
6 Part One • Theory
1.1 Disruptive Technologies
The term disruptive technology comes from Clayton Christensen’s book The
Innovator’s Dilemma.
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It seems as if every high-tech industry marketeer
immediately latched onto the new phrase, hoping to link their products
with the excitement that Christensen’s ideas generated. Unfortunately for
most, disruptiveness is rarely recognizable except in hindsight: Disruptive
technologies are not always recognizable until after the fact, and for the
very good reason that disruptive technologies are most often adopted for
applications different from those originally intended.
Anyone working with technology can benefit