Clayton M. Christensen
Why do industry leaders collapse despite listening to customers and investing aggressively? Their commitment to sound management principles is precisely what blinds them to disruptive technologies.
Sustaining technologies improve established products for mainstream customers, while disruptive technologies initially offer lower performance but introduce novel benefits like convenience, simplicity, or lower cost.
Because mainstream customers and investors effectively dictate how a company allocates its capital, well-managed firms systematically kill disruptive ideas that do not serve their most profitable clients.
The relentless pursuit of higher profit margins drives established companies upmarket, leaving a vacuum at the low end where disruptive entrants can secure a foothold and eventually move up.