Patterns of Discontinuity: Past,
Present, Future (7.5%)
Every
sector goes through periods of relative calm when innovation is about doing
what you do better. But these are punctuated by disruptions where the rules of
the game get rewritten – for example by the emergence of a new technology or by
external market changes. The trouble is that firms are pretty good at the first
kind of innovation management but less so at the second – with the result that
when discontinuous change occurs, not all
firms survive the transition. At the same time many new entrants see that the
rules of the game have changed and that they now have a chance to join the
sector.
In
this activity think about a firm with which you are familiar and the sector in
which it operates. Looking back over the past fifty years or so, try and plot
where there has been major disruption or discontinuity and what caused it. What
response did existing firms have to make to ensure they survived and continued
in the sector?
Having
looked backwards, try and project forwards over the next fifty years and think
of factors which might disrupt the sector. What will firms need to do to ensure
they survive and develop with the change rather than being left behind by it?
You will probably have to read some background to the firm.
Try and capture the key points of your research in a
short, focused presentation highlighting key points, lessonslearned, etc.
You might want to use the framework below.
