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Cost leadership strategy and experience curves

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  • Raphael Amit

Abstract

Investing in cost leadership by rapidly riding down the experience curve is a common way to establish a firm's competitive advantage. Its success depends, in part, on the factors that underlie the experience curve. In this paper we make the distinction between cost declines that occur at any point in time and cost declines that may occur over time. This leads us to consider a revised experience concept in which the dynamic interrelationship between a firm's production rate, cumulative production and unit cost is explicitly considered. We provide a detailed analysis of various scale‐learning relationships and their strategic implications for establishing competitive advantage through an investment in cost leadership. We also prove analytically that such investment should take place only in the presence of learning.

Suggested Citation

  • Raphael Amit, 1986. "Cost leadership strategy and experience curves," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 7(3), pages 281-292, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:stratm:v:7:y:1986:i:3:p:281-292
    DOI: 10.1002/smj.4250070308
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    Cited by:

    1. Hussinger, Katrin & Schwiebacher, Franz, 2013. "The value of disclosing IPR to open standard setting organizations," ZEW Discussion Papers 13-060, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    2. Klein, M.H. & den Hartigh, E. & Commandeur, H.R. & Langerak, F., 2004. "How to Determine the Increasing Returns Sensitivity of Your Industry?," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2004-047-STR, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    3. den Hartigh, E. & Langerak, F. & Commandeur, H.R., 2000. "A Managerial Perspective on the Logic of Increasing Returns," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2000-48-MKT, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    4. Engel, Dirk & Procher, Vivien & Schmidt, Christoph M., 2010. "The Asymmetries of a Small World: Entry Into and Withdrawal From International Markets by French Firms," Ruhr Economic Papers 192, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    5. Paul Steffens & Per Davidsson & Jason Fitzsimmons, 2009. "Performance Configurations over Time: Implications for Growth– and Profit–Oriented Strategies," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 33(1), pages 125-148, January.
    6. Melissa A. Schilling & Patricia Vidal & Robert E. Ployhart & Alexandre Marangoni, 2003. "Learning by Doing Something Else: Variation, Relatedness, and the Learning Curve," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 49(1), pages 39-56, January.
    7. Qian, Gongming, 1996. "The effect of multinationality measures upon the risk-return performance of US firms," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 5(3), pages 247-265, June.
    8. Engel, Dirk & Procher, Vivien & Schmidt, Christoph M., 2013. "Does firm heterogeneity affect foreign market entry and exit symmetrically? Empirical evidence for French firms," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 35-47.
    9. Jiawen Chen & Linlin Liu, 2018. "Profiting from Green Innovation: The Moderating Effect of Competitive Strategy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-23, December.
    10. Dirk Engel & Christoph M. Schmidt & Vivien Procher, 2010. "The Asymmetries of a Small World: Entry Into and Withdrawal From International Markets by French Firms," Ruhr Economic Papers 0192, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
    11. Alaa Adden A. Abuhommous, 2017. "Net Working Capital and Firm Growth," International Review of Management and Marketing, Econjournals, vol. 7(4), pages 131-137.
    12. Jason Lortie & Kevin C. Cox & Curtis Sproul, 2021. "Toward a theory of entrepreneurial differentiation: how entrepreneurial firms compete," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 1291-1312, September.
    13. Lavie, Dovev & Fiegenbaum, Avi, 2003. "The dominant strategic positioning of foreign MNCs: a typological approach and the experience of Israeli industries," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 56(10), pages 805-814, October.
    14. Peter M. Noble & Thomas S. Gruca, 1999. "Industrial Pricing: Theory and Managerial Practice," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 18(3), pages 435-454.
    15. repec:zbw:rwirep:0192 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Tobias Kretschmer & Jörg Claussen, 2016. "Generational Transitions in Platform Markets—The Role of Backward Compatibility," Strategy Science, INFORMS, vol. 1(2), pages 90-104, June.
    17. Yoshikatsu Shinozawa, 2010. "Mutual Versus Proprietary Ownership: An Empirical Study From The Uk Unit Trust Industry With A Company‐Product Measure," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 81(2), pages 247-280, June.
    18. den Hartigh, E. & Langerak, F. & Commandeur, H.R., 2002. "The Effects of Self-Reinforcing Mechanisms on Firm Performance," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2002-46-MKT, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    19. Heese, H. Sebastian, 2015. "Single versus multiple sourcing and the evolution of bargaining positions," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 125-133.

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