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This study develops and tests three sets of predictions concerning new design introduction during the initial period of ferment in a new product market. We root our predictions most directly in the evolutionary economic concepts of local search and performance heuristics. First, we argue that new entrants will introduce most designs that are new to a product market during an initial period of ferment. Second, we argue that local search will lead most product market incumbents that introduce second or subsequent designs after their entry to introduce designs that are similar to those incorporated in their existing products. Third, we argue that firms selling products based on designs that are losing aggregate share in the market will be likely to introduce products based on new designs, while firms losing market share to firms that are selling the same design are unlikely to introduce new designs. Our empirical analysis examines the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) subfield of the diagnostic imaging equipment industry between 1980 and 1986, a period that begins with the introduction of the first MRI design and ends with the emergence of widely accepted design characteristics. The results support the argument that local search and performance heuristics, along with other market factors and business characteristics, influence

Lynne Zucker and anonymous referees for valuable insights and suggestions. We remain responsible for all errors

The embeddedness of interfirm relationships in the social structure can engender order in new tie formation, but competitive incentives may undermine the order that firms seek to achieve and lead to tie dissolution. We examine how relational embeddedness (history of interactions), positional embeddedness (network centrality), and structural embeddedness (common partners) influence tie stability, focusing on unplanned joint venture dissolution. Prior work suggests that relational embeddedness facilitates alliance stability. This paper finds that positional embeddedness does not promote stability, but structural embeddedness does help sustain alliances, particularly when partners have strong incentives to pursue self-interest at the expense of joint benefits. 2 The network structure that encompasses a firm’s commercial alliances creates both potential strategic benefits and potential risks for collaborative activities. Extant literature shows that the embedding of alliance activity in the pre-existing network structure when selecting partners produces informational, reputational, and social monitoring benefits that help firms mitigate collaboration hazards (Gulati & Gargiulo, 1999; Hitt, Dacin, Levitas, Arregle, & Borza,

This paper has not undergone formal review or approval of the faculty of the ILR School. It is intended to make results of Center research available to others interested in preliminary form to encourage discussion and suggestions. Page 2In The Trenches At The Talent Wars CAHRS WP03-05 In this study, I attempted to extend strategic human resource management theory by developing and testing a model of inter-firm competition for human resources. Using the phenomenon of talent raiding as a vehicle to test the model, I examined how degree of threat and firm capability affected firms ’ propensities to respond to rivals ’ actions. Results suggest that attributes of the raiding firm, attributes of the raided human capital, and attributes of the target firm were associated with target firms ’ propensity to defend or retaliate in response to a successful talent raid. The findings have implications for a tactical theory of human resource management and the origins of intra-firm differences in human resource systems.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the e¤ect of multimarket contact on the behaviour of pharmaceutical …rms. Firms that meet in several markets may …nd it pro…table tp redistribute market power among markets where they are operating. There are many instances of multimarket contact in the pharmaceutical industry: at the country level, at the therapeutical class or molecule level, and among brand name and generic products. We present evidence for seven OECD countries with di¤erent degrees of regulation and show that regulation a¤ects the importance of economic forces on …rms ’ price setting behaviour. 1

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