Innovation, Technology and Hypercompetition

Book excerpt: In an increasingly technologically-led century the striking pattern emerging in firms’ innovative activities is their competition for a technological leadership position in situations best described as races. A 'race' is an interactive pattern characterized by firms constantly trying to get ahead of their rivals, or trying not to fall too far behind. In high technology industries, where customers are willing to pay a premium for advanced technology, leadership translates into increasing returns in the market through positive network externalities. Innovation, Technology and Hypercompetition synthesizes and unifies the various methodological approaches for the industry-specific analysis of fast changing competitive positions driven by relentless innovation (hypercompetition). Game-theoretic and agent-based tools are applied to competitive industries in various market settings and in a global context. Rivalry of this sort is seen to extend to the catching up and forging ahead of regions and nations. In this revealing volume, Hans-Werner Gottinger brings his expert eye to this issue and employs various tools from economic theory to attain this end. He provides the behavioural foundations for what is driving globalization, in this, a volume of interest to academic economists, legal experts, management consultants and practitioners alike.