Publication
Title
Breaking bottlenecks : power distribution dynamics in industry evolution
Author
Abstract
Many firms vie to attain a strategic bottleneck position in their industry, as it promises superior value appropriation over an extended period. Using a mixed-methods approach, we investigated the power dynamics between bottleneck and challenger segments in the airline ticket distribution sector. Our study of the bottleneck formed by the Global Distribution System (GDS) firms reveals the mechanisms that these firms employed to maintain power, as well as the mechanisms that airlines in the challenger segment used to attain power. These mechanisms strongly influenced the momentum of power shifts as the industry evolved towards greater modularization; we show how they worked recursively in a process of power distribution dynamics during that evolution. In addition, these mechanisms explain the dynamics at work between the incumbent and challenger segments, with airlines increasing the pressure to modularize and the GDS firms resisting that pressure. Our findings contribute to the literature on industry architectural change and industry evolution by providing a comprehensive understanding of the power dynamics that affect when and how strategic bottlenecks dissolve.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Organization studies / European Group for Organizational Studies. - Berlin
Publication
Berlin : 2024
ISSN
0170-8406
DOI
10.1177/01708406241252945
Volume/pages
(2024) , p. 1-34
Article Reference
01708406241252945
ISI
001235904600001
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
UAntwerpen
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Research group
Publication type
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Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
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Record
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Creation 29.04.2024
Last edited 02.07.2024
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