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Innovation, competition and firm size distribution on fragmented markets

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  • Zakaria Babutsidze

Abstract

This paper presents a simple model of firm and consumer behavior. We formulate a sub-market entry game, where boundedly rational firms decide on investing in R&D for inventing new products that will appeal to targeted groups of consumers. The success depends on the amount of resources available for the project as well as on the firm’s familiarity with market characteristics. Successful innovation feeds back into the firm size and (potentially into) market knowledge and increases the future R&D productivity. A new product decreases the market-shares of incumbents. However, this business stealing effect is asymmetric across incumbent population. We identify the section of parameter space where firms have an incentive to diversify horizontally. In this section, the model results in rich industrial dynamics. Firm size heterogeneity emerges endogenously in the model. Equilibrium firm size distributions are heavy tailed and skewed to the right. The heaviness of the tail depends on submarket specificity of firm’s market knowledge. This relationship is non-monotonic, emphasizing two different effects of innovation on industrial dynamics (positive feedback and asymmetric business stealing). Copyright Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2016

Suggested Citation

  • Zakaria Babutsidze, 2016. "Innovation, competition and firm size distribution on fragmented markets," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 26(1), pages 143-169, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:joevec:v:26:y:2016:i:1:p:143-169
    DOI: 10.1007/s00191-015-0425-5
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Lapatinas, Athanasios & Garas, Antonios, 2016. "The role of networks in firms’ multi-characteristics competition and market-share inequality," MPRA Paper 68959, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Zakaria Babutsidze & Maurizio Iacopetta, 2016. "Innovation, growth and financial markets," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 26(1), pages 1-24, March.
    3. Ali, Jabir & Reed, Michael R. & Saghaian, Sayed H., 2021. "Determinants of product innovation in food and agribusiness small and medium enterprises: evidence from enterprise survey data of India," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 24(5), May.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Product innovation; Competition; Market knowledge; Firm size distribution; C72; D21; L11;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C72 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Noncooperative Games
    • D21 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Theory
    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms

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