Information Technology and the Dynamics of Firm and Industrial Structure: The British IT Consulting Industry as a Contemporary Specimen

Abstract

The internet is often anticipated to have disruptive competitive impacts, causing upstart firms to overthrow incumbent market leaders. This paper uses the UK IT consulting industry as a test case to see whether such competitive impacts of the internet might already be occurring. Comparable possible impacts of the introduction of personal computers are also considered. Findings regarding the entry, exit, growth, and technology-related areas of business for new entrants and incumbents over a period of three decades suggest that the internet did not have such a radical effect on market structure by the year 2000.