Strategy of continuous innovation and Red Queen Effect: An empirical study
The aim of this research is to complete research on the Red Queen Effect (RQE) in detailing the strategies of continuous innovation implemented by different companies in an industry. Our results of the longitudinal case study of the shaving industry for men between 1898 and 2012 show how competitors vary the type of innovation (radical vs. incremental), maintain a balance between them while increasing their rate of introduction. Contrary to the literature on the RQE, the innovation race allows firms to benefit from the positive effects of RQE and not supporting the negative ones.