1: Introduction -- The puzzle -- Is this book for you? -- Key ideas in evolutionary theory -- Evolution of technology -- Evolution of institutions -- A sketch of coevolution -- The economics and science of dye-making -- The road ahead -- 2: Country-level performance differences and their institutional foundations -- Intriguing questions about industrial leadership -- Performance under the microscope -- Background information on the three countries -- National research and training systems -- Supporting organizations and the state -- The academic-industrial knowledge network -- Social organization of production at the shop floor -- Intellectual property right regimes -- 3: Three times two case studies of individual firms -- Purpose of the matched comparisons -- The cast of firms -- The world of pioneers (1857-65) -- Science unbound (1866-85) -- The age of Bayer (1886-1914) -- Did managerial action make a difference? -- 4: The coevolution of national industries and institutions -- Overview of collective strategies -- Forging a national science capability -- Lobbying for a supportive patent system -- Influencing tariff laws -- 5: Toward an institutional theory of competitive advantage -- Theoretical gaps -- Evolutionary interpretation of the key findings -- A theory of coevolution -- Implications for industrial organization studies -- Opportunities for future research on industrial development -- A technological history of dyes -- Short description of databases on firms and plants
Summary
A comparison of the development of the synthetic dye industry in Great Britain, Germany, and the US. The rise of this industry constitutes an important chapter in business, economic, and technological history because synthetic dyes - invented in 1857 -represent the first time that a scientific discovery quickly gave rise to a new industry. British firms led the industry for the next eight years, but German firms came to dominate the industry for decades before WWI, while American firms played only a minor role during the entire period. This study identifies differences in educational institutions and patent laws as the key reasons for German leadership in this industry. Successful firms had strong ties to the centers of organic chemistry knowledge. The book also argues that a complex coevolutionary process linking firms, technology and national institutions resulted in very different degrees of industrial success for dye firms in the three countries
