The Disruption Dilemma

The “Disruption Dilemma” is truly a refreshing and thoughtful book by a clear and decisive thinker. Joshua Gans (Stanford Ph.D., chair holder at Rotman, University of Toronto) delivers a succinct, yet holistic and complete treatise of Disruption. His deep insights allow managers to make sense out of the “disruption overload” (found in the popular press and discussions at various companies' board rooms as well as water coolers), and to leverage Disruption for competitive advantage. One of the main contributions by Gans in this important discourse is adding a “supply side dimension” to the prevailing “demand side theory” of disruption, thus providing a much more complete, yet sharp picture of a complex phenomenon. Professor Gans begins with clearly defining disruption. This is followed-up by a well-done synthesis of not only Clayton Christensen’s seminal contribution (demand side disruption, where existing customers play a critical role), but important ideas of other scholars (beginning with Schumpeter) that both preceded and followed the publication of the initial work on disruption some 20 years ago (i.e., Bower and Christensen, 1995, HBR). In his trademark breathy, enjoyable, and yet reflective prose Joshua Gans walks us through different aspects of Disruption (What is it? Where does it come from?; How can you predict it?; How do you manage it?; Self-Disruption; and, If, and how, to insure against Disruption?, etc.). One of the most refreshing and novel aspects of this book is that Joshua Gans takes a second look at well-known case vignettes (Apple, BlackBerry RIM, Netflix, Fuji, IBM, Kodak, etc.) and serves up novel and fresh insights that have eluded the many other writers in this genre. Gans is able to do this because of his incredibly commanding understanding of the academic literature (in the Economics and Strategy of Innovation), besides being well-versed in the business and popular press. Christensen’s focus is on demand side disruption (new, but initially inferior technology offered to niche or new customers improves rapidly on steep tech trajectory, and invades a leading firm’s market from the “bottom up”), while Gans adds a consideration of the supply side view of disruption (firms organize based on deep component knowledge, and how those components are put together, a so-called “architecture”) and shows that firms are sometimes unable to make the necessary internal changes to embrace disruption, not because they miss the opportunity (as assumed in demand side disruption), but that their current way of organizing does not allow them to understand the significance of a disruption that is architectural in nature (going back to the path-breaking work by Professor Rebecca Henderson, HBS). To solve these thorny issues, Joshua Gans compares and contrasts two solutions to the innovator’s dilemma: “autonomous business units” [demand side solution] versus “deep integration within the existing firm” [supply side solution]. I won’t spoil the plot, and let you find out yourself where he comes down in terms of effectiveness. To put this review in a bit more context, I’m a professor of strategy at Georgia Tech, teach MBAs (including executives), and have worked with many companies dealing with these problems (including Microsoft, which is featured in this book). Not only as a consumer but also a producer of research and practitioner articles related to innovation (as well as a Strategy text Strategic Management: Concepts this has been one of the best books I read in the last ten years (and I read upwards of more than two dozen books a year “on the side”). I will make the Disruption Dilemma required reading in my strategy courses. Moreover, I bought copies for my friends and colleagues. A book like this comes along only every decade or so. The reader walks away with a much more nuanced and complete understanding of Disruption, and how to manage it. A must read for any business or economics student, as well as practitioners, all of whom are exposed to Innovation in one way or another. Very highly recommended! I would give it Six Stars, if I could.

Old school plot meets a hot new topic.

Insightful overview of the concept of disruption within the broader innovation literature. Joshua Gans brings clarity to a space where managers and entrepreneurs often struggle to separate hype from strategy.

Good book, not great. Enjoyable read.

awesome book!

Best overview of the theory of disruption I have come across. This is a practical, easy to follow review of the field of disruption, a must read for anyone trying to understand the possible threats associated with technological change.

We constantly hear about the concept of disruption in business and many examples are cited about markets, industries and sectors that are being disrupted, such as Uber, AirBnB, the whole music industry through Apple Music and streaming services such as Spotify etc. The concept of disruption is rarely analysed or explained beyond these examples which are given. The value of this book from Joshua Gans is that he unpacks the concept and explains how it works. He analyses disruption from a demand side and a supply side perspective. He further explores how companies and organisations may be able to resist disruption. A very interesting book which explores the causes of disruption and which will be useful to readers trying to understand the forces of disruption which are affecting so many areas of life.

I read the book to understand how changes distrupt businesses. This book gave me an idea for f what to look for and to an extent how to stay ahead of the curve.

Worth reading