Emerging Technology: Toward a Conceptual Definition

Abstract

Emerging Technology (ET) is a widely popular concept among scholars and business-minded people; however, ET lacks a reach and multidimensional definition. This paper reports on the investigation of the ET' definition as it is practiced in management and organizational studies in the context of digital transformation. This investigation applied a four step multimethod qualitative design which incorporates elements of literature review' and content analysis' techniques for development of the ET definition. As a result, the ET becomes a multidimensional and multilevel concept composed of social characteristics (i.e., leverage, ascendancy, ambivalence, and materiality) as well as artificial (i.e., radical novelty, fast growth, prominent impact, ambiguity), and temporal ones (i.e., ex-post and ex-ante) while applied to individual-and unit-level social structures (i.e., group, firm, cluster, and industrial sector). Consequently, ET may be used in the investigation of technologically-related social processes and mechanisms (e.g., a strategic decision support, innovation cluster positioning). Further efforts will investigate these characteristics' attributes and borderline cases in order to formulate ready-to-use framework.