---
id: "quote-absorptive-capacity-bottlenecks"
type: "quote"
source_timestamps: ["§ A Diagnostic for Leaders"]
tags: ["change-management", "governance"]
related: ["concept-absorptive-capacity", "contrarian-tech-is-not-the-bottleneck", "action-invest-in-absorptive-capacity"]
speaker: "Authors"
speakers: ["Shlomo Benartzi", "Randall Long", "Stefano Puntoni"]
quote: "Professionals who resist change, workflows designed for a pre-AI world, governance processes that slow experimentation: these are the real constraints for many firms, and they require deliberate investment to address."
sources: ["spine"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-spine"
originDay: 1
articleStem: "hbr-tier1-04-ai-for-growth"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/06/companies-are-using-ai-for-efficiency-they-should-use-it-to-grow"
sourceTitle: "Companies Are Using AI for Efficiency. They Should Use It to Grow."
---
# Internal Bottlenecks to AI

> Professionals who resist change, workflows designed for a pre-AI world, governance processes that slow experimentation: these are the real constraints for many firms, and they require deliberate investment to address.

**Context.** The human and organizational barriers to AI — the substance of [[concept-absorptive-capacity-d4]] and the contrarian claim [[contrarian-tech-is-not-the-bottleneck]]. Acting on it is [[action-invest-in-absorptive-capacity]].

Attributed collectively to the authors — [[entity-shlomo-benartzi]], [[entity-randall-long]], [[entity-stefano-puntoni]].