“There has been a growing rebellion, both among economists and analysts of business strategy, against the static view of the competitive process contained in neoclassical economics, and movement towards the very different picture of the competitive environment within which firms operate put forth by Joseph Schumpeter and developed in modern economic evolutionary theory. This fine book places firms squarely within an environment marked by Schumpeterian competition, and develops the implications regarding business strategies that can work in such a context. This reorientation of theorizing about business strategy is much needed, and very well done.”—Richard R. Nelson, Columbia University
“Unlike most books on the theory of the firm, this one takes reality into account. Mathews has researched the semiconductor and other leading-edge industries, studied both small and large entrepreneurial firms, and analyzed trade agreements between nations. His accumulated wisdom is woven into a simple yet elegant framework, and his arguments for firm strategizing under conditions of disequilibrium are compelling. Both economists and organizational scholars will learn a great deal from this refreshing work.”—Charles Snow, Penn State University