The categories of adopters are innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards. Stragglers, breakdowns and laggards created a ragged formation which was difficult to cordon. The Spanish were technological laggards, and tried to jump start industry through systematized industrial espionage. Closing knowledge gaps and helping laggards learn are central to growth and development. This means that there are no official sanctions for laggards.