24 Making Sense of Blockchain: How Firms Can Chart a Strategic Path Forward ^Top Russia-based payments service provider began by engaging in the R3 block- chain consortium, then focused on gaining comfort with the technology, then built its own research subsidiary for knowledge integration.38 It expanded its internal innovation platform by also acquiring blockchain startups. Pursuing a variety of paths into the future also helps incumbents reduce the probability of shock when unexpected market changes happen.39 Ignoring market readiness and investing in new technologies at the wrong time can be fatal, as Sears and Nokia demonstrated.40 Managers would do well to maneuver strategies to keep up with the advancing blockchain ecosystem. This will require staying close to developments in their industry, remaining engaged, and iterating their strategic choices over time. As competitors and other stakeholders develop more robust use cases and tighten the loose ends, strategic engagements with other players can help firms stay on top of their game. 38 Armando Noguera, “Qiwi Creates a Blockchain-based Subsidiary,” Infocoin.net, March 6, 2017, http://infocoin.net/en/2017/03/06/qiwi-creates-a-blockchain-based-subsidiary/. Stan Higgins, “Russian Payments Giant Qiwi Acquires Blockchain Startup,” CoinDesk, May 16, 2017, https://www.coindesk.com/russian-payments-giant-qiwi-acquires-blockchain-startup/. Pete Rizzo, “Payments Giant Qiwi is Building a Blockchain Replacement for its Core Database,” CoinDesk, May 20, 2016, https://www.coindesk.com/qiwi-replace-payments-processor-blockchain/. 39 Shona L. Brown and Kathleen M. Eisenhardt, “The Art of Continuous Change: Linking Complexity Theory and Time-Paced Evolution in Relentlessly Shifting Organizations,” Administrative Science Quarterly 42, no. 1 (March 1997): 1-34, doi:10.2307/2393807. 40 Yves Doz, “The Strategic Decisions That Caused Nokia’s Failure,” INSEAD Knowledge, November 23, 2017, https://knowledge.insead.edu/strategy/the-strategic-decisions-that-caused-nokias-failure-7766. Incisiv Inc., Me Too Omnichannel Erodes Profitability (Q4, 2017), http://www.incisiv.io/ebook-me-too-om- nichannel-erodes-profitibality. Kenneth C. Laudon and Jane P. Laudon, “Achieving Competitive Advantage with Information Systems: Will Technology Save Sears,” in Essentials of Management Information Systems (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall), 106-108, http://blackhawk.cs.mercer.edu/courses/David%20Cozart/IST%20349/ Downloads/Case%20Studies/CH3-CS3.pdf.