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Firm size diversity, functional richness, and resilience

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 July 2006

AHJOND S. GARMESTANI ,
CRAIG R. ALLEN ,
JOHN D. MITTELSTAEDT ,
CRAIG A. STOW  and
WILLIAM A. WARD
AHJOND S. GARMESTANI
Affiliation:
South Carolina Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, and Program in Policy Studies, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
CRAIG R. ALLEN
Affiliation:
USGS – Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA
JOHN D. MITTELSTAEDT
Affiliation:
Department of Marketing, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
CRAIG A. STOW
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
WILLIAM A. WARD
Affiliation:
Center for International Trade, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
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Abstract

This paper applies recent advances in ecology to our understanding of firm development, sustainability, and economic development. The ecological literature indicates that the greater the functional richness of species in a system, the greater its resilience – that is, its ability to persist in the face of substantial changes in the environment. This paper focuses on the effects of functional richness across firm size on the ability of industries to survive in the face of economic change. Our results indicate that industries with a richness of industrial functions are more resilient to employment volatility.

Type
Research Article
Information
Environment and Development Economics , Volume 11 , Issue 4 , August 2006 , pp. 533 - 551
Copyright
2006 Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

The South Carolina Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit is jointly supported by a cooperative agreement between the United States Geological Survey-Biological Resources Division, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Clemson University, and the Wildlife Management Institute. Support was provided by the James S. McDonnell Foundation 21st Century Research Award/Studying Complex Systems.