Five illustrative examples of disruptive innovation.

1. 5 Examples of
Disruptive Innovation

2. Christian Sandström holds a PhD from Chalmers
University of Technology, Sweden. He writes and speaks
about disruptive innovation and technological change.
www.disruptiveinnovation.se

3. Harvard professor
Clayton Christensen
coined the term
disruptive innovation in
his book ’The
innovator’s dilemma’,
published in 1997.

4. Harvard professor
Clayton Christensen
coined the term
disruptive innovation in
his book ’The
innovator’s dilemma’,
published in 1997.
This presentation gives
five illustrative
examples of disruptive
innovation.

5. A disruptive innovation initially offers a lower
performance according to what the
mainstream market has historically demanded.

6. A disruptive innovation initially offers a lower
performance according to what the
mainstream market has historically demanded.
At the same time it provides some new
performance attributes, which in turn makes it
prosper in a different market.

7. A disruptive innovation initially offers a lower
performance according to what the
mainstream market has historically demanded.
At the same time it provides some new
performance attributes, which in turn makes it
prosper in a different market.
As it improves along the traditional
performance parameters it eventually displaces
the former technology.

8. For further detail on this concept, click here:
http://www.slideshare.net/Christiansandstrom
/disruptive-technologies-an-introduction

9. Number 1:

10. The Transistor Radio

11. Transistor Radio Analogue Radio
Traditional
performance
New
performance

12. Transistor Radio Analogue Radio
Traditional Worse sound
performance
New
performance

13. Transistor Radio Analogue Radio
Traditional Worse sound
performance
New Portable
performance Low Battery consumption

14. Being portable and offering worse sound quality, the
transistor radio was adopted by teenagers who could
bring music to the beach.

15. As the sound
quality improved,
it eventually
displaced the
analogue, big
furniture radios.

16. Number 2:

17. Pocket calculators

18. Pocket calculator Desktop calculator
Traditional
performance
New
performance

19. Pocket calculator Desktop calculator
Traditional Worse computing performance
performance
New
performance

20. Pocket calculator Desktop calculator
Traditional Worse computing performance
performance
New Portable
performance

21. Over time, the computing
performance of these smaller,
simpler calculators was
improved.

22. As they became cheaper and were sold in larger and larger
volumes, sales offices lost their value. Calculators started to
be sold in bookstores and large retail stores.

23. Number 3:

24. LCD TV versus Cathod Ray Tube (CRT) TV

25. LCD TV CRT TV
Traditional
performance
New
performance

26. LCD TV CRT TV
Traditional Worse image quality
performance
New
performance

27. LCD TV CRT TV
Traditional Worse image quality
performance
New Low battery consumption
performance Low weight

28. LCD screens initially prospered in various
applications where image quality wasn’t important.

29. In mobile phones, portable video games and cameras,
battery consumption and weight were more important.

30. When the image quality had become good enough,
they displaced CRT TVs in the 2000s.

31. Number 4:

32. Integrated steel mills VS minimills.
Photo: www.jornmark.se

33. Minimills Integrated mills
Traditional
performance
New
performance

34. Minimills Integrated mills
Traditional Worse steel quality
performance
New
performance

35. Minimills Integrated mills
Traditional Worse steel quality
performance
New Cheaper, easier to produce
performance

36. The minimill technology used scrap, put it in a
furnace and made new steel of it.

37. The minimill technology used scrap, put it in a
furnace and made new steel of it.
Cheap, low quality steel.

38. The minimill technology used scrap, put it in a
furnace and made new steel of it.
Cheap, low quality steel.
The integrated steel companies were more
than happy to get rid of this low-margin
business and instead focus on the high-end.

39. The minimill technology used scrap, put it in a
furnace and made new steel of it.
Cheap, low quality steel.
The integrated steel companies were more
than happy to get rid of this low-margin
business and instead focus on the high-end.
So they did, but slowly and steadily, the
minimill technology offered better steel quality
and captured segment after segment.

40. Eventually, the integrated steel mills
started to suffer, badly.

41. Number 5:

42. Mobile phones versus regular phones

43. Cell phone Old phones
Traditional
performance
New
performance

44. Cell phone Old phones
Traditional Worse sound quality
performance Expensive
New
performance

45. Cell phone Old phones
Traditional Worse sound quality
performance Expensive
New Portable
performance

46. As mobile phones became cheaper, the sound
quality improved and new functions were
added, it eventually displaced
the analogue phones.

47. Sources
Christensen, C.M. (1997) The Innovator’s
Dilemma, Harvard Business School Press,
Cambridge, Massachusetts.

48. Find out more:
www.disruptiveinnovation.se