From Cowboy to Astronaut: How Can We Limit the Destructive Force of the Tech Leaders’ Vision of Competition?

Jade Leroueil

Journal of Economic Issues, 2025, vol. 59, issue 2, 408-415

Abstract: Technological development consumes energy, depletes natural resources, and generates significant carbon emissions and environmental damage. For this reason, and given an effective ecological transition, it is essential that industry leaders commit themselves and steer their companies towards development that is consistent with the challenges of sustainability. Based on qualitative research, this article aims to shed light on the contradictions between environmental objectives and sector managers’ “cowboy” vision, particularly regarding their view of competition. Interviews reveal a Darwinian approach to competition, with the underlying idea that there is no monopoly. A logic of conquest, of “always more,” drives this vision. This article discusses the role of democratic institutions and legal frameworks in changing tech leaders’ attitudes from a Wild West vision of unlimited resources to one of responsibility to society, especially in facing environmental challenges.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1080/00213624.2025.2493530

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