It is often considered that firms that do not accept the overriding technology of the day in the particular industry are set to fail. However, this is not true given the history with so many industries such as automobiles in the past and solar energy today. Automobiles chose the petrol-driven engine after much deliberation. Similarly, in solar-driven renewable energy, initially everyone went for csi (crystalline silicon) as their preferred mode of technology. Companies that did not opt for this technology were considered the losers, whereas in truth many survived by improvising. An example of this is First Solar that repositioned itself on a different part of the ecosystem. Chinese firms consciously took up design choices which negated the use of any specific technology. A lot of firms have gone for the integrated systems with hybrid technology. Adaptation is another form of business innovation as proven by companies using thin film CIGS technology. The over abundance of solar panels led to a glut in the market, so some delivered services which would bundle components.

Source:https://knowledge.insead.edu/strategy/what-happens-to-firms-that-dont-adopt-dominant-technologies-9971

Uploaded Date:13 September 2018