Reference no: EM132085841

“In The Innovator’s Dilemma, Professor Clayton Christensen asks the question: Why do well-managed companies fail? He concludes that they often fail because the very management practices that have allowed them to become industry leaders also make it extremely difficult for them to develop the disruptive technologies that ultimately steal away their markets. Disruptive technologies have other attributes that a few fringe customers value. One of the hallmarks of disruptive technologies is that initially they underperform the current technology on the attributes that matter most to mainstream customers.

1. Can you think of any markets that are emerging today based on attributes or qualities that seemed unimportant to the mainstream markets when they were introduced? What older, mainstream products or companies are threatened?

2. What are the corporate factors that lead mid-level employees to ignore or kill disruptive technologies? Should well-managed companies change these practices and policies?

3. Professor Christensen argues that “disruptive technology should be framed as a marketing challenge, not a technological one.” As a manager, how do you decide when a technology—or idea—needs more development and when it's time to aggressively put it on the market?”