Everything is driven by time because new-economy companies believe that the ones who grab market share first will dominate their sectors.

Professor Chaison saw another reason that managers at new-economy companies fight so hard to beat back organizing drives.

Professor Bebchuk's group found a much lower level of manipulation and a narrower difference between old- and new-economy companies.

"If you don't fail at something, you never tried hard enough to do something different," he said, alluding to the experience of new-economy companies.

Consider those new-economy companies that pay middle-level managers at least 20 percent more in options, relative to their salaries, than comparable businesses do.

The same outperformance was seen at new-economy companies that paid their technical personnel at least 20 percent more in options.

Others are recognizing that part of the challenge these days is turning traditional concerns into new-economy companies.

Its aim was to build new-economy companies - seemingly a lucrative idea at the time.

But the problem is that Imagine is a new-economy company.

"It's attracting new-economy companies and older-economy companies that want to be near the new economy."