Industry learning environments and the heterogeneity of firm performance
By: BALASUBRAMANIAN, Natarajan
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Contributor(s): LIEBERMAN, Marvin B.
Material type: 
ArticlePublisher: U.S.A : Wiley-Blackwell, apr. 2010Subject(s): Administração de Empresas | Comportamento Organizacional | Avaliação de Desempenho | Aprendizagem | Modelo de GestãoStrategic Management Journal 31, 4, p. 390-412Abstract: This paper characterizes interindustry heterogeneity in rates of learning-by-doing, and examines how industry learning rates are connected with firm performance. Using plant-level data from the U.S. manufacturing sector, we measure the industry learning rate as the coefficient on cumulative output in a production function. We find that learning rates vary considerably among industries and are higher in industries with greater R&D, advertising, and capital intensity. More importantly, we find that higher rates of learning are associated with wider dispersion of Tobin's q and profitability among firms in the industry. These findings suggest that learning intensity represents an important characteristic of the industry environment that affects the range of firm performance. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
This paper characterizes interindustry heterogeneity in rates of learning-by-doing, and examines how industry learning rates are connected with firm performance. Using plant-level data from the U.S. manufacturing sector, we measure the industry learning rate as the coefficient on cumulative output in a production function. We find that learning rates vary considerably among industries and are higher in industries with greater R&D, advertising, and capital intensity. More importantly, we find that higher rates of learning are associated with wider dispersion of Tobin's q and profitability among firms in the industry. These findings suggest that learning intensity represents an important characteristic of the industry environment that affects the range of firm performance. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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