328 Journal of the Spanish Institute for Strategic Studies N. 6 / 2015 processes- enable one to overcome the uncertainty and the bounded rationality of the human condition and thus achieve substantially better solutions. Thus, these mechanisms facilitate the continuous adaptive change of society to new contexts in which it will have to operate. We shall now look at the circumstances in which these mechanisms present problems that hinder the achievement of better solutions. 6.1 The generation of variety The uncertainty inherent in the search process together with the inability of the actors to clearly identify what is better, means that one cannot forecast a priori which solution will finally be the winner. For this reason pluralism and competition are important in the search for better solutions. This process of generating variety nevertheless has to face limitations in respect to the resources and knowledge available to the activity, which significantly curtails the exploration tree. This problem is heightened when the means and the number of agents involved is small, as tends to occur with research centres with limited resources or a meagre industrial tissue. In this sense budgetary limitations may leave little scope for exploration and experimentation, while the complexity of the product could mean that only a few companies or consortiums have the necessary cognitive and technological to submit a tender with success. The problem is that if the government lacks the resources to guarantee business to a certain number of companies ensuring them adequate profits, they will not be interested in serving this market, which gives rise to a poor technological and industrial base. In this sense, the profitability of the industrial base is difficult to sustain when demand is very cyclical (in the case of submarines, for example) and delays frequently occur with programmes and payments. This could be the case of the European industry where, despite high levels of productivity, the companies enjoy lower profit levels than elsewhere in the market.41 This problem could extend to the small and medium-sized business sector. The variety of techniques and knowledge required by defence demands an especially large supply chain. Within this chain, one can find particularly innovative companies, but small in size and with limited financial means. If the main contractors do not open up the tendering process and support their chain on a rigid structure, it is possible for these small firms to encounter insurmountable difficulties in the way of bringing their innovations to the armed forces. Finally, the problem of generating variety can be exacerbated when, through a lack of coordination between the agents, certain areas are over-explored, while others are left unattended. This could currently be the case with unmanned aircrafts or with cyber defence compared to other capabilities. 41 Hartley, Keith. The Economics of Defence Policy: A new perspective. Routledge, 2011, p. 166. http://revista.ieee.es/index.php/ieee
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