ACQUISITION AND DIFFUSION OF TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Acknowledgement sections are typically casually glossed over. Please don't do that now! Each name represents countless hours of active and behind-the-scenes support. And for each person mentioned, dozens of other people should have been mentioned as well. By tradition, students should be frustrated with their committee; I am not. At every stage they helped not hindered. I am grateful to the faculty and staff who helped make my third (and final?) degree from Georgia Tech a wonderful experience– Terry On a personal note, I again thank Saby Mitra who has been so much more than an advisor as a true model of intellectual excellence with an " enviable writing style ". I also thank my friend Robert Martin for encouraging geeky curiosity. I am blessed by my parents, Ben and June Ransbotham, and my sister, LeAnn, who have been constant supporters. And finally, I thank Stephanie Jernigan who just makes everything fun and the newest rookie on our team, Ava, whose recent arrival has already changed everything.