Unfolding the airbus’ strategic growth: A successful case

Conducting a process-based case study, we present the successful growth of the Airbus consortium over 20 years, answering the question ‘how do firms grow sustainably?’ in the context of a dynamic technology-intensive industry. The study magnifies the underlying role of (1) the incremental and piecemeal accumulation of assets plus (2) commonalities on the Airbus sustainable growth over the period. The growth is achieved through three cycles of new product development over the 20 years of Airbus’ life. In addition, our results show two primary periods of growth for Airbus: (1) consolidation, when Airbus was formed and became established as a consortium in parallel with its first aircraft, and (2) technological advance, when Airbus explored the technological capabilities of its partners and became a pioneer in the commercial aircraft industry in terms of technological advances.