Network Effects, Increasing Returns, and Lock In
1. How do the challenges faced by Stantec differ from those faced by other industries?
2. What are the implications of this case for companies that develop new software tools? How could adoption barriers be reduced?
3. Are there any examples of “inferior” technologies that have achieved “lock in” or would be hard to improve?
4. How do the ideas of “switching costs” and “networks effects” relate to high technology, or do they exist in other industries?
5. How should new software be evaluated? How important is market share? Are these factors more or less important to smaller firms?