Rise and fall of the giants? : Innovating firms in Sweden, 1890-2016
This study investigates patterns of innovation during two successive industrial revolutions in Sweden. “Genius engineering firms”, such as L M Ericsson, SKF and ASEA (ABB) have dominated narratives about Sweden’s industrial and innovation success. Using new long-term data series of innovation output, 1890-2016, we observe several patterns. First, we document inverted U-shaped patterns during the c