Learning in Markets, Strategizing in Markets (stip fortsetter 187034/v10)

Two branches of organization and strategy theory are now poised to explain the market behavior of firms. Performance feedback theory and heterogeneous diffusion theory explain how firms learn from comparison of performance with aspirations and from compet itors. The research opportunity is to extend each of these theories and to shape how they are integrated conceptually and tested empirically through pioneering theoretical and empirical work. Such work is particularly important for dynamic niche markets. Globalization has made this situation increasingly common, so the research is expected to have broad relevance. To examine the future of such markets from existing data, the shipping industry is chosen for its unusually long record of highly dynamic compe tition in multiple market niches. The empirical opportunity is that relevant data on the shipping industry are abundant, but have not been exploited for research of this nature. The principal researcher is experienced in managing large data collection and analysis projects, and has already made contributions to these research traditions. This project has also been filed under the European Young Investigators Awards program.