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Institutional Innovation and the Adoption of New Technologies: The Case of Steam

Thor Berger & Vinzent Ostermeyer

The Journal of Economic History2025https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022050725100855article
AJG 3ABDC A*
Weight
0.41

Abstract

This paper documents how the advent of the limited liability corporation contributed to the diffusion of steam technology during Sweden’s industrialization. Using longitudinal establishment-level data, we show that incorporation sharply raised the probability that industrial establishments adopted steam. Incorporation facilitated technology adoption partly by enabling smaller establishments to expand to a greater scale, where the use of steam became feasible. These results highlight that low barriers to incorporation may be an important lever for facilitating the diffusion of new technologies.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022050725100855

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@article{thor2025,
  title        = {{Institutional Innovation and the Adoption of New Technologies: The Case of Steam}},
  author       = {Thor Berger & Vinzent Ostermeyer},
  journal      = {The Journal of Economic History},
  year         = {2025},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022050725100855},
}

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Institutional Innovation and the Adoption of New Technologies: The Case of Steam

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Evidence weight

0.41

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.25 × 0.4 = 0.10
M · momentum0.55 × 0.15 = 0.08
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.