Reinvention and "Technology Reemergence"

The prevailing view of industry and technology evolution has emphasized displacement, on the assumption that old technologies and organizational forms will disappear when newer ones arrive. Professor Raffaelli's research challenges this view by illuminating how and when it may be possible for incumbent firms in mature industries to reinvent themselves. This work introduces the notion of "technology reemergence," a process whereby organizations and industries successfully respond to new technologies or business models that threaten to render them obsolete. Recently, Professor Raffaelli has examined these dynamics in the context of the Swiss mechanical watch industry and the US independent bookselling sector.