SPILLOVERS, SPILL-INS, AND STRATEGIC ENTREPRENEURSHIP: AMERICA'S FIRST COMMERCIAL JET AIRPLANE AND BOEING'S ASCENDANCY IN COMMERCIAL AVIATION

摘要

Building on recent studies on knowledge spillovers and spill-ins, this study traces the post-World War II knowledge spillovers during the early days of the modern commercial aviation industry. It examines the impact these spillovers had on opportunity- and advantage-seeking behaviors (i.e., strategic entrepreneurship) of the leading American incumbents: Douglas, Lockheed, Boeing, and a new entrant, de Havilland of Great Britain. Specifically, it highlights the processes triggered by knowledge spillovers that led to internal knowledge generation, innovations and, ultimately, Boeing's ascendancy in commercial aviation. It shows that knowledge spillovers and the concomitant processes they trigger can provide a powerful lens for studying opportunity- and advantage-seeking behavior in incumbents and entrants and the resultant outcomes of this dynamic. This study sensitizes researchers to examine the nuanced and complex interplay among knowledge generation, knowledge spillovers and spill-ins, and strategic entrepreneurship within a specific industry context to explain performance outcomes.