Paper Type
Complete
Abstract
We report on a study of firm longevity as we move from the industrial age to the digital age. Through a survival analysis of S&P 500 firms from 1965 to 2016, we find that firms survive for a decreasing duration over the time period of our sample. This indicates that the pace of innovation is increasing as we transition to the digital age. Further, we find that this duration is longer for non-digital firms than digital firms, indicating a generally fiercer competitive landscape for digital firms. Finally, we find that this difference between digital and non-digital firms largely disappears after the 1990s when the digital age has firmly taken root. This study thus provides the first large-scale evidence for digital field convergence – a term we use to describe the blurring of industrial distinctions in the digital age as all firms are becoming digital firms.
Recommended Citation
Berente, Nicholas; Lee, Jaegul; Potts, Anthony; and Srinivasan, Nikhil, "Do “Digital” Firms Live Longer as Fields Converge? A Survival Analysis of the S&P 500" (2020). AMCIS 2020 Proceedings. 5.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2020/adv_info_systems_research/adv_info_systems_research/5
Do “Digital” Firms Live Longer as Fields Converge? A Survival Analysis of the S&P 500
We report on a study of firm longevity as we move from the industrial age to the digital age. Through a survival analysis of S&P 500 firms from 1965 to 2016, we find that firms survive for a decreasing duration over the time period of our sample. This indicates that the pace of innovation is increasing as we transition to the digital age. Further, we find that this duration is longer for non-digital firms than digital firms, indicating a generally fiercer competitive landscape for digital firms. Finally, we find that this difference between digital and non-digital firms largely disappears after the 1990s when the digital age has firmly taken root. This study thus provides the first large-scale evidence for digital field convergence – a term we use to describe the blurring of industrial distinctions in the digital age as all firms are becoming digital firms.
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