Is Disruption Theory Wearing New Clothes Or Just Naked? Analyzing Recent Critiques Of Disruptive Innovation Theory

The disruptive innovation theory of Clayton Christensen was heavily criticized in an article in The New Yorker magazine by Jill Lepore. Her article evaluated Christensen's research methodology and analysis and found both lacking. Lepore's criticisms identified several symptoms of problems within the research, but stopped short of presenting root causes. This article looks at Lepore's criticisms and diagnoses three root causes for the symptoms recognized by Lepore: a lack of an adequately constrained definition of the term disruptive innovation; a failure to identify and maintain a consistent unit of analysis in the research; and a failure to account adequately for managerial agency. This article then discusses solutions to these issues and how scholars might move research into disruptive innovation forward.