The dynamics of superior performance among the largest firms in the global oil industry, 1954-2008

This study combines quantitative and qualitative research methods to contribute to the understanding of the dynamics of superior performance among the largest firms in the global oil industry during the 1954-2008 period by identifying new stylized facts. The combination of parametric and non-parametric analysis displays cyclical patterns of the different aspects of performance dynamics. Appreciative theorizing through qualitative historical analysis uncovers causal explanations that are based on an interplay of corporate, industrial, and institutional change, that leads to a succession of four competitive regimes.