Threat Rigidity or Threat Action? Rethinking Threat Response In Light of Technology's Last Gasp
Keywords
technology strategy, strategic change, strategic renewal, industry evolution, technology evolution
Abstract
Although technological discontinuities represent some of the most challenging and life threatening events firms face, how firms manage these transitions has received limited attention beyond the conclusion that incumbents respond rigidly to such threats, clinging to a doomed technology at the apex of its capabilities. In this paper we reexamine this conclusion in the light of ex ante conditions of technology discontinuities and argue that firms are actually rational, active, and innovative in their responses in surprising ways. We argue that firm efforts to innovate, reallocate, and recombine lead to an unexpected burst of innovative performance—a last gasp—that can either provide incumbents false hope or displace the threatening technology. We test and find support for these hypotheses across the full population of the carburetor industry over twenty years, and suggest contributions to the threat response, industry evolution, and organization change literatures.
Original Publication Citation
“Threat Rigidity or Threat Action? Rethinking Threat Response in Light of Technology’s Last Gasp” Nathan R. Furr and Daniel C. Snow, IMVP Research Conference, ETH Zurich, March 2012.
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Furr, Nathan R. and Snow, Daniel, "Threat Rigidity or Threat Action? Rethinking Threat Response In Light of Technology's Last Gasp" (2012). Faculty Publications. 8479.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/8479
Document Type
Peer-Reviewed Article
Publication Date
2012
Publisher
IMVP Research Conference, ETH Zurich
Language
English
College
Marriott School of Business
Department
Marketing
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