Organizational Adaptation to Discontinuous Technological Change

Book excerpt: ​Adaptation to discontinuous technological change constitutes a major, yet vincible challenge for established companies. This book reveals crucial differences between the challenges that family-owned and managed firms face as compared to non-family firms. Series of case studies in the German retailing and book publishing industries illustrate those differences. Empirical evidence as presented in the book further shows how organizational identity affects whether and in what way firms adapt to radical shifts in their environment.