---
id: "concept-pull-vs-push-adoption"
type: "concept"
source_timestamps: ["§ How the Company Gained Buy-In"]
tags: ["change-management", "employee-buy-in"]
related: ["concept-technology-ambassadors", "framework-pernod-ricard-buy-in", "quote-pull-vs-push", "concept-risk-free-adoption"]
definition: "A change management dynamic where employees actively request and desire new technology ('pull') rather than having it mandated by leadership ('push')."
sources: ["adoption"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-adoption"
originDay: 9
articleStem: "hbr-edu-41-french-spirits-employee-buy-in"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2025/12/how-a-french-spirits-company-created-employee-buy-in-for-ai"
sourceTitle: "How a French Spirits Company Created Employee Buy-In for AI"
---
# Pull vs. Push Technology Adoption

In traditional digital transformations, management *pushes* new tools onto the workforce, mandating their use ('You have to take this'). This often results in friction, skepticism, and low utilization. The alternative is creating a *pull* dynamic, where employees actively desire and request the technology ('I want this, I need this' — see [[quote-pull-vs-push]]).

[[entity-pernod-ricard-d9]] achieved this inversion by using respected peer influencers ([[concept-technology-ambassadors]]) and demonstrating localized, undeniable proof of value through A/B testing ([[action-run-local-ab-tests]]). Once the workforce saw peers succeeding with the tools without facing career risk ([[concept-risk-free-adoption]]), adoption became organic and driven from the bottom up. This is the throughline of the four-pillar strategy in [[framework-pernod-ricard-buy-in]].

[[entity-edward-mcfowland-iii]] calls this shift 'the genius' of the transformation.

**Enrichment note.** HBS Working Knowledge describes tech ambassadors turning digital transformation from 'something management imposed to something employees actively wanted' — precisely a push-to-pull shift. This aligns with mainstream change-management thinking on *change agents* and *peer champions* (Kotter's short-term wins, Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations opinion leaders), which consistently finds demand-driven, co-created adoption more durable than top-down mandates. One nuance worth holding: the pull dynamic at Pernod Ricard co-existed with a strong top-down mandate from CEO [[entity-alexander-ricard]] — suggesting pull and push are complementary layers, not mutually exclusive strategies.


## Related across articles
- [[action-co-create-ai-tools]]
- [[action-cocreate-strategies]]
- [[framework-building-ai-with-workers]]