STRATEGY & CHANGE SUMMARY OF ALL TUTORIAL ARTICLES
Table of Contents =
W1
• Tushman & Anderson - Technological discontinuities and organizational environments.
• Christensen - The innovator's dilemma: when new technologies cause great firms to fail.
• Sood & Tellis - Demystifying disruption: A new model for understanding and predicting
disruptive technologies.
W2
• Christensen & Overdorf - Meeting the Challenge of Disruptive Change.
• Birkinshaw & Gibson - Building Ambidexterity into an Organization.
• Hermes System (HBR case)
W3
• Burgelman & Valikangas - Managing Internal Corporate Venturing Cycles.
• Sethi & Iqbal. Stage-Gate Controls, Learning Failure, and Adverse Effect on Novel New
Products.
• Christensen, Kaufman, & Shih - Innovation Killers: How Financial Tools Destroy Your
Capacity to Do New Things.
W4
• Unilever: Innovation Unilever Foundry (HBR case)
W5
• Nestle: Developing a Digital Nutrition Platform For Japan (HBR case)
• Bitcoin: The Future of Digital Payment (HBR case)
, W1 Technological discontinuities and organizational environments.
Administrative science quarterly. - Tushman, M. L., & Anderson, P. (1986).
Technology:
- Process technology = tools, devices, and knowledge that mediate between inputs and outputs.
o E.g. float glass.
- Product technology = create new products or services.
o E.g. jets or xerography
Technological progress constitutes an evolutionary system punctuated by discontinuous change. Major
breakthroughs (discontinuities) are relatively rare and tend to be driven by individual genius, and trigger
a period of technological ferment (onrust). Technological experimentation and competition persists
within a product class until a dominant design emerges, which should reflect the emergence of product-
class standards and end the period of technological ferment. Once a dominant design emerges,
technological progress is driven by numerous incremental, improvement innovations.
Incremental technological progress: occurs through the interaction of many organizations stimulated by
the prospect of economic returns.
- Product discontinuities are reflected in the emergence of new product classes (e.g., airlines,
automobiles), in product substitution (e.g. diesel vs. steam locomotives), or in fundamental
product improvements (e.g. jets vs. turbojets).
- Process discontinuities are reflected either in process substitution (e.g. artificial vs. natural
gems) or in process innovations that result in radical improvements in industry-specific
dimensions.
Technological shifts / Discontinuities:
- Competence-destroying: require new skills, abilities, and knowledge in both the development
and production of the product. The new technology fundamentally alters the set of relevant
competences (and skills etc.) within a product class.
o Destroying Product discontinuities = new product classes (airlines; cement), or product
substitution (records → CD’s).
o Destroying Process discontinuities = process substitution (natural → mechanical ice)
(blown → drawn window glass).
- Competence-enhancing discontinuities are order-of-magnitude improvements in
price/performance that build on existing know-how within a product class. Such innovations
substitute for older technologies, yet do not render obsolete skills required to master the old
technologies. Order-of-magnitude improvement over prior products yet build on existing know-
how.
o Enhancing Product discontinuities = major product improvements (jet → turbofan),
incremental product changes.
o Enhancing Process discontinuities = major process improvements (resistice metal
deposition (semiconductors)), incremental process improvements.
o E.g. the introduction of fan jets and screw propeller improved the speed of jets and
ocean ships, and aircraft producers and boatyards took advantage of existing knowledge
and skills and rapidly absorbed these complementary technologies.
While competence-destroying discontinuities are initiated by new firms and are associated with
increased environmental turbulence, competence-enhancing discontinuities are initiated by existing
firms and are associated with decreased environmental turbulence. These effects decrease over
successive discontinuities. Those firms that initiate major technological changes grow more rapidly than
other firms.
2
Table of Contents =
W1
• Tushman & Anderson - Technological discontinuities and organizational environments.
• Christensen - The innovator's dilemma: when new technologies cause great firms to fail.
• Sood & Tellis - Demystifying disruption: A new model for understanding and predicting
disruptive technologies.
W2
• Christensen & Overdorf - Meeting the Challenge of Disruptive Change.
• Birkinshaw & Gibson - Building Ambidexterity into an Organization.
• Hermes System (HBR case)
W3
• Burgelman & Valikangas - Managing Internal Corporate Venturing Cycles.
• Sethi & Iqbal. Stage-Gate Controls, Learning Failure, and Adverse Effect on Novel New
Products.
• Christensen, Kaufman, & Shih - Innovation Killers: How Financial Tools Destroy Your
Capacity to Do New Things.
W4
• Unilever: Innovation Unilever Foundry (HBR case)
W5
• Nestle: Developing a Digital Nutrition Platform For Japan (HBR case)
• Bitcoin: The Future of Digital Payment (HBR case)
, W1 Technological discontinuities and organizational environments.
Administrative science quarterly. - Tushman, M. L., & Anderson, P. (1986).
Technology:
- Process technology = tools, devices, and knowledge that mediate between inputs and outputs.
o E.g. float glass.
- Product technology = create new products or services.
o E.g. jets or xerography
Technological progress constitutes an evolutionary system punctuated by discontinuous change. Major
breakthroughs (discontinuities) are relatively rare and tend to be driven by individual genius, and trigger
a period of technological ferment (onrust). Technological experimentation and competition persists
within a product class until a dominant design emerges, which should reflect the emergence of product-
class standards and end the period of technological ferment. Once a dominant design emerges,
technological progress is driven by numerous incremental, improvement innovations.
Incremental technological progress: occurs through the interaction of many organizations stimulated by
the prospect of economic returns.
- Product discontinuities are reflected in the emergence of new product classes (e.g., airlines,
automobiles), in product substitution (e.g. diesel vs. steam locomotives), or in fundamental
product improvements (e.g. jets vs. turbojets).
- Process discontinuities are reflected either in process substitution (e.g. artificial vs. natural
gems) or in process innovations that result in radical improvements in industry-specific
dimensions.
Technological shifts / Discontinuities:
- Competence-destroying: require new skills, abilities, and knowledge in both the development
and production of the product. The new technology fundamentally alters the set of relevant
competences (and skills etc.) within a product class.
o Destroying Product discontinuities = new product classes (airlines; cement), or product
substitution (records → CD’s).
o Destroying Process discontinuities = process substitution (natural → mechanical ice)
(blown → drawn window glass).
- Competence-enhancing discontinuities are order-of-magnitude improvements in
price/performance that build on existing know-how within a product class. Such innovations
substitute for older technologies, yet do not render obsolete skills required to master the old
technologies. Order-of-magnitude improvement over prior products yet build on existing know-
how.
o Enhancing Product discontinuities = major product improvements (jet → turbofan),
incremental product changes.
o Enhancing Process discontinuities = major process improvements (resistice metal
deposition (semiconductors)), incremental process improvements.
o E.g. the introduction of fan jets and screw propeller improved the speed of jets and
ocean ships, and aircraft producers and boatyards took advantage of existing knowledge
and skills and rapidly absorbed these complementary technologies.
While competence-destroying discontinuities are initiated by new firms and are associated with
increased environmental turbulence, competence-enhancing discontinuities are initiated by existing
firms and are associated with decreased environmental turbulence. These effects decrease over
successive discontinuities. Those firms that initiate major technological changes grow more rapidly than
other firms.
2
