Information Technology and the Dynamics of Firm and Industrial Structure

Internet, Disruptive technology, Market structure, Computers, IT consultancies

Disruptive Technology: Approaches to Escape a Discontinuous Environment

Disruptive technologies have erased and continue to extinct previously successful industries. Scholars’ studies consider ICT as a major cause for various industries, as, e.g., analogue photography, typewriters, VHS-cassettes and so on. They have become obsolete as its effect. Despite the creation of new industries at the same time, the environment for old industries results frequently in obsolescence. Especially, as research tends to hold, impact on organisations increases, when new technologies effectuate an additional shift in consumer behaviour. Opportunities for established firms become likely discontinuous then. The replication industry of optical discs is a specific industry sector within the wider Home Entertain-ment Industry manufacturing the present dominant design of the physical mass product, DVD and CD. However, ICT-based dematerialised, virtual products threaten the replication industry’s future, which may become obsolete, since more and more consumers adopt virtual downloads as their preference. This paper studies the approaches of selected industry’s incumbents to be innovative themselves to escape their emergent disruptive environment. Based on primary and secondary research, it addresses their adopted opportunities of accessing new growth paths through extended technology management and the development of a future-oriented direction by additional technologies and augmented services to escape the environment of decline and exit. The purpose of the underlying long-term research is to study, how do replicators (as an example for declining industries) respond to the threat of disruptive innovation and whether their (strategic) behaviour may serve as a model for other industries facing similar scenarios. This research is undertaken qualitatively using a single case study from which excerpts are presented. The present findings provide evidence that after a long time of reluctance, replicators have started to develop further resources and capacities to identify new and additional ways supporting them in their struggle for survival. But these findings show as well a pattern that approaches to future orientation may not be sufficient, since 1. They do not resolve the dilemma of competing with products and services committed to the physical place against a shifting consumer behaviour pattern addressing the virtual space. 2. Constraints, like e.g., staff, physical facilities, skills and path-dependent reasons further marginal, or in Abernathy et al.s’ understanding regular innovation or re-engineering fighting against radical innovation by both, technological impact and market linkages (1983, 1984). 3. The established customer-supplier relationships may be of disadvantage, since hindering replicators to have direct access to the point of consumption. These indicators suggest that disruptive innovation will be stronger in the end and many present efforts may be in vain

Blockchain: A disruptive technology

The blockchain is built upon a peer-to-peer network, and anyone willing to join the network can do it without asking permission from anyone. Blockchain technology allows the secure transfer of information, assets and money without a third-party intermediary, such as banks or other financial institutions. A blockchain can be used also as a backbone infrastructure for running smart contracts, particular decentralized applications which can be seen as computer programs executed by participants in a blockchain. Blockchain technologies will be used for financial products and have opportunities in all those fields, which requires transparency, immutability, certainty and certification. Blockchain technology is able to fundamentally transform the boundaries of organizations, thus challenging traditional assumptions about organizations being an ideal entity to manage market transactions. Drawing on market data, industry cases, anecdotes and academic frameworks, the authors analyze the drivers of digital trust in the crypto industry from historic, institutional, market and sociological perspectives

Nano-technology: a Disruptive Technology?

The term "disruptive technology" as coined by Christensen (1997) refers to a new technology having lower cost and performance measured by traditional criteria, but having higher ancillary performance. Christensen finds that disruptive technologies may enter and expand emerging market niches, improving with time and ultimately attacking established products in their traditional markets. This conception, while useful, is also limiting in several important ways. By emphasizing only "attack from below" Christensen ignores other discontinuous patterns of change which may be of equal or greater importance (Utterback, 1994; Acee, 2001). Further, the true importance of disruptive technology, even in Christensen's conception of it is not that it may displace established products. Rather, it is a powerful means for enlarging and broadening markets and providing new functionality. In this paper nano-technologies will be considered in their roles as both disruptive and more broadly discontinuous or radical innovation. Various impacts will be assessed with emphasis on enlarged and new markets that may be created

Network Access Control: Disruptive Technology?

Network Access Control (NAC) implements policy-based access control to the trusted network. It regulates entry to the network by the use of health verifiers and policy control points to mitigate the introduction of malicious software. However the current versions of NAC may not be the universal remedy to endpoint security that many vendors tout. Many organizations that are evaluating the technology, but that have not yet deployed a solution, believe that NAC presents an opportunity for severe disruption of their networks. A cursory examination of the technologies used and how they are deployed in the network appears to support this argument. The addition of NAC components can make the network architecture even more complex and subject to failure. However, one recent survey of organizations that have deployed a NAC solution indicates that the \u27common wisdom\u27 about NAC may not be correct

Linking Theory of Disruptive Technology with Nuclear Security: UAS as an Emerging and Disruptive Technology

Technology used in nuclear security allows for many practical applications for securing material while simultaneously providing malicious opportunities for adversaries to potentially steal or misuse the material. Fixed sites and various modes of transport for nuclear and other radioactive material all can benefit from the use of new technology in mitigating against these threats. One emerging technology in nuclear security that is rapidly growing is the use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS). UASs provide a different dimension of security compared to methods that are traditionally used because of the added aerial characteristics of these devices. These devices offer new detection, delay, and response measures as operations are conducted using an aerial method rather than more traditional ground methods. Because of the increased popularity, availability, and capabilities of UAS technology, these tools are shifting trends in technology and how it is applied to nuclear security. The theory of disruptive innovation as it pertains to nuclear security is introduced as a guideline for assessing UAS technology. Additionally, regulation gaps relating to use of UAS technology in fixed site and transport security will be addressed. UAS technology is creating security incidents at nuclear sites and a new method of assessing this threat is needed to help determine the overall impact this technology is having in nuclear security and assist in distributing resources. A combination of a new dimension of use, increasing trends and security incidents, and lack of regulations shows signs that UAS is becoming a disruptive technology used in the nuclear security field

A Little Birdie Said: How Twitter is Disrupting Shareholder Activism

Shareholders are organizing and mobilizing on new social media platforms like Twitter. This changes the dynamics of shareholder proxy contests in ways that favor shareholders over management. Disruptive technology may bring about a shareholder revolution, which may not be in shareholders’ best interests, at least from the perspective of shareholder wealth maximization, and it also has powerful implications for the future of corporate social responsibility

Language as a disruptive technology: Abstract concepts, embodiment and the flexible mind

A growing body of evidence suggests that cognition is embodied and grounded. Abstract concepts, though, remain a significant theoretical chal- lenge. A number of researchers have proposed that language makes an important contribution to our capacity to acquire and employ concepts, particularly abstract ones. In this essay, I critically examine this suggestion and ultimately defend a version of it. I argue that a successful account of how language augments cognition should emphasize its symbolic properties and incorporate a view of embodiment that recognizes the flexible, multi- modal and task-related nature of action, emotion and perception systems. On this view, language is an ontogenetically disruptive cognitive technology that expands our conceptual reach