Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
  • Publication
    Essays on Competitive Dynamics: Strategic Groups, Competitive Moves, and Performance Within the Global Insurance Industry
    (Difo-Druck GmbH, 2012)
    This dissertation consists of three empirical studies, which contribute to the academic debate on [http://www.eventstudytools.com/competitive-dynamics competitive dynamics]. The first study contributes to research on strategic group dynamics by pioneering a behavioral theory on how managers reposition their firms vis-à-vis the strategic group their firm is part of. The second study adds to the development of an action-based theory of interfirm rivalry in competitive markets by incorporating the effects of market shocks. The third study contributes to research investigating the performance implications of a distinct type of competitive action (i.e., divestitures) and reveals how strategic interrelationships between individual actions, as well as experience and timing effects, impact the stock market responses to these actions. [http://verdi.unisg.ch/www/edis.nsf/SysLkpByIdentifier/3977/$FILE/dis3977.pdf Full Text]
  • Publication
    Industry Effects on Individual Firm's Competitive Activity : 3rd Party Rivalry and Market Shocks
    (SMS Strategic Management Society, 2010-09-12)
    This paper initially explicates how 3rd party rivalry and industry-wide environmental shocks affect the individual competitive behaviors of firms. With applying event history analysis on more than 15'000 competitive moves, we present how the 63 leading global insurance firms navigated their industry over the period 1998 to 2007. In contrast to prior efforts, we simultaneously consider firm- and industry-level factors in explaining the competitive moves of firms. Our analyses thereby complement prior approaches, such as dyadic analyses, and offer a more comprehensive perspective on the competitive behavior of firms.
  • Publication
    Competitive Dynamics in the Global Insurance Industry : Strategic Groups, Competitive Moves, and Firm Performance
    (Springer, 2012)
    This book explores causes and consequences of interfirm rivalry within the global insurance industry. Based on three empirical studies, the book investigates (1) the mechanisms driving firm positioning and strategic group dynamics, (2) the impact of market shocks on firms' competitive behavior, and (3) the determinants of stock market responses to individual competitive actions. The book's insights offer important implications for academics and practitioners alike.
    Scopus© Citations 4
  • Publication
    Performance effects of corporate divestiture programs
    The paper aims at extending extant research on sources of divestiture gains by suggesting a novel program-based perspective on divestitures and analyzing the performance of program divestitures in comparison to single "stand-alone" divestitures. Based on event study methodology, the authors analyze the abnormal returns of 160 divestiture announcements within the global insurance industry between 1998 and 2007. In contrast to prior research which relied on ex post statistical clustering to identify transaction programs, ad hoc corporate press releases issued with the divestiture announcements are used to categorize program divestitures. Empirical results suggest that program divestitures generate higher abnormal returns than stand-alone divestitures. Further analyses into the sources for these higher gains, however, do not provide support for experience effects as significant explanatory factors. Instead, results suggest that the scheduling of divestitures significantly impacts announcement returns. The scope and single industry setting of the study suggest future cross-industry research on the influence of divestiture program characteristics on divestiture performance and the conditions under which these programs improve divestiture performance. Managers are advised to refrain from piecemeal divestiture behavior lacking clear strategic focus. Instead, they are encouraged to bundle their divestitures as part of a divestiture program with a clear strategic intent and shared business logic. While prior research on divestitures has treated divestitures as isolated events, the paper directs attention towards the analysis of divestiture programs. Further, experience and timing effects, which have been widely absent from prior divestiture studies, are considered.
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    Scopus© Citations 14
  • Publication
    Firm performance and aspiration levels as determinants of a firm's strategic repositioning within strategic group structures
    Previous studies on strategic group dynamics have generated valuable insights into the industry-level determinants of changes in strategic group membership and group strategy. Complementary to this line of research, the present study focuses on the firm-level determinants underlying shifts in firm positioning within strategic group structures. Drawing on the behavioral theory of the firm, the study examines the influence of firm performance and performance aspirations on the extent to which firms strategically diverge from or converge towards their strategic groups. Empirical results from a longitudinal analysis of the strategic repositioning by 1191 US insurance firms over a 10-year time period (1999-2008) suggest that firms performing below aspirations show a greater inclination to diverge from their current strategic group than firms performing above aspirations. Industry conditions are found to moderate the relationship between performance aspirations and strategic divergence-convergence. The study's findings highlight the influence of performance feedback on strategic group dynamics, and the importance of considering the interplay between firm-level and industry-level characteristics in explaining strategic group dynamics.
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    Scopus© Citations 39
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    Scopus© Citations 1