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Overview
“Disruption” is a business buzzword that has gotten out of control. Today everything and everyone seem to be characterized as disruptive—or, if they aren't disruptive yet, it's only a matter of time before they become so. In this book, Joshua Gans cuts through the chatter to focus on disruption in its initial use as a business term, identifying new ways to understand it and suggesting new tools to manage it.
Almost twenty years ago Clayton Christensen popularized the term in his book The Innovator's Dilemma, writing of disruption as a set of risks that established firms face. Since then, few have closely examined his account. Gans does so in this book. He looks at companies that have proven resilient and those that have fallen, and explains why some companies have successfully managed disruption—Fujifilm and Canon, for example—and why some like Blockbuster and Encyclopedia Britannica have not. Departing from the conventional wisdom, Gans identifies two kinds of disruption: demand-side, when successful firms focus on their main customers and underestimate market entrants with innovations that target niche demands; and supply-side, when firms focused on developing existing competencies become incapable of developing new ones.
Gans describes the full range of actions business leaders can take to deal with each type of disruption, from “self-disrupting” independent internal units to tightly integrated product development. But therein lies the disruption dilemma: A firm cannot practice both independence and integration at once. Gans shows business leaders how to choose their strategy so their firms can deal with disruption while continuing to innovate.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780262034487 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | MIT Press |
| Publication date: | 03/18/2016 |
| Series: | The MIT Press |
| Pages: | 176 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.20(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.90(d) |
| Age Range: | 18 Years |
About the Author
Table of Contents
Preface vii
1 Introduction 1
2 What Is Disruption? 13
3 Sources of Disruption 33
4 Predicting Disruption 49
5 Managing Disruption 65
6 Self-Disruption 83
7 Insuring against Disruption 97
8 Reexamining Disruption 113
9 Future of Disruption 129
Notes 137
Index 159
What People are Saying About This
This important and thought-provoking book has been a source of fresh, new insights for me. Even when Gans disagrees with my work, it has given me a chance to improve what the theory needs to say.
Joshua Gans has a rare combination of skills—he's a highly rated economic theorist, he's a careful student of business strategy, and he's an extraordinary expositor. The result is a book that draws upon the deepest insights of economics, applies them to some of the most pressing strategy issues of the day, and delivers usable insights with his customary charm and grace.
What is disruption? Why does it matter? What can and should companies do about it? With compelling case studies and clear logic, The Disruption Dilemma cuts through the confused debate on this overused term and the weak thinking that has dominated the field of innovation and offers business and analysts the tools to think ahead.
Joshua Gans builds on decades of experience in strategy and technology to provide a novel and insightful approach to understanding the sources of disruption and strategies to defend against it.
Disruption is a concept that is widely cited but poorly understood. At last, Gans provides the clarity that innovators, incumbents, and academics have long been seeking.
This important and thought-provoking book has been a source of fresh, new insights for me. Even when Gans disagrees with my work, it has given me a chance to improve what the theory needs to say.
—Clayton M. Christensen, author of The Innovator's DilemmaJoshua Gans is not only one of the world's leading academics but also someone who is deeply engaged in the reality of disruptive change. In this beautifully written book he pulls the concept of disruption apart and then puts it back together again in ways that change our understanding of what drives successful innovation in profoundly important ways. This is a book rooted in the very latest research that has critically important implications for the way in which every manager should think about—and respond to—disruption.
—Rebecca Henderson, John and Natty McArthur University Professor, Harvard Business SchoolDisruption is a concept that is widely cited but poorly understood. At last, Gans provides the clarity that innovators, incumbents, and academics have long been seeking.
—Erik Brynjolfsson, Director of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy, and coauthor of the New York Times Best Seller The Second Machine AgeJoshua Gans builds on decades of experience in strategy and technology to provide a novel and insightful approach to understanding the sources of disruption and strategies to defend against it.
—Susan Athey, The Economics of Technology Professor, Stanford University, and winner of the John Bates Clark MedalJoshua Gans has a rare combination of skills—he's a highly rated economic theorist, he's a careful student of business strategy, and he's an extraordinary expositor. The result is a book that draws upon the deepest insights of economics, applies them to some of the most pressing strategy issues of the day, and delivers usable insights with his customary charm and grace.
—Justin Wolfers, Professor of Economics and Public Policy, University of MichiganWhat is disruption? Why does it matter? What can and should companies do about it? With compelling case studies and clear logic, The Disruption Dilemma cuts through the confused debate on this overused term and the weak thinking that has dominated the field of innovation and offers business and analysts the tools to think ahead.
—Luis Garicano, Professor of Economics and Strategy, London School of EconomicsWhat is disruption? Why does it matter? What can and should companies do about it? With compelling case studies and clear logic, The Disruption Dilemma cuts through the confused debate on this overused term and the weak thinking that has dominated the field of innovation and offers business and analysts the tools to think ahead.
—Luis Garicano, Professor of Economics and Strategy, London School of EconomicsJoshua Gans is not only one of the world's leading academics but also someone who is deeply engaged in the reality of disruptive change. In this beautifully written book he pulls the concept of disruption apart and then puts it back together again in ways that change our understanding of what drives successful innovation in profoundly important ways. This is a book rooted in the very latest research that has critically important implications for the way in which every manager should think about—and respond to—disruption.