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Disruptive Technologies: An Expanded View

Author

Listed:
  • JAMES M. UTTERBACK

    (M.I.T. Sloan School of Management and M.I.T. School of Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA)

  • HAPPY J. ACEE

    (Delphi Harrison Thermal Systems, Rockport, NY, USA)

Abstract

The term "disruptive technology" as coined by Christensen (1997,The Innovator's Dilemma; How New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail. Harvard Business School Press) refers to a new technology having lower cost and performance measured by traditional criteria, but having higher ancillary performance. Christensen finds that disruptive technologies may enter and expand emerging market niches, improving with time and ultimately attacking established products in their traditional markets. This conception, while useful, is also limiting in several important ways.By emphasising only "attack from below" Christensen ignores other discontinuous patterns of change, which may be of equal or greater importance (Utterback, 1994,Mastering the Dynamics of Innovation. Harvard Business School Press; Acee, 2001, SM Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Further, the true importance of disruptive technology, even in Christensen's conception of it is not that it may displace established products. Rather, it is a powerful means for enlarging and broadening markets and providing new functionality.In Christensen's theory of disruptive technology, the establishment of a new market segment acts to channel the new product to the leading edge of the market or the early adopters. Once the innovation reaches the early to late majority of users it begins to compete with the established product in its traditional market. Here we present an alternative scenario in which a higher performing and higher priced innovation is introduced into the most demanding established market segments and later moves towards the mass market.

Suggested Citation

  • James M. Utterback & Happy J. Acee, 2005. "Disruptive Technologies: An Expanded View," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 9(01), pages 1-17.
    • Handle: RePEc:wsi:ijimxx:v:09:y:2005:i:01:n:s1363919605001162
    DOI: 10.1142/S1363919605001162
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Christopher L. Benson & Christopher L. Magee, 2015. "Technology structural implications from the extension of a patent search method," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 102(3), pages 1965-1985, March.
    2. Marco Guerzoni & Massimiliano Nuccio, 2014. "Music consumption at the dawn of the music industry: the rise of a cultural fad," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 38(2), pages 145-171, May.
    3. Mark Knell & Simone Vannuccini, 2022. "Tools and concepts for understanding disruptive technological change after Schumpeter," Jena Economics Research Papers 2022-005, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    4. Soluk, Jonas & Decker-Lange, Carolin & Hack, Andreas, 2023. "Small steps for the big hit: A dynamic capabilities perspective on business networks and non-disruptive digital technologies in SMEs," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    5. Anirban Ganguly & Naveen Das & John V. Farr, 2017. "The Role of Marketing Strategies in Successful Disruptive Technologies," International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management (IJITM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 14(03), pages 1-20, June.
    6. Meir Russ, 2017. "The Trifurcation of the Labor Markets in the Networked, Knowledge-Driven, Global Economy," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 8(2), pages 672-703, June.
    7. Sapsed, Jonathan & Grantham, Andrew & DeFillippi, Robert, 2007. "A bridge over troubled waters: Bridging organisations and entrepreneurial opportunities in emerging sectors," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(9), pages 1314-1334, November.
    8. Nicholas A. Ashford & Ralph P. Hall, 2011. "The Importance of Regulation-Induced Innovation for Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 3(1), pages 1-23, January.
    9. Anna Gerke & Geoff Dickson & Michel Desbordes & Stephen Gates, 2016. "Bouquets Are As Useful As Brickbats: The Influence Of Interorganizational Citizenship Behaviors On The Innovation Process," Post-Print hal-01337018, HAL.
    10. Brown, James E. & Hendry, Chris N. & Harborne, Paul, 2007. "An emerging market in fuel cells? Residential combined heat and power in four countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 2173-2186, April.
    11. Antonio, Jerome L. & Kanbach, Dominik K., 2023. "Contextual factors of disruptive innovation: A systematic review and framework," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    12. Isada Fumihiko & Isada Yuriko, 2017. "An Empirical Study Regarding Radical Innovation, Research and Development Management, and Leadership," Naše gospodarstvo/Our economy, Sciendo, vol. 63(2), pages 22-31, June.
    13. Peter T. Gianiodis & Matthias Thürer, 2018. "The Impact Of Government Intervention On Technological Regimes: The Sourcing Of Financial Innovation," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 22(03), pages 1-28, April.
    14. Waldemar Kremser & Georg Schreyögg, 2016. "The Dynamics of Interrelated Routines: Introducing the Cluster Level," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(3), pages 698-721, June.
    15. Sandra Milena Santamaria-Alvarez & Diana Carolina Muñoz-Castro & Maria Angélica Sarmiento-González & Sara Isabel Marín-Zapata, 2018. "Fragmented networks and transnational entrepreneurship: Building strategies to prosper in challenging surroundings," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 244-275, June.
    16. Ashish Sood & Gerard J. Tellis, 2011. "Demystifying Disruption: A New Model for Understanding and Predicting Disruptive Technologies," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(2), pages 339-354, 03-04.
    17. Kilkki, Kalevi & Mäntylä, Martti & Karhu, Kimmo & Hämmäinen, Heikki & Ailisto, Heikki, 2018. "A disruption framework," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 275-284.
    18. Hamid Etemad, 2020. "Managing uncertain consequences of a global crisis: SMEs encountering adversities, losses, and new opportunities," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 125-144, June.
    19. Julian Marius Müller & Raphael Kunderer, 2019. "Ex-Ante Prediction of Disruptive Innovation: The Case of Battery Technologies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-19, September.
    20. Reinhardt, Ronny & Gurtner, Sebastian, 2018. "The overlooked role of embeddedness in disruptive innovation theory," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 268-283.

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