Competitive processes are often determined by niche location. For
example, Baum and Mezias (1992) found that Manhattan hotels competed
most strongly with those in the same price range and neighborhood within
the city. And Lomi ( 1995) reports that the founding• rates of rural coop banks
in Italy were shaped by the density of organizations at the local geographic
level. Oftentimes, niche is defined more by technology than by geography.
Thus, Podolny, Stuart, and Hannan (1996) found that competitio;;' among
firms in the semiconductor industry was defined primarily by a shared
technological arena, defined by patents.