Size is an important antecedent of firm survival, and several studies theoretically sustain and empirically support a ‘liability of middleness’. Indeed, it is widely believed that companies should act strategically to either become large or remain small and occupy a niche position, because mid-sized firms face the strongest market selection pressures. This study challenges that logic in renewable natural resource industries. Measuring size as product-line scale and firm-level portfolio breadth, we argue that in industries characterized by cost competition, the lack of product differentiation, large capital investments, and sharp price oscillation, scale and breadth have a curvilinear effect on survival that favors mid-sized firms rather than penalizing them. An empirical analysis of the US pulp and paper (P&P) industry over the period 1970–2000 strongly supports our arguments. This study is particularly relevant for emerging economies, in which natural resource industries represent an important portion of the total economic activity.

中文翻译：

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重新审视中间商的责任：可再生自然资源行业中型竞争对手的优势

规模是企业生存的一个重要前提，一些研究在理论上支持并在经验上支持“中间责任”。事实上，人们普遍认为，公司应该采取战略行动，要么变大，要么保持小规模，占据利基市场，因为中型企业面临着最强大的市场选择压力。这项研究挑战了可再生自然资源行业的逻辑。以产品线规模和公司层面的投资组合广度来衡量规模，我们认为在以成本竞争、缺乏产品差异化、大量资本投资和价格剧烈波动为特征的行业中，规模和广度对生存具有曲线效应，即恩惠中型企业，而不是惩罚它们。对 1970-2000 年期间美国纸浆和造纸 (P&P) 行业的实证分析有力地支持了我们的论点。这项研究与新兴经济体特别相关，在这些经济体中，自然资源产业占整个经济活动的重要部分。