Why do some incumbents win when a radical technology arrives? This book examines how the adoption of Reduced Instruction Set Computers reshapes a firm's competence and its entire value-added network. Through detailed data and multiple cases, it shows why some incumbents succeed while others struggle when new tech arrives.

Blending qualitative and quantitative analysis, the work argues that success depends not only on the technology itself but on how a company’s suppliers, customers, and complementary innovators respond. It highlights the difference between competence destruction and network externalities, and why customer competence often matters more than just a large network.

• Real-world cases: Sun, DEC, IBM, and MIPS illustrate different paths to success or failure.


• How forward compatibility and installed bases influence demand and software ecosystems.


• Analyses that separate effects on the innovating entity from effects on its broader network.


• Implications for managers facing disruptive technical change across industries.

Ideal for readers of technology strategy, organizational theory, and managers navigating radical innovation.

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