INDUSTRIAL-ORGANIZATION AND ORGANIZATIONAL ECOLOGY - THE POTENTIALS FOR CROSS-FERTILIZATION

The population of organization studies that has become known under suc h names as population ecology and organizational ecology (OE), is ente ring the stage of maturity. It is argued here that this branch of orga nization studies can increase the carrying capacity of its niche by se eking cross-fertilization with the century-old field of industrial org anization and the economically inspired sub-field of strategic managem ent. Doing so would enrich the study of the long-run evolution of orga nizational populations by adding a focus on differences between and wi thin industries to OE's emphasis on universal similarities. The argume nt is illustrated by investigating the long-run development of the Ger man and U.S. brewing industries on the one hand and the Dutch audit in dustry on the other.