Niche width revisited: Organizational scope, behavior and performance

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Sorenson, Olav; McEvily, Susan; Ren, Charlotte Rongrong; Roy, Raja
• 署名单位: University of Toronto; Pennsylvania Commonwealth System of Higher Education (PCSHE); University of Pittsburgh; Purdue University System; Purdue University; Tulane University
• 刊物名称: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT JOURNAL
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0143-2095
• DOI: 10.1002/smj.550
• 发表日期: 2006
• 页码: 915-936
• 关键词: organizational ecology; NICHE WIDTH; diversification; product strategy

摘要

Although strategy research typically regards firm scope as a positional characteristic associated with performance differences, we propose that broad contemporary scope also provides insight into the routines that govern firm behavior. To attain broad scope, firms must repeatedly explore outside the boundaries of their current niche. Firms with broad niches therefore operate under a set of routines that repeatedly propel them into new market segments, expanding their niche. These niche expansions, however, involve risky organizational changes, behavior that disadvantages generalists relative to specialists, despite the positional value of broad scope. Empirical analyses of machine tool manufacturers and computer workstation manufacturers support this conjecture: (I) generalists introduce new products at a higher than optimal rate, thereby increasing their exit rates; and (ii) generalists also more frequently launch new models with novel features or targeted at new consumer segments rather than improving only incrementally on existing products, further accelerating their odds of failure. After adjusting for these behavioral differences, broad niche widths reduce exit rates, suggesting that they provide positional advantages. The paper discusses how this phenomenon may help to explain the diversification and multi-nationality discounts. Copyright (c) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.