The Innovator's Dilemma

Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail.1 As the subtitle to his book indicates, Christensen was interested in understanding why some successful firms stumble and even fail for what appears to be no good reason. In his introduction, he states: This book is about the failure of companies to stay atop their industries when they confront certain types of market and technological change. Its not about the failure of simply any company, but of good companies--the kinds that many managers have admired and tried to emulate, the companies known for their abilities to innovate and execute. Companies stumble for many reasons, of course, among them bureaucracy, arrogance, tired executive blood, poor planning, short-term investment horizons, inadequate skills and resources, and just plain bad luck. But this book is not about companies with such weaknesses: It is about well-managed companies that have their competitive antennae up, listen astutely to their customers, invest aggressively in new technologies, and yet still lose market dominance.2 Based on a careful study of the hard-disk-drive industry, the book cites other examples,