IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/stratm/v38y2017i3p506-525.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Time delays, competitive interdependence, and firm performance

Author

Listed:
  • Jukka Luoma
  • Sampsa Ruutu
  • Adelaide Wilcox King
  • Henrikki Tikkanen

Abstract

Research summary: Competitors' experiences of prior interactions shape patterns of rivalry over time. However, mechanisms that influence learning from competitive experience remain largely unexamined. We develop a computational model of dyadic rivalry to examine how time delays in competitors' feedback influence their learning. Time delays are inevitable because the process of executing competitive moves takes time, and the market's responses unfold gradually. We analyze how these lags impact learning and, subsequently, firms' competitive behavior, industry profits, and performance heterogeneity. In line with the extant learning literature, our findings reveal that time delays hinder learning from experience. However, this counterintuitively increases rivals' profits by reducing their investments in costly head‐to‐head competition. Time delays also engender performance heterogeneity by causing rivals' paths of competitive behavior to diverge. Managerial summary: While competitive actions such as new product launches, geographical expansion, and marketing campaigns require up‐front resource commitments, the potential lift in profits takes time to materialize. This time delay, combined with uncertainty surrounding the outcomes of competitive actions, makes it difficult for managers to learn reliably from previous investment decisions. This results in systematic underinvestment in competitive actions. The severity of the underinvestment grows as the time delay between an investment and its positive results increases. Counterintuitively, however, competitors' collective underinvestment increases profit‐making opportunities. In industries with large time delays, companies that do invest in competitive actions are likely to enjoy high returns on investment. It is also likely that rivals' paths of competitive behavior bifurcate. Together, these mechanisms generate large differences in competitors' profits. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • Jukka Luoma & Sampsa Ruutu & Adelaide Wilcox King & Henrikki Tikkanen, 2017. "Time delays, competitive interdependence, and firm performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(3), pages 506-525, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:stratm:v:38:y:2017:i:3:p:506-525
    DOI: 10.1002/smj.2512
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2512
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/smj.2512?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hazhir Rahmandad, 2008. "Effect of Delays on Complexity of Organizational Learning," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 54(7), pages 1297-1312, July.
    2. Philip Bromiley & Chris Papenhausen & Patricia Borchert, 2002. "Why do gas prices vary, or towards understanding the micro-structure of competition," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 23(4-5), pages 171-186.
    3. Erling Moxnes, 1998. "Not Only the Tragedy of the Commons: Misperceptions of Bioeconomics," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 44(9), pages 1234-1248, September.
    4. Markus C. Becker, 2004. "Organizational routines: a review of the literature," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 13(4), pages 643-678, August.
    5. Mark Paich & John D. Sterman, 1993. "Boom, Bust, and Failures to Learn in Experimental Markets," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 39(12), pages 1439-1458, December.
    6. Greg Young & Ken G. Smith & Curtis M. Grimm, 1996. "“Austrian” and Industrial Organization Perspectives on Firm-level Competitive Activity and Performance," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 7(3), pages 243-254, June.
    7. Adelaide Wilcox King & Carl P. Zeithaml, 2001. "Competencies and firm performance: examining the causal ambiguity paradox," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 75-99, January.
    8. Jens L. Boyd & Rudi K. F. Bresser, 2008. "Performance implications of delayed competitive responses: evidence from the U.S. retail industry," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(10), pages 1077-1096, October.
    9. Lam, Chak Fu & DeRue, D. Scott & Karam, Elizabeth P. & Hollenbeck, John R., 2011. "The impact of feedback frequency on learning and task performance: Challenging the “more is better” assumption," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 116(2), pages 217-228.
    10. Markus C. Becker, 2004. "Organizational routines : a review of the literature," Post-Print hal-00279010, HAL.
    11. S.A. Lippman & R.P. Rumelt, 1982. "Uncertain Imitability: An Analysis of Interfirm Differences in Efficiency under Competition," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 13(2), pages 418-438, Autumn.
    12. Dan Horsky, 1990. "A Diffusion Model Incorporating Product Benefits, Price, Income and Information," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 9(4), pages 342-365.
    13. Michael J. Lenox & Scott F. Rockart & Arie Y. Lewin, 2006. "Interdependency, Competition, and the Distribution of Firm and Industry Profits," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(5), pages 757-772, May.
    14. Elaine Mosakowski, 1997. "Strategy Making Under Causal Ambiguity: Conceptual Issues and Empirical Evidence," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 8(4), pages 414-442, August.
    15. Tomi Laamanen & Thomas Keil, 2008. "Performance of serial acquirers: toward an acquisition program perspective," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 663-672, June.
    16. John D. Sterman & Rebecca Henderson & Eric D. Beinhocker & Lee I. Newman, 2007. "Getting Big Too Fast: Strategic Dynamics with Increasing Returns and Bounded Rationality," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 53(4), pages 683-696, April.
    17. Daniel A. Levinthal & James G. March, 1993. "The myopia of learning," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(S2), pages 95-112, December.
    18. Henrich R. Greve, 2002. "Sticky Aspirations: Organizational Time Perspective and Competitiveness," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 13(1), pages 1-17, February.
    19. Marc Vanhuele & Shuba Srinivasan & Koen Pauwels, 2010. "Mindset Metrics in Market Response Models: An Integrative Approach," Post-Print hal-00528411, HAL.
    20. Atkins, Paul W. B. & Wood, Robert E. & Rutgers, Philip J., 2002. "The effects of feedback format on dynamic decision making," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 88(2), pages 587-604, July.
    21. Lurie, Nicholas H. & Swaminathan, Jayashankar M., 2009. "Is timely information always better? The effect of feedback frequency on decision making," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 108(2), pages 315-329, March.
    22. Sterman, John D., 1989. "Misperceptions of feedback in dynamic decision making," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 43(3), pages 301-335, June.
    23. Dan Lovallo & Colin Camerer, 1999. "Overconfidence and Excess Entry: An Experimental Approach," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(1), pages 306-318, March.
    24. Ashton Hawk & Gonçalo Pacheco-De-Almeida & Bernard Yeung, 2013. "Fast-mover advantages: Speed capabilities and entry into the emerging submarket of atlantic basin LNG," Post-Print hal-00984860, HAL.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yuan, Xuchuan & Nishant, Rohit, 2021. "Understanding the complex relationship between R&D investment and firm growth: A chaos perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 666-678.
    2. Sascha G. Walter, 2024. "Spin-outs’ knowledge legacies and parent hostility: a competitive dynamics view," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 63(3), pages 1019-1039, October.
    3. Saumyaranjan Sahoo & Arvind Upadhyay & Anil Kumar, 2023. "Circular economy practices and environmental performance: Analysing the role of big data analytics capability and responsible research and innovation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(8), pages 6029-6046, December.

