IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/jindec/v52y2004i3p381-399.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sunk Costs and the Depth and Probability of Technology Adoption

Author

Listed:
  • Thomas Åstebro

Abstract

I propose that sunk costs of learning and the output over which these costs are spread determine the probability and depth of technology adoption. Depth of adoption describes the extent to which firms exploit the advantages of the technology. I find that plant size but not firm size predicts CAD and CNC adoption. Learning costs are lumpy, are closely connected to technology adoption and determine both the probability and depth of adoption. Depth of adoption is considerably more plant idiosyncratic than the decision to adopt.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas Åstebro, 2004. "Sunk Costs and the Depth and Probability of Technology Adoption," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(3), pages 381-399, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jindec:v:52:y:2004:i:3:p:381-399
    DOI: 10.1111/j.0022-1821.2004.00231.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0022-1821.2004.00231.x
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.0022-1821.2004.00231.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Baldwin, John R & Gorecki, Paul K, 1986. "The Relationship between Plant Scale and Product Diversity in Canadian Manufacturing Industries," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(4), pages 373-388, June.
    2. Timothy Dunne, 1994. "Plant Age and Technology Use in US. Manufacturing Industries," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 25(3), pages 488-499, Autumn.
    3. Giuseppe Bertola & Ricardo J. Caballero, 1990. "Kinked Adjustment Costs and Aggregate Dynamics," NBER Chapters, in: NBER Macroeconomics Annual 1990, Volume 5, pages 237-296, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Heckman, James, 2013. "Sample selection bias as a specification error," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 31(3), pages 129-137.
    5. Davies, Stephen W., 1979. "Inter-firm diffusion of process innovations," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 299-317, October.
    6. Peter Thompson, 2001. "How Much Did the Liberty Shipbuilders Learn? New Evidence for an Old Case Study," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 109(1), pages 103-137, February.
    7. Colombo, Massimo G & Mosconi, Rocco, 1995. "Complementarity and Cumulative Learning Effects in the Early Diffusion of Multiple Technologies," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(1), pages 13-48, March.
    8. Richard Zeckhauser, 1968. "Optimality in a World of Progress and Learning," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 35(3), pages 363-365.
    9. Jensen, Richard, 1988. "Information capacity and innovation adoption," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 6(3), pages 335-350.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Battisti, Giuliana & Stoneman, Paul, 2005. "The intra-firm diffusion of new process technologies," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 23(1-2), pages 1-22, February.
    2. Stoneman, Paul & Battisti, Giuliana, 2010. "The Diffusion of New Technology," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 733-760, Elsevier.
    3. Heinz Hollenstein & Martin Woerter, 2004. "The Decision to Adopt Internet-based E-Commerce. An Empirical Analysis Based on Swiss Firm-level Data," KOF Working papers 04-89, KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich.
    4. Rui Baptista, 1999. "The Diffusion of Process Innovations: A Selective Review," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(1), pages 107-129.
    5. Fındık, Derya & Tansel, Aysit, 2013. "Resources on the stage: a firm level analysis of the ict adoption in Turkey," MPRA Paper 65956, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 05 Aug 2014.
    6. Hollenstein, Heinz, 2004. "Determinants of the adoption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT): An empirical analysis based on firm-level data for the Swiss business sector," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 315-342, September.
    7. Cooley, Thomas F. & Greenwood, Jeremy & Yorukoglu, Mehmet, 1997. "The replacement problem," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 457-499, December.
    8. Hollenstein, Heinz & Woerter, Martin, 2008. "Inter- and intra-firm diffusion of technology: The example of E-commerce: An analysis based on Swiss firm-level data," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 545-564, April.
    9. Spyros Arvanitis & Marius Ley, 2013. "Factors Determining the Adoption of Energy-Saving Technologies in Swiss Firms: An Analysis Based on Micro Data," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 54(3), pages 389-417, March.
    10. Spyros Arvanitis & Michael Peneder & Christian Rammer & Tobias Stucki & Martin Wörter, 2016. "The adoption of green energy technologies: The role of policies in an international comparison," KOF Working papers 16-411, KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich.
    11. Bourke, Jane & Roper, Stephen, 2017. "Innovation, quality management and learning: Short-term and longer-term effects," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(8), pages 1505-1518.
    12. Peter Klenow, 1998. "Learning Curves and the Cyclical Behavior of Manufacturing Industries," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 1(2), pages 531-550, April.
    13. Casey Ichniowski & Kathryn Shaw, 1995. "Old Dogs and New Tricks: Determinants of the Adoption of Productivity-Enhancing Work Practices," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 26(1995 Micr), pages 1-65.
    14. Delmastro, Marco, 2002. "The determinants of the management hierarchy: evidence from Italian plants," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 119-137, January.
    15. Rachel BOCQUET (IREGE, IUT-University of Savoie) & Olivier BROSSARD (LEREPS-GRES), 2006. "Information Technologies (IT) Adoption and Localized Knowledge Diffusion: an Empirical Study," Cahiers du GRES (2002-2009) 2006-17, Groupement de Recherches Economiques et Sociales.
    16. Pfeiffer, Birte & Mulder, Peter, 2013. "Explaining the diffusion of renewable energy technology in developing countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 285-296.
    17. Emanuele Giovannetti & Mohsen Hamoudia, 2022. "The interaction between direct and indirect network externalities in the early diffusion of mobile social networking," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 12(4), pages 617-642, December.
    18. Gomez, Jaime & Vargas, Pilar, 2009. "The effect of financial constraints, absorptive capacity and complementarities on the adoption of multiple process technologies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 106-119, February.
    19. Koski, Heli, 2000. "Regulators and Competition Spurring or Retarding Innovation in the Telecommunications Sector?," Discussion Papers 724, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.
    20. Richard A. Jensen, 2004. "Multiplant Firms and Innovation Adoption and Diffusion," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 70(3), pages 661-671, January.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:jindec:v:52:y:2004:i:3:p:381-399. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0022-1821 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.