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Cross-disciplinary Seminar Series in
Strategy and Entrepreneurship
When
Atlas Shrugged: Pre-emption, Complexity
and Division of Labor in a Theory of
Appropriability
Gautam Ahuja
University of Michigan
April 8, 2005
Room 1412, 1:15-2:45pm
Abstract: I distinguish
between primary appropriability, a
firm’s ability to profit from a given
invention, and generative
appropriability, a firm’s ability to
develop subsequent inventions building
on its prior inventions. I identify four
determinants of generative
appropriability and develop a
theoretical model to explain variations
in the generative appropriability of
firms in the global chemicals industry.
I find that technological preemption,
control of supporting assets and
division of labor enhance generative
appropriability while complexity
diminishes it.
Gautam Ahuja
is Professor and Hallman Faculty Fellow
in Corporate Strategy and International
Business (CSIB) at the University of
Michigan Business School. He is
Chairperson of the CSIB group.
Professor Ahuja teaches an MBA elective
on Advanced Competitive Analysis. Prior
to joining UMBS in 2001 he was on the
faculty of the Red McCombs School of
Business at The University of Texas at
Austin. Professor Ahuja has received
numerous teaching awards and honors, and
was chosen as the Best Professor in the
MBA program by the MBA students in 1997,
1999, 2000 and 2001 at Texas and in 2003
and 2004 at the University of Michigan
Business School. In 2004 he also won
the Ph. D. Teaching Excellence Award
becoming the first Professor to win both
the MBA and the Ph.D. awards in the same
year. Since 1997/8 he has also been
recognized as outstanding faculty in
Business Week’s annual guide to the top
business schools.
Professor Ahuja's research interests
focus on how firms use technology to
gain and exploit competitive advantage.
His research has received several
international awards from the top
scholarly associations in the field
including the Academy of Management (AOM),
the Strategic Management Society (SMS),
and The Institute for Operations
Research and the Management Sciences
(INFORMS). Among these awards is the
Free Press Award for outstanding
research in Strategic Management, the
Sage-Pondy and West Publishing Awards
for outstanding research in Organization
Theory, both from The Academy of
Management, and the College on
Organization Science Best Dissertation
Award from The Institute for Operations
Research and the Management Sciences
(INFORMS). His publications include
several articles in the top scholarly
journals and have been cited by various
federal and international bodies such as
the EPA, OECD and UNEP. Some of his
recent work on acquisitions has been
profiled in Sloan Management Review. He
is an Associate Editor for the journal,
Management Science, a Senior
Editor for the journal Organization
Science and a member of the
Editorial Board for the journals,
Academy of Management Review,
Administrative Science Quarterly,
and Strategic Organization.
For information about the series,
contact Bob Jones at
rjones@rhsmith.umd.edu.
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