Disruption talk: an analysis of disruption-related communication, strategies, and outcomes in S&P 500 firms

Abstract

Disruptive innovation has attracted significant scholarly and managerial interest. In the existing research, there is ongoing debate about the nature of disruptive innovation and who initiates it. The related question of how incumbents can deal with disruption, let alone initiate it, has not been extensively addressed. To bridge these gaps, we conceptualised disruptive innovation as ‘a market outcome in which new offerings successfully challenge established ones in a given market’. This definition enables studying a wide range of disruptive strategies. We then analysed communication about disruptive innovation in the press releases of 101 S&P 500 firms between 2005 and 2014, along with the subsequent outcomes of those disruptive intentions until the end of 2019. The infrequency of references to disruptive innovation in the press releases seems to suggest that disruption is a rather rare issue for these firms. Nevertheless, a content analysis of press releases and secondary data suggests that large incumbent firms employ a number of distinct strategies to initiate disruption. While some of these strategies were not unexpected, others were more surprising and led in many cases to positive market outcomes. Our findings suggest that disruptive innovation is not necessarily a threat but may present many opportunities for established businesses.