Technology-driven discovery as a catalyst for entrepreneurial action : A case study of the implementation of information technology in a group of firms

• Technological change is an important aspect of the entrepreneurial process, and this paper views both the implementation and the use of new technology as integrated parts of this process. Based on a case study of implementation of a new information technology, we identify three components in the process: discovery, planning and entrepreneurial action. The case demonstrates that planning at the beginning often is taut as the actors’ knowledge about the processes is low. However, when the process produces discoveries, the firms move from taut to loose planning, which means that establishment of plans and execution of plans tend to merge and are no longer two distinct and separate activities. The case also indicates that discoveries are an integrated part of the implementation of the new technology and that they are related to planning. The time between the event causing the discovery and the insight that the firm has found something that was largely novel can be short, a situation we label immediate discovery. But there are also situations in which there is a lead-time between the event and the insight that the firm has made a discovery, which, in turn, results in a significant lead-time between the event causing the discovery and the entrepreneurial action. This type of discovery is called postponed discovery. We can distinguish three types of entrepreneurial action that result from discoveries. These are concerned with the direction, extension, and pace of the process.

Nyckelord

direction

discovery

entrepreneurial action

extension

immediate discovery

implementation

information technology

loose planning

opportunities

pace

planning

postponed discovery

problems

sense-making

taut planning

unexpected

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