BlueSky Thinking Summary

In his study of technology adoption in filmmaking, Filippo Mezzanotti explores how director decisions to adopt digital cameras relate to the concerns of the individual career.

As it became clear from the analysis of data from 1997 to 2009, early-career directors who make their first films are much more likely to adopt digital technology with uncertain payoff compared to film.

This trend stands contrary to what more established directors might stick with the traditional film, influenced by job security and the past success of earlier established directors.

Mezzanotte stresses how very individual decision-makers' choices are key to technology adoption in competitive industries such as filmmaking.

Indeed, previous research in less cutthroat sectors has assumed that diverse career stages of the decision-makers strengthen organizational agility and innovation capacity in the organizational fight to master technological shifts across industries.

The research also underlines the interaction between individual career dynamics and organizational technology strategies and thus brings out the role that individual decision-makers can possibly play in technological evolution.