Product Innovation, Product Diversification, and Firm Growth: Evidence from Japan's Early Industrialization
- (pp. 3795-3826)
Abstract
We explore how firms grow by adding products. We leverage detailed data from Japan's cotton spinning industry at the turn of the last century to do so. This setting allows us to fully characterize the type of differentiation (vertical or horizontal) of new product introductions as well as whether the product is within or outside of the firm's prior technological capabilities. We find that trying to introduce innovative products beyond the firm's previous technologically feasible set, even if such trials fail, is a key to firm growth. Indeed, it mostly facilitates growth through the firm's later success in horizontal product diversification. In long-term outcomes, the right tail of the firm size distribution becomes dominated by firms that first moved into technologically challenging products and then later applied their newly acquired technical competence to horizontal expansion of their product portfolios. Two mechanisms through which this knowledge transfer occurs are greater production system flexibility and higher product appeal to downstream buyers.Citation
Braguinsky, Serguey, Atsushi Ohyama, Tetsuji Okazaki, and Chad Syverson. 2021. "Product Innovation, Product Diversification, and Firm Growth: Evidence from Japan's Early Industrialization." American Economic Review, 111 (12): 3795-3826. DOI: 10.1257/aer.20201656Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D22 Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
- L11 Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
- L67 Other Consumer Nondurables: Clothing, Textiles, Shoes, and Leather Goods; Household Goods; Sports Equipment
- N65 Economic History: Manufacturing and Construction: Asia including Middle East
- N85 Micro-Business History: Asia including Middle East
- O31 Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
- O33 Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes