Organizational Ecology: Findings and Implications

Organizational ecology has focused largely on theoretical and conceptual debates, with relatively little attention devoted to integrating emerging research. In this paper, empirical literature is reviewed focusing on the environmental and organizational determinants of the formation of the firm; the liabilities of newness and smallness; the advantages of generalist and specialist strategies; the difficulties associated with organizational life-cycle transitions; and the competitive and demographic structures of industry. This research not only contributes to the basic understanding of organizational demographics, but it also suggests some significant changes in how organizational processes are modeled.