Evidence the board misplaced
Field notes
This comic compresses documented organisational tendencies into one fictional company. It does not claim that hubris alone explains any real corporate failure.
Hubris and strategic stillness
A 2023 study of S&P 1500 chief executives found CEO hubris negatively associated with indicators of strategic change and top-management-team change.
Read the Journal of Management study ↗
Inertia has several departments
Research has described organisational inertia in perceptual, action and psychological terms. Structures, accumulated resources, authority and vested interests can all slow adaptation.
Read research on inertia and innovation ↗
Commitment can become theatre
Escalation of commitment is the tendency to continue investing in a course despite poor results. Publicly reversing oneself can feel costlier than privately losing more.
Read an overview ↗
Satirical notice: Apex Legacy Systems, its directors and all dialogue are fictional composites. “Innovation may imply prior inadequacy” was created for this comic.
