Technological Innovation: The Pathway to Entrepreneurs’ Economic Advancement

Abstract

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the meaning of human experiences relating to entrepreneurs in New York City who have not adopted adequate innovative technology. This research was based on Kaplan and Warren’s entrepreneurship management theory. The first research question concerned the experiences and perspectives of entrepreneurs who have not adopted advanced operations technology to gain competitive advantage, and the second question concerned the ways entrepreneurs experience economic challenges using outdated business technology. Data were collected through unstructured face-to-face interviews with 20 entrepreneurs in New York City using snowball and purposive sampling. Data analysis involved developing the participants’ experiences into themes. The findings revealed that 85% of participants did not have adequate and updated technological operations systems. This study may initiate a review of late adopters and promote the importance of technological change by encouraging entrepreneurs to build networks that share technological innovations in the entrepreneurial community.