This paper discusses when firms may expect economies in the accumulation of resources (asset mass efficiencies). Specifically, we describe situations in which the accumulation of a resource benefits from a “success breeds success” dynamic that creates an exponentially growing gap between...

We examine how time-consuming resource accumulation influences the classic strategy trade-off between commitment and flexibility. In particular, using data from the worldwide petrochemical industry during the period 1975 to 1995, we study the impact of new plants' time-to-build on firms'...