
Schumpeter on Strategy - imartin2k
http://reactionwheel.net/2019/01/schumpeter-on-strategy.html
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scribu
The most interesting question addressed in the article, for me, is why so many
people create “me too” businesses that clearly have no significant expansion
prospects.

It’s also fun to contemplate that Schumpeter figured this business strategy
stuff out more than 100 years ago.

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semantics
The book "The Master Switch" by Tim Wu which covers the history of
telecommunications as a vehicle for looking at what might happen to the
internet was my introduction to Schumpeter.

Highly recommended. Wu makes the point that Schumpeter gets it mostly right
but did miss a few things, namely regulatory capture.

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AstralStorm
The author of article actually mentions this.

The problem with regulatory capture is that it is generally inefficient and
given big enough opposition can get cracked.

The other important profit but not mentioned is externalities. Unethical but
common. Damage the environment, damage society by exploiting the poor and
others with little choice. Some externalities can be exploited for a very long
time...

And also exploiting information asymmetry, by marketing or otherwise profiting
as a middleman.

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semantics
I was worried my comment would make it appear that I had not read the article
- I did, I just didn't think that the author gave regulatory capture
sufficient weight and/or made it appear that Schumpeter had written about or
accounted for its importance.

As for its general inefficiency: the examples of Bell Labs & the Hollywood
studios are good counterexamples, both were unstoppable and required direct
government intervention.

One of Wu's points is of the different nature of telecommunications (and
common carriers in general).

I am in 100% agreement with you on the last two points.

