The most interesting question addressed in the article, for me, is why so many people create “me too” businesses that clearly have no significant expansion prospects.
It’s also fun to contemplate that Schumpeter figured this business strategy stuff out more than 100 years ago.
The book "The Master Switch" by Tim Wu which covers the history of telecommunications as a vehicle for looking at what might happen to the internet was my introduction to Schumpeter.
Highly recommended. Wu makes the point that Schumpeter gets it mostly right but did miss a few things, namely regulatory capture.
The problem with regulatory capture is that it is generally inefficient and given big enough opposition can get cracked.
The other important profit but not mentioned is externalities. Unethical but common. Damage the environment, damage society by exploiting the poor and others with little choice.
Some externalities can be exploited for a very long time...
And also exploiting information asymmetry, by marketing or otherwise profiting as a middleman.
I was worried my comment would make it appear that I had not read the article - I did, I just didn't think that the author gave regulatory capture sufficient weight and/or made it appear that Schumpeter had written about or accounted for its importance.
As for its general inefficiency: the examples of Bell Labs & the Hollywood studios are good counterexamples, both were unstoppable and required direct government intervention.
One of Wu's points is of the different nature of telecommunications (and common carriers in general).
I am in 100% agreement with you on the last two points.
It’s also fun to contemplate that Schumpeter figured this business strategy stuff out more than 100 years ago.