Disruptive Innovation: An Intellectual History and Directions for Future Research
Open accessAbstract
The concept of disruptive innovation has gained considerable currency among practitioners despite widespread misunderstanding of its core principles. Similarly, foundational research on disruption has elicited frequent citation and vibrant debate in academic circles, but subsequent empirical research has rarely engaged with its key theoretical arguments. This inconsistent reception warrants a thoughtful evaluation of research on disruptive innovation within management and strategy. We trace the theory’s intellectual history, noting how its core principles have been clarified by anomaly‐seeking research. We also trace the theory’s evolution from a technology‐change framework—essentially descriptive and relatively limited in scope—to a more broadly explanatory causal theory of innovation and competitive response. This assessment reveals that our understanding of the phenomenon of disruption has changed as the theory has developed. To reinvigorate academic interest in disruptive innovation, we propose several underexplored topics—response strategies, performance trajectories, and innovation metrics—to guide future research.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Disruptive entrants frequently adopt sustaining trajectories to gain ecosystem legitimacy.
“disruptive entrants frequently adopt sustaining trajectories to gain ecosystem legitimacy”
From The Interactive Mechanism between Disruptive Innovation and Sustaining Innovation: A Re-examination Based on Christensen's Theory (2025) · cites this paper as [1]
Disruptive innovations can reshape industry architecture, forcing incumbents to reconfigure their sustaining paths to align with new standards.
“At the same time, disruptive innovations can reshape industry architecture, forcing incumbents to reconfigure their sustaining paths to align with new standards [1].”
From The Interactive Mechanism between Disruptive Innovation and Sustaining Innovation: A Re-examination Based on Christensen's Theory (2025) · cites this paper as [1]
Early-stage disruptive technologies that appear as sustaining complements can leverage incumbents' channels, standards, and customer bases; as performance improves, they may reshape competitive dynamics.
“Early-stage disruptive technologies that appear as sustaining complements can leverage incumbents ' channels, standards, and customer bases; as performance improves, they may reshape competitive dynamics [1].”
From The Interactive Mechanism between Disruptive Innovation and Sustaining Innovation: A Re-examination Based on Christensen's Theory (2025) · cites this paper as [1]
Industry modularity and maturity can lower barriers to entry for disruptors, with sustaining improvements enhancing interoperability.
“Christensen et al. suggest that industry modularity and maturity can lower barriers to entry for disruptors, with sustaining improvements enhancing interoperability [1].”
From The Interactive Mechanism between Disruptive Innovation and Sustaining Innovation: A Re-examination Based on Christensen's Theory (2025) · cites this paper as [1]
Disruption stems from cumulative innovation dynamics rather than sudden shocks.
“Similarly, Christensen et al. highlight that disruption stems from cumulative innovation dynamics rather than sudden shocks [1].”
From The Interactive Mechanism between Disruptive Innovation and Sustaining Innovation: A Re-examination Based on Christensen's Theory (2025) · cites this paper as [1]
Cites
The System of Professions: An Essay on the Division of Expert Labor
Abbott, A. (1988) · doi:10.7208/chicago/9780226189666.001.0001 · Cited by 7,733 · see citing works
Technological paradigms and technological trajectories
Dosi, G. (1982) · Research Policy · doi:10.1016/0048-7333(82)90016-6 · Cited by 6,685 · see citing works
Core capabilities and core rigidities: A paradox in managing new product development
Leonard-Barton, D. (1992) · Strategic Management Journal · doi:10.1002/smj.4250131009 · Cited by 6,477 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
A literature review of disruptive innovation: What it is, how it works and where it goes
Si, S., & Chen, H. (2020) · Journal of Engineering and Technology Management · doi:10.1016/j.jengtecman.2020.101568 · Cited by 226 · see citing works
Contextual factors of disruptive innovation: A systematic review and framework
Antonio, J. L., & Kanbach, D. K. (2023) · Technological Forecasting and Social Change · doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2022.122274 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
Disruptive Innovation and Its Impact on Traditional Business Models: A Multi-Industry Study
(2024) · Uniglobal Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities · doi:10.53797/ujssh.v3i2.29.2024 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Mohamud, A. J., Rage, A. N., Mohamed, A. D., & Mohamud, A. M. (2026) · Cogent Business & Management · doi:10.1080/23311975.2026.2706234
Tang, H. (2025) · Advances in Economics and Management Research · doi:10.56028/aemr.15.1.823.2025
“Similarly, Christensen et al. highlight that disruption stems from cumulative innovation dynamics rather than sudden shocks [1].”
Influential
- Authors
- Christensen, C. M., McDonald, R., Altman, E. J., & Palmer, J. E.
- Affiliations
- Harvard University (US)
- University of Massachusetts Lowell (US)
- Corresponding author
- Altman, Elizabeth J.
- Venue
- Journal of Management Studies
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2018-08-29
- Volume
- 55
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 1043-1078
- ISSN
- 0022-2380 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-6486
- OpenAlex
- W2808237418
- Cited by
- 789
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 90 · 2025: 133 · 2024: 134 · 2023: 115 · 2022: 117 · 2021: 100 · 2020: 80 · 2019: 19 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 83.56
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Management Studies (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Harvard Business School
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Business Strategies and Innovation
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Management Science and Operations Research › Innovation Diffusion and Forecasting
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Innovation and Knowledge Management
- Keywords
- disruptive innovation, intellectual history, competitive response, technological change, innovation indicators, performance trajectories, response strategies
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
