The Declining Price of Personal Computers the Question of When to Invest

When should a manager invest in new technology? This paperprovides guidelines for deciding when to invest inmicrocomputers. The authors argue that the technology andmarketplace of micros today fits the conditions of thedeclining cost paradox observed by Eden and Ronen (1988).Under these conditions, a decision to defer purchasingequipment until the future to take advantage of hardwareprice decreases may lead to higher overall costs. The paperconcludes with recommendations for the manager confrontedwith the decision of when to purchase microcomputertechnology