Technological Strategies and Market Success. Evidence from the Aero-Engine Industry

The paper studies the relations between technological strategies and market success of firms, through an empirical analysis of the commercial aero-engine industry since 1948 to 1997 detailed at the level of competition among single firms products. It uses a multidimensional measure of technical progress through Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) for measuring technological performances of single products and firms and data on sales of each product over time for representing market success. The paper confirms the existence of heterogeneity of firms technological strategies and draws some main conclusions with respect to strategies of convergence and divergence from the technological frontier, first mover advantage and survival of inefficient products.