Skip navigation
Nondisruptive Creation
Article

Nondisruptive Creation

Rethinking Innovation and Growth


auto-generated audio
auto-generated audio

Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Analytical
  • Eye Opening
  • Concrete Examples

Recommendation

Innovations that turn established markets upside-down tend to attract the most media attention and public admiration. However, ”nondisruptive innovation” can lead to equally profitable markets without destroying existing ones. In their article for MIT Sloan Management Review, W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne – authors of Blue Ocean Strategy – list the benefits of nondisruptive innovation and suggest practical steps toward it. 

Summary

Many believe that innovation is always disruptive. Companies thus tend to focus too narrowly on finding new markets or business models capable of replacing established ones. They seek to be the next Uber, which decimated the taxi industry, or to develop technology akin to digital photography, which sank Kodak. However, successful innovation doesn’t need to be disruptive. By finding new markets and solving overlooked problems, companies can grow their businesses and bottom lines without displacing other markets. Grameen Bank, for example, created the new industry of microfinance by providing credit access to poor people – ...

About the Authors

W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne – the best-selling authors of Blue Ocean Strategy – are professors of strategy at INSEAD and co-directors of the INSEAD Blue Ocean Strategy Institute.