ADAPTATION TO TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE

Theorizing Technological Adaptation as a Trigger for Institutional Change

Institutional pressures and technological adaptation have frequently been expressed as contrasting forces that explain organizational processes and actions. Institutional arguments suggest that environmental pressure, deriving from regulative, cognitive, and normative forces predict organizational action (or inaction), and impel organizations to favor legitimacy over efficiency. Theories addres...

Technological Change and Technological Strategy

Agricultural Technological and Institutional Innovations for Enhanced Adaptation to Environmental Change in North Africa

Adaptation to Climate Change

We investigate the effect of climate change on population growth in 18th and 19th century Iceland. We find that annual temperature changes help determine the population growth rate in preindustrial Iceland: a year 1◦C cooler than average drives down population growth rates by 0.57% in each of the next two years, for a total effect of 1.14%. We also find that 18th and 19th century Icelanders ada...

Uncertainty and Technological Change

I would like to begin with two generally accepted propositions: First, technological change is a major ingredient of long-term economic growth, and second, technological change is characterized by a high degree of uncertainty. Understanding the nature of these uncertainties and the obstacles to surmounting them is not a trivial matter. Rather, it goes to the heart of how new technologies are de...