Technological lock-in of large firms since the interwar period

Abstract

configurations. This article examines evidence on the industrial patterns of technological development in the largest firms originating from the US, Germany, the UK, France, Switzerland and Sweden, through their corporate patenting in the US since 1920. It is shown that in each national group the profile of development is path-dependent, but with some selected convergence between groups leading to the formation of three clusters of groups (the US and UK, German and Swiss, and French and Swedish) that share common characteristics. In previous research, it has been demonstrated that large firms tend to possess persistent patterns of technological specialisation, which implies pathdependency in the technological development of these companies (Cantwell and Fai 1999). While technological path-dependency in such firms is strong over relatively long periods of about 30 years, it weakens somewhat over such very long periods of time as 60 years. Yet even over 60 years (from 1930 to 1990) the fields of principal technological specialisation in each of the largest US and European industrial firms have been typically remarkably stable, especially when considering the more dramatic shifts that have occurred in the composition of their products or markets. By comparison, over long periods the profiles of technological competence of the largest firms considered individually tend to persist much more than the equivalent patterns of technological comparative advantage of countries as a whole (Cantwell 19913 Vertova 1998a). At a national level a significant degree of 1 The author gratefully acknowledges the helpul comments of a referee and the editors on an earlier version of this article, and the support of Pilar Barrera, who worked with him on the project on ťThe historical structure of innovative activity in the UK and Europe since 1890' which made this article possible. He wishes to also thank for the financial support of the original project the UK Economic and Social Research Council (under award number R00232250).