Stanford Graduate School of Business, United States
Winner of the OMT Division Best International Paper Award
This study examines the moral complexities that shape technology adoption within Bangladesh's competitive garment sector. Through 16 months of ethnographic research with in-depth interviews and archival research, the paper presents a qualitative comparative analysis of two firms, Globalwear and Commuknit, using a matched case study design. Globalwear's strategy is motivated by commercial imperatives, reflecting a classic neoliberal interpretation of 'success', resulting in rapid implementation of a new auto-cutter technology. Commuknit, on the other hand, grapples with moral considerations, associating 'success' with the welfare of workers who it considers ‘family’ and who stand to be displaced by automation. As a result, Commuknit buys but delays the implementation of the auto-cutter. These divergent interpretations of ‘success’ that manifest when firms are confronted by a labor-substituting auto-cutter technology stem from the companies' foundational conditions and are sustained by the environmental diversity in Bangladesh which permits multiple justifications for legitimacy. The findings reveal a novel dimension of organizational behavior—the interpretive heterogeneity of the value of 'success'—highlighting the role of cultural cognition and moral values in strategic decision-making within complex economic landscapes.