"It's as if Coca-Cola asked Pepsi to distribute Coca-Cola."

The LA Times discusses the demise of Borders.

As to the initial rise, contemplate Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point.
From wikipedia: Some of Gladwell's analysis as to why the phenomenon of the "tipping point" occurs (particularly in relation to his idea of the "law of the few") is based on the 1967 "Six Degrees of Separation" study by social psychologist Stanley Milgram.

***Also on Malcolm Gladwell from Tracy McGrady, 'freakish' talent and the peril of ease

Best-selling author and noted hairsman Malcolm Gladwell introduced the concept while moderating the opening session of this year's Sloan conference. The talk dealt with how the "10,000 hour rule" that Gladwell discussed in his 2008 book "Outliers" — that the key to success in any field is the purposeful practice of a specific task for 10,000 hours — relates to an athlete's development.
In considering that notion, Gladwell asked the panelists what value should be placed on pure natural talent — the innate genetic gift that we often view as the line of demarcation between the elite and the merely professional — in relationship to, say, work ethic and the capacity to accept instruction.