Why do incumbents sometimes succeed? Investigating the role of interorganizational trust on the adoption of disruptive technology

• While new entrants historically have more success selling disruptive technology, exceptions exist where incumbents thrived.
• The capabilities required to develop disruptive technologies differ from other technologies, thus benefitting new entrants.
• Due to pre-existing relationships, incumbents are generally more trusted by potential buyers than new entrant suppliers.
• It is found that pre-existing levels of interorganizational trust influence the decision to adopt a disruptive technology.
• Incumbents can leverage pre-existing relationships even when faced with emerging, disruptive technologies.

Previous research has noted that new firms traditionally have more success with the diffusion of disruptive technologies than do incumbent firms. For the development of disruptive technologies, newer firms appear to be advantageous as they are generally more flexible in resource allocation. However, exceptions can be found in various industries in which incumbents have been able to succeed with their own disruptive technologies. One possible explanation for these exceptions is the influence of pre-existing levels of trust already developed between incumbents and potential buyers of disruptive technologies. In order to explore this further, this article provides a link between interorganizational trust and the adoption of new, disruptive technologies in industrial markets. By surveying 134 current and potential Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) users, we show how pre-existing, interorganizational trust impacts the perceptions a potential buyer has towards a disruptive technology and how these perceptions influence a buyers' intention to adopt a new, disruptive technology. Beyond trust, we use perceived ease of use, perceived value, perceived usefulness and financial stability to create a predictive model for intention to adopt. Holistically, this article provides insight on how buyer–supplier relationships generally favor incumbent firms and can impact a buyers' perception of a new, disruptive technology.