Business Corner
STRATEGIES & ANALYSIS
BY PHIL PHILLIPS
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
PHILLIPS@CHEMARKCONSULTING.NET
New technology adoption: Part III
Back in September 2007 in part two of this
discussion on new technology adoption, we
discussed the characteristics of the early
adopters versus early majority when considering
new technology introduction successes. The
Adaption Life Cycle chart at the bottom of the page
depicts the life cycle curve associated with products of all types as they evolve from the embryonic phase though the stages of growth, maturity and
decline. Chemark has overlaid this cycle with five
additional stages including innovators, early
adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards. These stages are separated into four gaps,
or cracks in the bell curve, which to one degree or
another, create barriers to product growth and
acceptance, and therefore must be understood and
dealt with.
Three of the four gaps are the same width
while one space—early adopter to early majority—is three times the width of the others.
For a new innovative coating concept, the first
crack in the bell occurs between the innovators
and the early adopters. An example of failure in
the coatings industry at this juncture was the
attempted direct application use of polyester
oligomers. The concept was simple, designed to
A closer look
at the role of
innovators and
early adopters
in the product
life cycle curve.
formulate an oligomer to a certain viscosity at
100% solids and electrostatically spray onto a
grounded part, allowing the overspray to be collected and reused, since oligomers remain in liquid form until polymerized. The coated part
would then transverse into an oven where it
was heated to the point of polymerization and
cross-linked.
The benefits of this concept included no
VOCs; almost 100% utilization with over spray
collection; thin or thick films could be achieved;
and no spray equipment change was needed.
However, the problem was not in envisioning
the benefits. The problem was concern over the
control of unsafe by-products of polymerization
in an oven. There was little support for a total
economic evaluation and the concept faltered.
The initial customers for any new technology
are made up primarily of innovators and early
adopters. In the very high-tech industries, the
innovators are better known as technology
enthusiasts, whereas the early adopters are the
visionaries. It’s the visionaries who dominate
the buying decisions in a market, but it is the
technology enthusiasts who are the first to realize the potential of any new product. High-tech
