Today, technology becomes not a privilege or advantage of a company but a business standard and a basic commodity, without which any successful enterprise is impossible. To get competitive advantage companies should not just invest in new technologies unknown to other companies, but also support and develop initiatives that would have the potential for significant progress (Preece, 2018). As the pace of innovations rises steadily, it will be a never-ending process of upgrade and search for better solutions and unique technologies.
The role of managers who decide on the adoption of new technologies or adherence to those that were already proven and tested lies in evaluating potential advantages, disadvantages, and the productivity paradox. According to Hwang, Kim, and Lee (2015), the usage of computers and the Internet does not influence the performance of a company or the popularity of its products, but “many other information technologies are still considered as technical progress, offering a comparative advantage to an organization” (p. 479). Thus, the responsibility of managers and decision-makers is to define technologies which, would be worth the investment and the spheres of the company that would benefit from such an upgrade.
When the price of technological progress does not justify potential risks of adopting untested solutions, the management might need to investigate other ways of pursuing an advantage without the employment of expensive technologies that cannot guarantee success. They should focus on the internal processes that need improvement and could prepare the basis for further development with the help of IT solutions (Wheelen, Hunger, Hoffman, & Bamford, 2017). Moreover, choosing not to adopt the latest technologies the moment they appear in the market might benefit those who would prepare their processes and integrate them later, when they are ready for it.
References
Hwang, J-S., Kim, S. H., & Lee, H. (2015). Breaking the myths of the IT productivity paradox. KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems, 9(1), 466-481.
Preece, D. (2018). Managing the adoption of new technology. Abingdon-on-Thames, UK: Routledge.
Wheelen T. H., Hunger, J. D., Hoffman, A. N., & Bamford C. E. (2017). Strategic management and business policy: Globalization, innovation and sustainability (15th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.