Life on the bleeding edge is becoming more attractive, but payoffs may be elusive. A trend we reported last year keeps growing: The percentage of companies that call themselves early adopters is still increasing. That's because they are worrying more about missing new business opportunities in the current growth environment, and striving to be flexible and innovative.

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At the same time, however, fewer CIOs are reporting a payoff from their stepped-up innovation efforts, and unless the early adoption payback improves, this trend will be cut short.