Industrial Economics

jährlich (SoSe)

Students will get familiar with the basic concepts in the field of industrial economics. These include some simple formal models. Moreover, they will learn to apply these concepts to explain empirically observed phenomena of industry development. Some behavioral aspects will be added to the discussion to gain a better understanding of the role of human cognition in industry evolution.

1. Introduction: The Origins of Industrial Economics
2. An Industry’s Life Cycle I
3. An Industry’s Life Cycle II
4. The Role of Spinoffs in Industrial Evolution
5. Case I: Intershop
6. Replicator Dynamics, Diffusion, and Competition in Markets
7. Competing Technologies, Path-Dependence, and Critical Mass Phenomena in Industries
8. Case II: The Rigid Disk Drive Industry
9. Organizational Ecology
10. Some Motivational Aspects of Entrepreneurship
11. Case III: The Baxter Boys
12. Evolving Organizations and Industrial Dynamics: The Role of Routines
13. The Spatial Dimension of Industrial Dynamics
14. Corporate Cultures and Industry Evolution
15. Firm-Size Distributions, Entry, and Turbulent Markets: Some Stylized Facts
16. Industry Dynamics and Their Implication for Economic Policy
17. Exam

• Cordes, C., Richerson, P. J. and Schwesinger, G. (2010): “How Corporate Cultures Coevolve with the Business Environment: The Case of Firm Growth Crises and Industry Evolution”, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, forthcoming.
• Garvin, D. A. (1983): “Spin-Offs and the New Firm Formation Process”, California Management Review, Vol. 25, No. 2, pp. 3-20.
• Klepper, S. (1997): “Industry Life Cycles”, Industrial and Corporate Change, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 145-181.