flowchart LR A[Innovators 2.5%] --> B[Early Adopters 13.5%] B --> C[Early Majority 34%] C --> D[Late Majority 34%] D --> E[Laggards 16%]
88 Managing Technological Change
Technological change refers to the introduction, diffusion and consequences of new tools, processes and organisational forms in the workplace. It is examined in management theory through three lenses: the innovation lens (Schumpeter, Christensen), the adoption lens (Rogers, Davis), and the change-management lens (Lewin, Kotter, ADKAR). Joseph Schumpeter’s Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy (1942) framed innovation as “creative destruction”; Clayton Christensen’s The Innovator’s Dilemma (1997) distinguished sustaining from disruptive innovation. The standard textbook references are Tidd & Bessant, Managing Innovation; Robbins, Organizational Behavior; and Trott, Innovation Management and New Product Development.
TipWorking definitions
| Term | Working definition |
|---|---|
| Technological change | The development, diffusion and adoption of new technologies that alter how organisations create and deliver value. |
| Innovation | The successful exploitation of new ideas — UK DTI definition; “the implementation of a new or significantly improved product, process, marketing or organisational method” — OECD Oslo Manual. |
| Diffusion of innovations | The process by which an innovation spreads through a social system over time — Everett Rogers, 1962. |
88.1 Types of Innovation and Technology
TipTypology of innovation
| By object | Example |
|---|---|
| Product innovation | iPhone, electric vehicle |
| Process innovation | Toyota Production System, robotic process automation |
| Marketing innovation | Direct-to-consumer model |
| Organisational innovation | Holacracy, agile teams |
| Business-model innovation | Netflix subscription, Spotify freemium |
| By degree | Example |
|---|---|
| Incremental | Each new model year of a car |
| Radical / Breakthrough | mRNA vaccine technology |
| Architectural | Repackaging existing components in a new arrangement |
| Disruptive (Christensen) | Cheap, simple offerings that disrupt incumbents |
Henderson and Clark (1990) added the architectural-modular-radical-incremental matrix that maps innovation along core concept and component linkage axes.
88.2 Diffusion of Innovations — Rogers, 1962
Everett Rogers identified five adopter categories distributed along a normal curve, and four influences on the rate of diffusion (innovation attributes, communication channels, time, social system).
The five innovation attributes that predict adoption are Relative Advantage, Compatibility, Complexity (negative), Trialability, and Observability — the RACTO mnemonic. Geoffrey Moore’s Crossing the Chasm (1991) extended Rogers by arguing that high-tech adoption stalls at the gap between early adopters and early majority.
88.3 Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)
Fred Davis (1989) operationalised individual-level adoption with TAM: two beliefs — Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use — drive Attitude, then Intention, then Use. Extensions include TAM2 (2000), UTAUT (Venkatesh et al., 2003) with four predictors (performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions), and UTAUT2 (2012) for consumer contexts.
TipUTAUT — predictors of use intention
| Predictor | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Performance Expectancy | Will the system help me perform better? |
| Effort Expectancy | Will it be easy to use? |
| Social Influence | Do peers / superiors expect me to use it? |
| Facilitating Conditions | Do I have the resources / training? |
88.4 Resistance to Change
Coch and French’s classic Harwood study (1948) and later Robbins identify resistance at two levels:
TipSources of resistance
| Individual | Organisational |
|---|---|
| Habit and security | Structural inertia |
| Economic loss / job insecurity | Limited focus of change |
| Fear of the unknown | Group inertia |
| Selective information processing | Threat to expertise / power / resource allocation |
Kotter and Schlesinger’s six tactics for managing resistance — Education and Communication, Participation, Facilitation and Support, Negotiation, Manipulation and Co-optation, Coercion — remain a perennial exam staple.
88.5 Frameworks for Managing Change
TipChange-management frameworks
| Framework | Steps / phases |
|---|---|
| Lewin (1947) | Unfreeze → Change → Refreeze |
| Kotter (1996) | 8 steps: urgency, coalition, vision, communicate, empower, short-wins, consolidate, anchor |
| ADKAR (Hiatt 2003) | Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement |
| McKinsey 7-S | Strategy, Structure, Systems, Shared values, Skills, Style, Staff |
| Bridges (1991) | Ending → Neutral Zone → New Beginning |
These models are complementary: Lewin gives the macro sequence, Kotter the organisational roadmap, ADKAR the individual journey, and McKinsey 7-S the diagnostic.
