Disruptive versus Incremental Innovation

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Disruptive versus Incremental Innovation
Typically, Incremental Innovation exploits existing forms or technologies... Improves upon something that already exists or reconfigures an existing form or technology to serve some other purpose... It is other wise called marginal or continuous innovation. It primarily serves existing markets.
Radical Innovation is a departure from existing form or technology to a completely new thing in this world. Also called as breakthrough or discontinuous or disruptive innovation. It has the potential to upset industry's business model, standards. Primarily serves emerging markets.

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		Gian, Netherlands
	3 Disruptive vs Incremental innovation After having read the book and the wikipedia entry I have to disagree with Jnanesh definition. The wikipedia entry (that I consider correct) reads: "Disruptive technology and disruptive innovation are terms used in business and technology literature to describe innovations that improves a product or service in ways that the market does not expect, typically by being lower priced or designed for a different set of consumers." So disruptive innovation does not have to use a technology that is "new in this world", it may simply serve a market that is currently non-consumptive...

		Fernando, Canada
	3 The Innovation Must Actually Reach the Market Innovation its not only about new products or services, it is about to putting things together to bring up something new or improved to the market. There is no innovation if the "new" thing is not reaching the market (emerging or mature).

		Prabhakar Karve, India
	2 Innovation is Disruptive; Improvement is Incremental Isn't innovation by definition disruptive? I feel there is nothing like incremental innovation. If it is incremental it can at best be called improvement. Any thoughts?

		Jeswan SinghPS Engineer, Malaysia
	4 Sustaining versus Disruptive Innovation Sustaining product development and/or keeping the innovation pot boiling is a fairly normal situation in most businesses. The challenge is to aim towards a step change scenario to make a big difference in producing business results. It's important to note that the sustained approach is not or less of an option, when very progressive firms are forging ahead under the current trying times.

		Dr P L Narasimhan, India
	2 Many Companies Do not Understand Their Customers Fully I agree with the author on his views. Many companies do not satisfy their customers fully. Many a times the features and attributes of the product may not be required, or given in excess of the requirement. The customers accept this as a trade off. However in this situation a competitor can invade with a product with (only) the required features and with a lower price cost and this can become a success. Company have to watch what their clients really need continuously and modify their products or services accordingly.

		Maqsood Khalid, Pakistan
	2 Innovation is the Opposite of Stagnancy Innovation is the reverse of stagnancy. Innovation is direly needed at one stage of organizational life. Innovation may be destructive for someone and useful for somebody else. Application of innovation depends upon the circumstances. However, disruptive innovation is more effective under emergent conditions than incremental innnovation.

		Jay Gamble, United States
	0 Innovation is Disruptive; Improvement is Incremental I agree with Khalid that innovation is change which keeps one from being stagnant. That it is disruptive, is relative. The size of the disruption depends on how great the innovation is compared to one's current status: whether catastrophic or incremental, if it requires some level of change else, can we call it an innovation?

		Dr. Luis De La Cruz Professor, United States
	2 About Disruptive Innovation The corporation's fundamental goal is growth, not profit maximization (Aharoni, 2009). In the case of disruptive innovation we are dealing with new market offerings that separate organizations with sustained innovations from organizations with intuitive strategies. The latter delivers simplicity, convenience and low cost to market low-end application segments. These creative organizations fill market gaps, disrupt established innovations, and can destroy leading firms' hold on captive segments. Entrepreneurial firms typically disrupt established firms, that are focused on controlling costs with differentiation in competitive advantage, forcing them to fuel innovation internally. The established firms then need to face a 'change or be changed' dilemma.

		Ansuman Gautam Manager, India
	4 An Example of Disruptive Innovation The comments in the forum explain the term disruptive innovation with many and abstract words, which is hard to understand. A classic example might help to understanding the concept better. Until Apple's iOS and Google's Android entered the mobile operating software scene, most of the phones in the market worldwide were known as feature phones capable of performing certain minimal programmed tasks like calling and texting. Nokia and Motorola ruled the markets worldwide. Then came iOS and Android, which supplied a platform for running third party application software (called apps), and the mobile market was changed forever. These phones are now called 'smart phones' and are capable of performing variety of tasks and functions from drawing an object using touch to keeping track of your weight loss programme. In the process, Nokia has been dislodged from the market leader's position and Motorola is slated to be acquired by Google. Smartphone adoption figures amply demonstrate the disruptive capabilities of these technologies.

		Fordi Dhliwayo Entrepreneur, Zimbabwe
	1 Disruptive versus Incremental Innovation Innovation suggests a new way of doing things, or a new product that serves the needs of the market in a much more efficient manner. So by its nature it disrupts the status quo and brings chaos into an otherwise orderly world. When innovation kicks in, the market can no longer continue as usual. For the other players in the market, incremental innovation is probably not possible anymore.