Sociotechnical Barrier Examples

WebTV launched in 1996 with the great idea of streaming content across the Internet. It was purchased by Microsoft and later shut down. The idea of streaming content has become pervasive, validating the original idea. However, there were barriers to the success of WebTV that kept it and the Microsoft variants (MSN TV and Xbox streaming) from dominating today's streaming content market.

Barriers to good ideas vary, but two forces that act against sociotechnical plans are time and execution. In the case of WebTV, there is no mistake that the idea was ahead of its time. Market analysis from 2007 illustrates the vision of the streaming market domination over other video content distribution methods.

The issue with WebTV is a common force that manifests through societal perception. That is, the timing of the introduction is vital to success. By 1996, the Year-2000 (Y2K) panic had already begun. Although the Internet was expanding rapidly and there was a rush to create online services, later known as the DOT COM bubble, colliding forces acted against a great idea. Public perception was that computer systems would universally collapse in an electronic apocalypse, despite advice from those of us who had a technical understanding of the computing characteristics of a data change. Had WebTV been introduced 5-10 years later, the idea would have avoided the negative perception and budgetary focus on Y2K. Simultaneously, the rush to put everything on the Internet (thus DOT COM) obscured the better ideas. By the early 2000s, the bubble had burst, sanity was restored to strategic thinking, and scenario planning became sober.

Failure to adapt to changing conditions is another force that works against plans. Olson (2022) lists four such conditions that constitute failed executive practices. Strategic planning is an ongoing exercise, and no sociotechnical plan should be rooted in conditions that existed at its inception. Still, 85% of corporate executives commit less than one hour monthly to strategic planning. Worse yet, 50% of executives spend no time on strategic planning. This management failure is part of the operational myopia that inflicts many large companies. Forecasting replaces continuous planning. The result is that changing conditions are missed. In January 2000, the world woke to the realization that the cyber apocalypse never occurred.

It did not take long for the focus to change. By the time Microsoft had acquired WebTV, they could have adjusted to market changes, but instead, they were locked in their plans, primarily gaming and Xbox. Failing to track these changes leads to not recognizing the changing cultural landscape (Olson, 2022). As good ideas are exposed and the opportunity becomes apparent to more people, competition also increases (Collis, 2021; Olson, 2022). It requires an executive team to revise scenarios and strategic plans constantly.

Conclusion

As I will discuss my idea in a separate post, these will be two of several factors that I expect to impact my sociotechnical plan. Timing will be a significant impediment because my idea will have economic ramifications for multiple industries. I expect public response to be overwhelmingly positive, but there will be protectionist measures and subterfuge from different government and industry entities. Navigating these social and economic barriers will require continuous tactical adjustment to the sociotechnical plan.

References

Collis, D. (2021). Why do so many strategies fail? Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2021/07/why-do-so-many-strategies-fail

Olson, A. (2022, June 24). 4 common reasons strategies fail. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2022/06/4-common-reasons-strategies-fail