Notes for SM presentation
The article in its nature is very research it is essentially a collection of theories from scholars, put together by liberman and asaba. The theories show how products and processes can be imitated by firms. However the strength of the article is that it also brings theories from sociology and ecology and organisational culture, therefore not just limiting research from business scholars.
Does imitation actually benefit? Performance

Ultimately performance issues arise from imitation on both economic and social levels. If imitation is adopted positively it can promote network effects and common standards though the market. A good example of this was the adoption of VCRs. Sony identified the storage advantage of the VCR when they were first introduced and through imitation from rivals the Japanese markets were the world leaders. The performance implications of imitation are further evident as processes such kaizen (continuous improvement) kanban and lean production are being implemented in western automobile industries. If the wrong path is chosen imitation can become costly to consumers and to firms as well. The early adoption of mini disk player and imitation of the idea cost firms thousands as evidence of capability were evident, overtaken by the MP3

Can all managers imitate?
An article by Kelly, Et al, (2011) the decision making flaw by powerful people, which is available on blackboard, suggests tha power managers are less likely to take advice from other due to high confidence and confidence in their judgement. This goes against the principle of Information based imitation suggested by the article by liberman, it can argued that for organisation using external information to imitate would be seen as a form of weakness.