Adoption of navigation technologies: Five historical and contemporary cases

Five navigation technologies are studied with the aim of discovering why some of them have more difficulties and take longer time than the others to develop and reach the users. The case histories of their development are presented and compared according to their technological antecedents, their applications and the organizations involved. The analysis shows that multiple stakeholders with different agendas coupled with technological uncertainties and ambiguities have a negative impact on adoption. It also shows that entrepreneurs can play a significant role in accelerating the diffusion of technological innovations if the technological system allows for the parallel development of complements or new markets. The paper also highlights the need for deeper understanding of how complex products and systems should be managed in an environment marked by interconnectedness and multiple influential stakeholders.