The Cultural Dimension of Technology Management: Lessons from the History of the Automobile

This article criticizes traditional innovation strategies for focusing too one-sidedly on technological matters and applies the concept of 'cultural ambience' to show that new technologies stand a larger chance of being introduced on a large scale if they can be made to fit into existing organizational networks and legal structures.

Abstract

This article criticizes traditional innovation strategies for focusing too one-sidedly on technological matters. By applying the concept of 'cultural ambience', the authors attempt to show that new technologies stand a larger chance of being introduced on a large scale if, on the one hand, they can be made to fit into existing organizational networks and legal structures and, on the other hand, they are compatible with firmly established routines and perceptions. Regardless of the degree of novelty aimed at, engineers and managers have to pay attention to non-technical factors. Technology management is always cultural management. The thesis of the article is supported by brief narrative analyses of four so-called alternative automobile projects: the NSU rotary-engine car, GM's EV1, a Norwegian electric vehicle and the recently launched Smart car.