Diligently apply to the right pursuits -- Strive for continuous improvement -- The power of humility -- Rid all that adds no value -- Improve quality by exposing the truth -- Raise the bar to unreachable heights -- Favor long-term strategies over short-term fixes -- Learn the customer, live the...

This paper is an empirical test of the hypothesis that the appropriateness of different business strategies is conditional on the firm's distance to the industry frontier. We use data on four 2-digit high-tech manufacturing industries in the US over the period 1972-1999, and apply...