Innovation: Mapping the Winds of Creative Destruction

Keywords

innovation, competition, transilience

Abstract

This paper develops a framework for analyzing the competitive implications of innovation. The framework is based on the concept of transilience — the capacity of an innovation to influence the established systems of production and marketing. Application of the concept results in a categorization of innovation into four types. Examples from the technical history of the US auto industry are used to illustrate the concepts and their applicability. The analysis shows that the categories of innovation are closely linked to different patterns of evolution and to different managerial environments. Special emphasis is placed on the role of incremental technical change in shaping competition and on the possibilities for a technology based reversal in the process of industrial maturity.

Original Publication Citation

"""Innovation: Mapping the Winds of Creative Destruction"" (1985). Research Policy, 14 (1), 3-22. (With W.J. Abernathy)"

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

1985

Publisher

Research Policy

Language

English

College

Marriott School of Business

Department

Marketing

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

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