The dial tone does not come from God! how a crisis can challenge dangerous strategic assumptions made about high technologies: the case of the hinsdale telecommunication outage
以芝加哥欣斯代尔电信中断为例，揭示对高科技的错误假设如何导致应急计划失效并加剧危机，并介绍管理者如何通过挑战这些假设来管理技术风险并发挥其竞争优势。
Executive Overview While advanced information technologies are “competitive weapons” for competing in the global environment and increasing productivity, they can also become a dangerous strategic disadvantage when they breakdown. Based on the case example of Hinsdale, a large telecommunication outage recently experienced in the Chicago area, we show how faulty basic assumptions about these technologies and about the contingency planning they require, have not only defeated many of these contingency plans during this crisis, but also contributed to its negative impact. We also present the diverse strategies and tactics that some managers have implemented, after having challenged these assumptions through their direct experience of this crisis, for managing the “darker side” of these technologies and for taking full advantage of their competitive potential.