The Pardox Of High R&D And Industry Stability: Technology And Structural Dynamics In The Global Hearing Instrument Industry

The hearing instruments (hearing aids) industry is typically described as a technologically vigorous area. One indication is high R&D intensity. And yet over the past 25 years, the structure of this industry worldwide has remained surprisingly stable. This paper analyzes the industry's technology and structural dynamics in order to shed light on this paradox. It is shown that the industry's market structure and patterns of components supply exert strong influences on the nature of technological development, and that the technology in turn is to a large degree blocking changes in industry structure, especially entry and vertical integration.