Disruptive Innovation: Product versus Platform

Disruptive Innovation: Product versus Platform

DISRUPTIVE PLATFORMS often have a bigger impact than disruptive products. Some examples:

• Uber owns no vehicle, but is now the largest taxi company in the world.
• Alibaba has no inventory, but is yet the biggest world retailer.
• AirBnB owns no real estate, and yet became the biggest provider of accommodation.

Unlike disruptive products, low-end disruptive platforms can change the dynamic of an entire industry. It is more difficult for incumbents to respond to disruptive platforms than to disruptive products. The massive number of people attracted to platforms makes it difficult for incumbents to respond to them.

While DISRUPTIVE PRODUCTS offer new options to buy, disruptive platforms cause societal shifts. They have major effects on people’s lives, how they interact and how they work. For example, they trigger platform-based jobs that many people make a living out.

⇒ What other examples of platform disruption do you know of?

Sources:
Singh, S. (2012). New Megatrends. Implications for our Future Lives. UK: Frost & Sullivan, Palgrave & Macmillan.
Vazquez Sampere, J. (2016). Why Platform Disruption Is So Much Bigger than Product Disruption. Harvard Business Review, April 2016.

		Comments Sort by date Sort by rating Rating
		6 Jaap de Jonge Editor, Netherlands
	Platform Disruptor: Google Google owned no magazine, radio/TV station, but is yet now by far the world's biggest advertising co... Sign up

		6 Rick Mueller Professor, United States
	Disruptive Platforms and Pipes There's been a lot of discussion on platforms, the most pertinent among which compare them to pipes.... Sign up

		5 Hamza E. M. Salih Sudan
	Platform Disrutive Food Delivery All over the world including in Cairo you find so many food delivery services having no restaurants ... Sign up

		3 Osungbadegun Isaac Tayo Business Consultant, Nigeria
	Disruptive Platforms There has been much disruptive innovation in the banking sector in Nigeria, with the advent of USSD ... Sign up

		2 Sanjay Verma Business, Kenya
	M-Pesa in Kenya I live in Kenya. M-Pesa, a mobile money transfer platform is so successful here that we cannot imagi... Sign up

		2 benjamin Director, Indonesia
	How will Disruptive Platforms Evolve in the Future? Many business types are changing into simple modern services through an Internet connection. In my v... Sign up

		0 Paramathmuni srinivas Kumar India
	A Platform to Enhance Authentic Quality of Experience A platform which enables to deliver a higher quality of experience to our services and products whic... Sign up

		2 KOEHL Maryse Professor, France
	Benefits of Disruptive Platforms Platforms create a new type of distribution, satisfy new needs of customers and bring a break in the... Sign up

		1 Fred Rivera Student (University), Peru
	Worldwide Sales Via Internet Anyone can sell anything worldwide, without having a store or supplies. That's why these platforms ... Sign up

		3 Joanne Friedman CEO, Canada
	IoT & Blockchains Next I think we have to be a bit careful about the use of the word "platform" and its definition. If Ube... Sign up

		2 muthini Accountant, Kenya
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		4 Bernhard Keim Business Consultant, Germany
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		3 Bernhard Keim Business Consultant, Germany
	No Lawyers Anymore? @Muthini: The problem with systems like Watson is that even a correct answer is not enough if you c... Sign up

		0 Maurice Hogarth Consultant, United Kingdom
	Disruptive Platforms I would consider that 'platforms' of their nature are disruptive, in that they disrupt the 'working ... Sign up