Essays on competition, innovation, and the interplay of corporate and business strategies

This dissertation unpacks the complex relationship between the multidimensional concept of competition and a firm’s innovation, such as new product introductions. New product introductions are not only a key driver of a firm’s growth and profitability but also a firm’s strategic response to competitive pressures. Existing literature on the relationship between competition and a firm’s new product introductions primarily considered competition with rivals in product markets. However, whether a firm increases or reduces its new product introductions in response to other distinct dimensions of competition—such as competition with rivals for critical resources in strategic factor markets, competition within a firm’s product portfolio in a given business (product category), and competition across distinct businesses (product categories) within a firm—is not clear and remains the topic of ongoing inquiry in strategy research. The dissertation essays seek to contribute to strategy research by examining the above-mentioned under-researched dimensions of competition. The first essay, “Toward a synthesis of corporate strategy and business strategy: New product introductions and product line extensions by diversified firms” (Chapter 2), focuses on cross-business strategic interdependencies generated by the interplay of specific corporate and business strategies, such as corporate diversification and vertical product line extension. Unlike prior literature that considered economies of scope arising from resource relatedness a primary strategic interdependence that increases the economic profitability of diversified firms, this essay puts forward the business strategies that a diversified firm implements in its businesses as another crucial factor that affects its economic performance. Specifically, the study discusses how diversified firms use the business strategy of vertical product line extension to increase their revenues. The essay reveals that negative strategic interdependencies across a diversified firm’s businesses, such as competition across distinct businesses (product categories) within a diversified firm, affect its choice of the business strategy and limit its ability to use the business strategy of vertical product line extension in its businesses (product categories). The second essay, “How product similarity and rivals’ product launches and withdrawals affect a firm’s new product introductions” (Chapter 3), examines how competition among a firm’s products within a given business (product category), such as similarity among a firm’s products, and competition with rivals in product markets, such as rivals’ new product launches and withdrawals, affect a firm’s new product introductions. The study reveals that competition among a firm’s products and competition with rivals in product markets suppress a firm’s new product introductions. The third essay, “Competition for critical resources and a firm’s product innovation and product deployment strategy” (Chapter 4), focuses on competition with rivals for critical resources, such as rivals’ relative strength in expanding their geographic coverage. The study highlights that a firm responds to competition with rivals for critical resources by renewing its product portfolio. Specifically, the firm discontinues its maturing products and introduces new ones.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Business Administration

Grantor

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2025

Author dc:creator

• Isakova, Valerie

Contributors dc:contributor

• Mahoney, Joseph T
• Clougherty, Joseph A
• Schijven, Mario
• Leiblein, Michael

• competition
• innovation
• new product introductions
• corporate strategy
• business strategy

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright © 2025 Valerie Isakova

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/129498

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F129498