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Nobel Laureates

The Product Life Cycle in the Commercial Mainframe Computer Market, 1968-1982


Volume: Volume 29, No. 4

Issue: Winter 1998

Pages: pp. 772-789

Authors: Shane M. Greenstein and James B. Wade

Title: The Product Life Cycle in the Commercial Mainframe Computer Market, 1968-1982

Abstract: We investigate product life cycles in the commercial mainframe computer market. We use hazard models with time-varying covariates to estimate the probability of product exit and Poisson models to estimate the probability of introduction. We measure the importance of different aspects of market structure, such as the degree of competitiveness, cannibalization, vintage, product niche, and firm effects. We find evidence of a relationship between the determinants of product exit and product entry.


JEL Classification

Microelectronics; Computers; Communications Equipment (L630)
Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size and Size Distribution of Firms Concentration, Product Differentiation, Entry and Exit (L110)
Industry Studies Manufacturing Machinery tools, electrical equipment, computers, communication equipment, and appliances (6313)
Market Structure: Industrial Organization and Corporate Strategy (6110)