Abstract

Military organisations regularly face the challenges and dilemmas of innovation. The longbow, the airplane, the computer as well as the mass army or amphibious warfare are technological and conceptual innovations that altered the conduct of war. They also reshaped military organisations leading, in some cases, to the creation of new combat arms or concepts of operation while, in others, to modest adaptations or even to deliberate resistance. The military uses of cyberspace, counterinsurgency, drone campaign strikes and Network-Centric Warfare are at the heart of the politics of military innovation at the beginning of the twenty-first century. They may durably affect operational planning, resource allocation, procurement decisions, training, and organisations. Yet surprisingly little is known about the factors that explain success and failure in military concept adoption. Why do some military organisations successfully incorporate new technologies or ideas while others do not?