IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eme/ejimpp/14601061211243666.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Technological discontinuities, outsiders and social capital: a case study from Formula 1

Author

Listed:
  • David J. Smith

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine how and why outsiders, rather than incumbents, are able to take advantage of technological discontinuities. Design/methodology/approach - The paper employs a case study of a single innovation that transformed the technology of Formula 1 motor racing. Findings - The findings show how social capital made up of “weak ties” in the form of informal personal networks, enabled an outsider to successfully make the leap to a new technological regime. Practical implications - The findings show that where new product development involves a shift to new technologies, social capital can have an important part to play. Originality/value - It is widely accepted that radical innovations are often competence destroying, making it difficult for incumbents to make the transition to a new technology. The paper's findings show how the social capital of outsiders can place them at a particular advantage in utilizing new technologies.

Suggested Citation

  • David J. Smith, 2012. "Technological discontinuities, outsiders and social capital: a case study from Formula 1," European Journal of Innovation Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 15(3), pages 332-350, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:ejimpp:14601061211243666
    DOI: 10.1108/14601061211243666
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/14601061211243666/full/html?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers
    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/14601061211243666/full/pdf?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1108/14601061211243666?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eme:ejimpp:14601061211243666. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Emerald Support (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.