Disruption

Disruption is a process by which existing products, services, or markets are displaced by new entrants that offer simpler, cheaper, or more convenient solutions. It often begins at the fringe of a market, targeting underserved or price-sensitive customers, and gradually improves until it reshapes the mainstream as incumbents struggle to compete with the new model.

In business and technology, the term is closely associated with disruptive innovation, a concept popularized by Clayton M. Christensen. Disruptive innovations create a new value proposition that incumbents overlook, establishing a new value network and eventually displacing established firms. The distinction between disruptive and sustaining innovations is that sustaining innovations improve existing products for current customers, while disruptive innovations transform the market by opening new routes to value.

Key features commonly associated with disruption include accessibility, affordability, scalability, and a shift in consumer behavior. Disruptive entrants may rely on new business models or technologies that enable rapid adoption, often beginning with low-end or niche segments before moving upmarket.

Examples often cited in business history include Netflix streaming disrupting DVD rental and home entertainment; digital cameras disrupting film photography; personal computers disrupting minicomputers and mainframes; ride-hailing apps disrupting traditional taxi services; and cloud computing disrupting on-premises IT infrastructure.

Critics note that disruption is not a universal outcome, that not all innovations are disruptive, and that incumbents can respond with self-disruption or selective adaptation. The term is also used outside economics to describe social, cultural, or environmental upheavals.