Daniel, Harold Zane, Jr.; PhD
THE UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT, 1997
BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, MARKETING (0338); BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, MANAGEMENT
(0454); ENGINEERING, INDUSTRIAL (0546)
Application of strategic new technologies is a key requirement for the maintenance
of a firm's competitive
advantage in most markets. The process by which organizations adopt and apply
innovative technology
products is the subject of investigation. This study of innovation processes
includes both individual
champion behavior and organizational adoption behavior. In technology markets
characterized by rapid
evolution in both markets and technology, timing seems likely to be an important
consideration in the
adoption process. This research investigates the impact of the timing of the
decision to acquire a specific
high speed machining and laser cutting technology on the propensity to champion
the adoption and the
impact of timing on the outcome of the adoption decision. Timing is defined
as the temporal distance
between the actual or forecast decision date and the temporal reference point
(TRP), the time when the
firm's management expects to begin to realize negative outcomes should it fail
to adopt the specific
technology. On this basis time gains (when the decision pre-dates the TRP) and
losses (when the
decision post-dates the TRP) can be identified. Along with timing, the model
of champion behavior also
included measures of perceived value and personal risk. The organization adoption
model also included
measures for strategic intent, risk and decision complexity. While timing was
not found to significantly
influence champion behavior, it did seem to influence the adoption behavior
of the organization. Most
adoption decisions were found to occur in a region of time loss. In conformance
with prospect theory
prediction increasing time losses (decisions which increasing post-date the
TRP) result in delayed
adoption. The date of a management team's TRP was also found to be related to
the date of subsequent
adoption decisions. These findings have implications for marketing theory, practice
and research. The
temporal reference point is a potential means of identifying early adopters,
key prospects, optimum
timing for new product introduction, and candidate R & D projects for acceleration.
It also provides a basis
for forecasting the development of markets for technology products, and potentially
enabling
experimental designs in domains unaccustomed to such research, e.g., the diffusion
of innovations.
Social
Systems Simulation Group
P.O. Box 6904 San Diego, CA 92166-0904 Roland Werner, Principal Phone/FAX (619) 660-1603 |