Technological interdependence, firm strategies and performance outcomes

Technological change is the primary engine of economic progress. Underlying this economic progress, however, lie challenges that firms face in introducing and competing with their new innovations. Prior research has mainly looked inside the firm for answers as to why certain firms are more successful than others in overcoming challenges that underlie new innovations.;In my dissertation, I argue for a broader examination of technological change that extends beyond the internal challenges that reside within a focal firm to include explicit consideration of external challenges that reside within a firm's environment. I propose a structured approach, based on the flow of activities, to examine interdependencies in a firm's environment. I differentiate between upstream components that are integrated by the firm, and downstream complements that are integrated by the user.;The dissertation comprises of three empirical essays in the context of the semiconductor industry from its founding in 1962 to 2005. The first essay examines how firms' production and knowledge boundaries with respect to key components affect their ability to manage technological change. The second essay presents an integrated examination of components and complements in shaping firms' commercialization success from new innovations. The final essay offers a historical overview of how technological interdependencies between components, architectures and complements have shaped technology evolution and substitution in the industry. Overall, the results argue for a systematic consideration of changes in the firm's environment to understand its ability to create value from its innovative efforts.