DOMINANT DESIGNS AND POPULATION-DYNAMICS IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES - FOUNDING AND FAILURE OF FACSIMILE TRANSMISSION SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS, 1965-1992

In this study we examine how links between dominant designs and compet itive processes influence patterns of founding and failure in telecomm unications service industries characterized by positive network extern alities. We study the effects of the dominant design established by th e Consultative Committee on International Telephone and Telegraph (CCI TT) for facsimile transmission technology on facsimile transmission se rvice organizations (FTSOs) that provide a variety of facsimile transm ission services over a shared telecommunications network. The findings provide clear evidence of links between dominant designs and ecologic al processes in an evolving organizational population. Our findings su ggest the need to refine earlier theorizing regarding the relationship between dominant designs and population dynamics. (C) 1995 Academic P ress, Inc.