The Context: Technology Adoption

The rate of technology adoption changes based on individual preferences and social norms.

Accelerating and jolting technologies force an increasing rate of adoption, that put a pressure on individuals and societies to confront the limits that they imposed on themselves.

But technology is so useful, that even those who hate it, use it.

The precautionary principle highlights the risks of changing a complex system, regardless of the benefits that a new technology can bring.

The proactionary principle looks at the increased benefit gained with a faster adoption, and at the freedom of individuals to experiment.

Successful organizations will be more cautious because they will perceive a higher cost in failed experiments.

This will guarantee that some other organization will take on their role, and acquire future success, unless the experimentation can survive, in isolated and protected environments, until it produces disruptively superior results.

When that happens, the new generation of product, service, or business model or social organization, by definition will eclipse the previous one, in the process redefining the very nature of the organization that conducted the experiments in the first place.