Disruption in business is actually not something new but going on for a very long time. In fact, the fear of getting disrupted is sometimes more detrimental than the actual event. For each such business innovation hitting the markets, many more products get eliminated. It started more than a century back when the Ford automobile, now affordable to vast masses disrupted the wagon and carriage businesses, and buggy whips. The best example to justify the claim of disruption fear being more than actual change, is the Polaroid Corporation which got so cautious that it started suffering from strategic paralysis leading to its business lead being completely eroded in the 1990s. Business consulting giant PwC claims that those disrupted usually have longer time to respond than often thought as traditional retail chains had about a decade when Amazon was just taking root. Taxi companies had no real uniqueness so got quickly dislocated by the smartphone and GPS enabled ride-sharing apps. Sometimes disruption can even be beneficial to traditional businesses as the rise of vacation rental marketplaces has simply enabled increase in travel allowing older models to co-exist. Marriot and Starwood merged in 2016 to leverage each other’s competitive advantages. The best way to fend off disruption is to leverage on existing relationships as Honeywell did in response to Nest Labs’ smart-home thermostat. An ability to leverage core strengths is what enabled Netflix to move up the value chain while Blockbuster remained mired in the older industry.

Source:https://www.strategy-business.com/pictures/Disruptors-and-the-Disrupted-A-Tale-of-Eight-Companies-in-Pictures?gko=dd95b

Uploaded Date:21 October 2017