    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. Michael D. Ryall, 2009. "Causal Ambiguity, Complexity, and Capability-Based Advantage," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 55(3), pages 389-403, March.
    2. Hazhir Rahmandad, 2012. "Impact of Growth Opportunities and Competition on Firm-Level Capability Development Trade-offs," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(1), pages 138-154, February.
    3. Thorsten Grohsjean & Tobias Kretschmer & Nils Stieglitz, 2011. "Performance Feedback, Firm Resources, and Strategic Change," DRUID Working Papers 11-02, DRUID, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Industrial Economics and Strategy/Aalborg University, Department of Business Studies.
    4. Francesco Castellaneta & Oliver Gottschalg & Aleksandra Kacperczyk & Mike Wright, 2022. "Experience as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: Performance Outcome Delays in the Private Equity Context," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(6), pages 1359-1385, September.
    5. Freek Vermeulen, 2018. "A basic theory of inheritance: How bad practice prevails," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(6), pages 1603-1629, June.
    6. Francesco Castellaneta & Maurizio Zollo, 2015. "The Dimensions of Experiential Learning in the Management of Activity Load," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(1), pages 140-157, February.
    7. Hazhir Rahmandad & Nelson Repenning, 2016. "Capability erosion dynamics," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(4), pages 649-672, April.
    8. Saeed P. Langarudi & Carlos G. Silva & Alexander G. Fernald, 2021. "Measure more or report faster? Effect of information perception on management of commons," System Dynamics Review, System Dynamics Society, vol. 37(1), pages 72-92, January.
    9. Luoma, Jukka, 2016. "Model-based organizational decision making: A behavioral lens," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 249(3), pages 816-826.
    10. Guha, Mahua & Das, Gopal, 2017. "Routine contraction in good times: An example of a typical prototype development routine," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 145-152.
    11. John Hey & Tibor Neugebauer & Abdolkarim Sadrieh, 2009. "An Experimental Analysis of Optimal Renewable Resource Management: The Fishery," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 44(2), pages 263-285, October.
    12. Heimeriks, K. & Duysters, G.M. & Vanhaverbeke, W.P.M., 2004. "The evolution of alliance capabilities," Working Papers 04.20, Eindhoven Center for Innovation Studies.
    13. Moxnes, Erling, 2014. "Discounting, climate and sustainability," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 158-166.
    14. David C. Lane & Birgit Kopainsky & Ali Kerem Saysel, 2017. "Role of Information Feedback in Soil Nitrogen Management: Results from a Dynamic Simulation Game," Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(4), pages 424-439, July.
    15. Langley, Paul A. & Morecroft, John D. W., 2004. "Performance and learning in a simulation of oil industry dynamics," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 155(3), pages 715-732, June.
    16. Ingrid Kubin & Laura Gardini, 2013. "Border collision bifurcations in boom and bust cycles," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 811-829, September.
    17. Mulotte, L., 2013. "Do experience effects vary across governance modes? Evidence from new product introduction in the global aerospace industry, 1948–2000," Other publications TiSEM 2c79d4d6-2b71-4160-9781-f, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    18. Martin F. G. Schaffernicht & Stefan N. Groesser, 2016. "A competence development framework for learning and teaching system dynamics," System Dynamics Review, System Dynamics Society, vol. 32(1), pages 52-81, January.
    19. Evanschitzky, Heiner & Wangenheim, Florian v. & Wünderlich, Nancy V., 2012. "Perils of Managing the Service Profit Chain: The Role of Time Lags and Feedback Loops," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 88(3), pages 356-366.
    20. Arie Y. Lewin & Silvia Massini & Carine Peeters, 2011. "Microfoundations of Internal and External Absorptive Capacity Routines," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(1), pages 81-98, February.

    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:stratm:v:38:y:2017:i:3:p:506-525. 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://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/0143-2095 .

    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.