group composition to be crucial in explaining performance differences. The efficiency analysis finds large retailers exhibiting economies of scale through operating large store formats to be significantly better positioned from smaller-format retailers with fewer outlets. Consistent and significant time dummies demonstrate the favourable macro environment enjoyed by the retailers for much of the 1990s. The analysis reveals potentially useful insights for retail managers, especially concerning the importance of positioning in the industry and the choice of strategic orientation. More generally, the study opens up further possibilities for future studies of performance and efficiency measurement over an even longer time as the sector continues to develop and shape the way consumers shop in the UK.

In my dissertation, I examine varied types of knowledge and how they contribute to innovation generation and selection at both the firm and the industry level using the emerging industry context of small satellites. My research is divided into three papers. In Paper One, I take a supply-demand perspective and examine how suppliers of technology—with their unique knowledge of science and technology—and users of technology—with their unique knowledge of demand—contribute to innovation generation and selection over the industry lifecycle. Results show that the contributions of suppliers and users vary based on unique aspects of innovation, such as novelty, breadth, and coherence – and also over the industry life cycle. In Paper Two, I study how firms overcome science-business tension in their pursuit of novel innovation. I examine unique aspects of knowledge: scientists' business knowledge and CEOs' scientific knowledge. I show that CEOs' scientific knowledge is an important driver of firms' novel pursuits and that this impact is higher when scientists do not have business knowledge. In the third paper, I further examine how scientists with high technological and scientific knowledge—i.e., star scientists—impact firm innovation generation and selection. With a focus on explorative and exploitative innovation, I develop theory on the boundary conditions of stars' impact on firm level outcomes. I propose that individual level contingencies—i.e., stage of employment—and organizational level contingencies—explorative or exploitative innovation—both facilitate and hinder stars' impact on firms' innovative pursuits. / Doctor of Philosophy / In my dissertation, I study innovation at both the firm level and the industry level using the emerging industry context of small satellites. My dissertation divides into three papers. In Paper One, I study unique aspects of innovation at the industry level taking a supply-demand perspective. Since novelty, breadth, and convergence of innovation are all important drivers of the emergence and evolution of industries, I examine how supply side or demand side actors contribute to unique aspects of innovation over the industry life cycle. Results suggest that both suppliers and users of technology make important contributions to innovation, however, their respective contributions vary to novelty, breadth, and convergence of innovation. This impact varies over the industry life cycle. In Paper Two, I study how firms pursue novel innovation as main creator of economic value for firms. Firms need both scientific and technological knowledge in their pursuit of novel innovation. However, firms often struggle to overcome science-business tensions. Focusing on CEOs and scientists as two main drivers of innovation, I study how CEOs’ scientific knowledge and scientists’ business knowledge help firms overcome business-science tension. Results suggest that the likelihood of firms’ novel pursuit is higher when CEOs have scientific knowledge and scientists do not have business knowledge. In Paper Three, I further examine how high-performing scientists—i.e., star scientists—impact explorative and exploitative innovation. I propose that the stage of employment of individuals and goal context of firms are important contingencies that impact how stars impact firm level innovation.

This dissertation explores how logic duality, that is the coexistence of two institutional logics in an industry, affects firm strategic behaviors, and how in return firm strategic behaviors contribute (or not) to maintain logics segregated. Theoretically, I investigate the liability firms face when entering industries governed by a different logic, the wayincumbent organizations respond to the conformity demands of logic foreigners, and the determinants of firm-level institutional capital. Empirically, I study investment funds, filmmaking organizations and production firms in the French film industry (1987-2008), and find strong support for the proposed theory. By revealing strategies available to firms in dual-logicsettings and highlighting sources of institutional capital, this study contributes to the strategic management literature. The result is also a contribution to our understanding of why industries resist the "inexorable push towards homogenization" predicted by new institutional theory. By shedding light on the positive and negative effects of logic duality for firms, this work has also implications for practice.

Cette thèse explore l’effet de la coexistence de deux logiques institutionnelles au sein d’une industrie sur le comportement stratégique des entreprises et, en retour, l’impact du comportement stratégique des entreprises sur la persistance (ou non) de deux logiques distinctes. Un cadre théorique est proposé pour expliquer les désavantages dont souffrent lesentreprises qui pénètrent une industrie gouvernée par une logique différente, la manière dont les organisations en place répondent aux demandes de ces entreprises porteuses d’une logique étrangère et enfin les facteurs influençant la formation du capital institutionnel des entreprises. Une analyse empirique des fonds d’investissements, des organisations en charge de la production et des entreprises de production dans l’industrie cinématographique française (1987-2008) vient conforter les prédictions théoriques proposées. Cette thèse contribue à la littérature en management stratégique en dévoilant un ensemble de stratégies à la disposition des entreprises dans une industrie où deux logiques s’affrontent. Elle contribue également à expliquer pourquoi certaines industries résistent à l’inexorable homogénisation prédite par la théorie néo-institutionnelle. En dévoilant les effets positifs et négatifs de la dualité de logiques sur les entreprises, cette étude offre également des enseignements pour la pratique managériale. / This dissertation explores how logic duality, that is the coexistence of two institutional logics in an industry, affects firm strategic behaviors, and how in return firm strategic behaviors contribute (or not) to maintain logics segregated. Theoretically, I investigate the liability firms face when entering industries governed by a different logic, the wayincumbent organizations respond to the conformity demands of logic foreigners, and the determinants of firm-level institutional capital. Empirically, I study investment funds, filmmaking organizations and production firms in the French film industry (1987-2008), and find strong support for the proposed theory. By revealing strategies available to firms in dual-logicsettings and highlighting sources of institutional capital, this study contributes to the strategic management literature. The result is also a contribution to our understanding of why industries resist the “inexorable push towards homogenization” predicted by new institutional theory. By shedding light on the positive and negative effects of logic duality for firms, this work has also implications for practice.