Disruptive Innovation

Last Updated 05/23/2025
Citation
APA
Learn & Work Ecosystem Library. (2023). Disruptive Innovation. Retrieved 20 August 2026, from https://learnworkecosystemlibrary.com/glossary/disruptive-innovation/
MLA
"Disruptive Innovation." Learn & Work Ecosystem Library, 11 August 2023, https://learnworkecosystemlibrary.com/glossary/disruptive-innovation/. Accessed 20-08-2026.
Chicago Footnote or Endnote
"Disruptive Innovation," Learn & Work Ecosystem Library. 20-08-2026, https://learnworkecosystemlibrary.com/glossary/disruptive-innovation/.
Chicago only requires the accessed date in a citation if no publication date is listed for the source. While many of the Library's entries include a 'last updated' timestamp, some do not, and for these you should include your accessed date.
Chicago Bibliography
"Disruptive Innovation." Learn & Work Ecosystem Library. 20-08-2026. https://learnworkecosystemlibrary.com/glossary/disruptive-innovation/.

Disruptive innovation refers to innovations and technologies that make expensive or sophisticated products and services accessible and more affordable to a broader market. The term was coined in the early 1990s by Harvard University Business School professor Clayton Christensen.  The term is often misunderstood to describe breakthrough technologies that make good products better—rather it refers to innovations that make products and services more accessible and affordable, and therefore, more available to a larger population.

Request an Edit

Have something to add or refine? Your input in this work matters greatly and we look forward to reviewing your additions

How useful was this resource?

Click on a star to rate it!

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this resource.

Organizations (521)

Initiatives (668)

Topic Briefs (159)