88.6 Strategic Frames for Disruptive Technology
Clayton Christensen’s “innovator’s dilemma” explained why successful incumbents systematically miss disruptive technologies: they listen to their best customers, who do not want the disruption. Disruption arrives at the low end (cheap, simpler products) or in new markets and grows up-market. The remedy is organisational ambidexterity (O’Reilly & Tushman) — running an exploitation business in the core while incubating an exploration unit on the disruptive technology.
The Technology S-curve (Foster 1986) plots performance against effort: early returns are slow, then accelerate, then plateau. Each generation of technology has its own S-curve; the discontinuity from one curve to the next is the moment of disruption. Andy Grove’s Only the Paranoid Survive (1996) coined the strategic inflection point for the same idea.
88.7 Technology Forecasting and Foresight
Methods include Delphi technique (Helmer-Dalkey RAND, 1959), trend extrapolation, scenario planning (Pierre Wack at Shell), morphological analysis, growth-curve fitting, technology roadmapping, and patent / bibliometric analysis. The Gartner Hype Cycle — Innovation Trigger → Peak of Inflated Expectations → Trough of Disillusionment → Slope of Enlightenment → Plateau of Productivity — is the most-asked diffusion graphic in exams.
88.8 Practice Questions
Q 01 Schumpeter Easy
The phrase “creative destruction” was coined by:
View solution
Correct Option: A
Schumpeter introduced “creative destruction” in Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy (1942) as the engine of capitalist dynamism.
Q 02 Adopter categories Medium
In Rogers’ diffusion theory, what percentage of population is classified as “Early Adopters”?
View solution
Correct Option: B
Rogers’ classic distribution: Innovators 2.5 %, Early Adopters 13.5 %, Early Majority 34 %, Late Majority 34 %, Laggards 16 %.
Q 03 TAM Medium
Davis’ Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) is built on which two core beliefs?
View solution
Correct Option: A
Davis (1989) proposed Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use as the twin determinants of attitude towards a new technology.
Q 04 Lewin Easy
Kurt Lewin’s three-step model of change is:
View solution
Correct Option: B
Lewin’s 1947 force-field model: Unfreeze the status quo, implement the Change, then Refreeze to consolidate.
Q 05 Christensen Medium
Clayton Christensen’s “innovator’s dilemma” argues that incumbents miss disruptive technologies because they:
View solution
Correct Option: B
Christensen showed that incumbents over-listen to high-end customers who do not initially want disruptive offerings, missing the bottom-of-market entrant.
Q 06 ADKAR Medium
The ADKAR change model places “Reinforcement” as the:
View solution
Correct Option: D
ADKAR: Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement — Reinforcement is the fifth and final step, sustaining the change.
Q 07 Hype cycle Hard
The Gartner Hype Cycle’s five stages — in order — are:
View solution
Correct Option: A
Innovation Trigger → Peak of Inflated Expectations → Trough of Disillusionment → Slope of Enlightenment → Plateau of Productivity.
Q 08 Match the following Hard
Match the contributor with the framework:
| (P) Lewin | (1) 8-step change |
| (Q) Kotter | (2) Diffusion of innovations |
| (R) Rogers | (3) Unfreeze-Change-Refreeze |
| (S) Hiatt | (4) ADKAR |
View solution
Correct Option: A
Lewin — Unfreeze-Change-Refreeze; Kotter — 8-step change; Rogers — Diffusion of Innovations; Hiatt (Prosci) — ADKAR.
ImportantQuick recall
- Schumpeter — creative destruction (1942); Christensen — innovator’s dilemma (1997); Foster — S-curve (1986).
- Rogers’ adopter categories 2.5/13.5/34/34/16; RACTO innovation attributes.
- TAM = Perceived Usefulness + Perceived Ease of Use → Intention → Use; UTAUT extends to four predictors.
- Lewin (3 steps), Kotter (8 steps), ADKAR (5 steps), Bridges (3 transitions), McKinsey 7-S.
- Gartner Hype Cycle: Trigger → Peak → Trough → Slope → Plateau.