Framework for strategic technological decision-making in an emerging economy

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Abstract

The concepts of technology and innovation represent a paradox in today’s highly turbulent business environment and are characterized by increasingly short lifespans. In this situation, it is of great importance to study how senior leaders make strategic technological choices (STC) to guide their firm’s success. STC creates products and services critical to firms’ future revenue and market share (Chiesa, 2001). This study aims to identify the factors and processes that are critical to strategic technological decision-making in an emerging economy such as India. In-depth interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview protocol to understand how firms prepare for strategic technological decisions (STD). We used a qualitative research approach to analyze the transcribed interviews of Indian chief technology officers (CTOs) (Miles & Huberman, 1994). The study found factors grouped into business environment, organizational, strategic, and expected outcomes. Based on these findings, an integrated framework is provided that could help in the development of decision-making systems for practitioners. While rooted in the Indian context, the study offers a foundation for comparative research in other emerging markets. This proposed framework contributes to both theory and practice by enhancing the understanding of how firms can navigate technological complexity in resource-constrained settings.

Keywords: Strategic Technological Choices, Emerging Economy, Strategic Technological Decision-Making, Qualitative Research

Authors’ individual contribution: Conceptualization — A.K. and K.J; Methodology — A.K. and K.J; Data Curation — A.K.; Writing — Original Draft — A.K. and K.J; Writing — Review & Editing — A.K. and K.J; Investigation — A.K. and K.J; Visualization — A.K.; Supervision — B.K.R.N. and K.J.

Declaration of conflicting interests: The Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

JEL Classification: L22, M10, O32

Received: 09.12.2024
Revised: 11.02.2025; 18.04.2025; 14.10.2025
Accepted: 31.10.2025
Published online: 04.11.2025

How to cite this paper: Kumar, A., Naik, B. K. R., & Jain, K. (2025). Framework for strategic technological decision-making in an emerging economy. Corporate and Business Strategy Review, 6(4), 107–120. https://doi.org/10.22495/cbsrv6i4art10