Icarus paradox
The Icarus Paradox is one of Danny Miller coined neologism from the field of organizational learning , which posted through his 1990 book The Icarus Paradox - How Exceptional Companies Bring About Their Own Downfall was popularized. It describes the observation that companies suddenly fail after seeming to be successful.
In his book, Miller summarizes his observations in the context of research on corporate success and describes how the factors that first lead to success can later be responsible for its decline. These factors can include tried and tested strategies, self-confident management, an “electrified” corporate culture and the interplay between these.
In 1994 Miller published another study in which he made four hypotheses of impact:
After prolonged success you should
- the orientations of the past are followed more closely,
- the strategies are more extreme,
- the information processing activities decrease more strongly,
- growing insecurity, competitive pressure and the heterogeneity of the environment are given less attention.
While the first hypothesis could not be statistically confirmed, the remaining three proved to be justifiable for phases after sustained success compared to phases after mediocre performance.
The name refers to the figure Icarus in Greek mythology , who flew too close to the sun with his wax-bound wings, which melted it and made him fall to death. The Icarus Paradox is a key source for Daniel O'Leary's book Escaping the Progress trap .
Popular use
Despite the partial refutation (see above), the concept is well received in popular media. For example, it is used in connection with multiple recalls by the Toyota group or similar problems at Honda .
literature
- Danny Miller: The Icarus Paradox - How Exceptional Companies Bring About Their Own Downfall . Harpercollins, 1990, ISBN 978-0887305245 (1992 paperback).
swell
- ↑ Michael P. Griffin: The Icarus Paradox .- (book reviews) , Management Review. December 1, 1990. Retrieved January 6, 2008.
- ↑ Harry Barkema: The Icarus Paradox , Univers. January 23, 2003. Retrieved January 6, 2008.
- ^ Stefan Burmester: Ikarus Paradox , University of Lüneburg
- ^ Danny Miller: The Icarus paradox: how exceptional companies bring about their own downfall , Business Horizons. January-February, 1992. Retrieved January 6, 2008.
- ↑ Managers Creed Online ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
