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Revisiting technology races: Evidence from Indian healthcare EMR data

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  • Rathi, Sawan
  • Chakrabarti, Anindya S.
  • Chatterjee, Chirantan
  • Das, Anthony Vipin
  • Narayanan, Raja

Abstract

Technology replacement is a frequent feature of firms’ innovation journey. However, the internal working of replacement of an old technology by a new one is typically blurred – with three simultaneously interacting mechanisms – demand-pull, technology-push, and a combination of market and non-market institutions. In this paper, we disentangle them using novel electronic medical records (EMR) data from one of the largest eye-care hospital chains in Asia. Specifically, we study a race between a newer high-end medical scanning technology replacing an older and less costly technology. We exploit the COVID-19 lockdown shock in a natural experiment setup, which led to concurrent shifts in the demand and supply of a medical scanning technology. Demand-pull generated via patients propelled new technology adoption as the supply of new technology increased in tandem. This was a cohort-specific phenomenon on the supply side, with an age-identified cohort of physicians driving the adoption, and the replacement was measurably welfare-enhancing. Fixed price for treatment ensures that the replacement was not driven by market-led incentives. We conclude by discussing management of innovation through demand- and supply-side as a strategy for the firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Rathi, Sawan & Chakrabarti, Anindya S. & Chatterjee, Chirantan & Das, Anthony Vipin & Narayanan, Raja, 2026. "Revisiting technology races: Evidence from Indian healthcare EMR data," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:techno:v:152:y:2026:i:c:s0166497226000167
    DOI: 10.1016/j.technovation.2026.103481
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