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Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore, though a survey and two short case studies, the issues smaller firms face with the adoption of new technologies. Design/methodology/approach - A survey of the pressures to adopt new technologies and the existence of specialist technology skills was conducted of small ICT oriented firms in the West Midlands region of the UK. This provides background context for short case studies of two firms and the issues they faced with the adoption of new technologies. Findings - Pressure to adopt new technologies largely emanated from within the small firms surveyed. Those firms with IT educated owner-manager were perhaps better able to evaluate and respond to that pressure. This is further illustrated in the case studies which show what can happen where an owner-manager is or is not willing to listen, learn and provide appropriate resources to ensure the smooth adoption and implementation of new technologies. Research limitations/implications - While a range of factors and their effect on the adoption of new technologies have been considered, this is often not in the context of smaller firms where owners/owner-managers can play a critical decisional role. This study shows the effect of the way in which owners/owner-managers behaviour can affect the adoption of new technologies. Practical implications - The study indicates that although ICT-oriented firms could be expected to understand the importance of new technologies this is not necessarily the case. Originality/value - This is a study of the issues associated with adopting new technologies in ICT-oriented small firms, where barriers such as capacity and readiness would be thought not to exist.