Definition of Disruption
Disruption literally means a state of disorder until Clayton Christensen gave another insight into another meaning of the world in the business circle. Therefore, disruption in this context is a 21st century business term where smaller, unnoticed products, companies or services take over and dominate a market, thereby distressing and disrupting the existing giant companies and popular products and services.
Clayton Christensen
This business ideology was propounded by an American scholar Clayton Christensen. So, when next you hear the word disruption within a business circle, it could be referring to Clayton Christensen “Innovator’s Dilemma”, which him and other like-minds propounded in 1995.
Innovator's Dilemma
Innovator’s Dilemma refers to a process where unpopular products or services which had until now been at the lowest rung suddenly shut up their fortune by garnering larger market share. These products and services must have the potentials to meet the immediate, and the future needs of the customers. In most cases, some of these disruptive products or services are usually products of startups. Through strategic planning and implementation; through creating products and services that fill the needs of the customers or give them a better alternative, these companies penetrate, establish and displace the already established ones.
Exemple of disruptive products
• Telefony which has taken the place of Telegrafy.
• Word pressing which has taken the place of typewriter
• CDs and USB flash drives which has taken the place of typewriter Bernoulli drive and Zip drive
• Digital Media and Streaming Video can be done using internet enabled device unlike in the past when DVD and CD purchase and video rental were the order of the day.
Disruptive Innovations
Disruptive innovations have an element of creativity, innovativeness and the ability to decipher what could create an immediate and future needs of the people. In most cases, these companies, products or services are underrated at their early stages before they become major players in the market. These disruptive products and services penetrate the market unannounced only to displace popular and conventional products or services. Some of the factors that could give a product brave wings to fly include the following:
- Cost advantage
A product can gain more market acceptability if it has cost advantage over others in its contemporaries. More especially when you can get the same functions and features from the product. Products with great cost-advantage easily make waves in the market.
- Constant available
No matter how essential a product is, if it is not readily available where and when you need it, it loses its relevance. You want what is easily available. A product is most valuable when it can be available and assessable when needed.
- Multi-functions
Think about a situation where a product has more uses than other contemporary products in the market. For instance, a phone can give you all the services it is known for and more. There are phones with inbuilt-TV, torchlight and other functions. Such other features can create a large for the product.
- Basic and flexible
Less luxurious products are in most cases relatively cheaper and mostly available. These products can easily bridge the gaps between the haves and the have-nots. When products or services have the potential of serving the needs of the greater people, it can become disruptive.
Lastly, disruptive innovators have smaller target markets and they are products and services which offer more flexible options in terms of gross margins and accessibility than other products and services within their contemporaries.
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