Can the Theory of Disruptive Innovation Be Considered Complete?

Christensen's theory of disruptive innovation is a conceptually elegant theory of innovation and competitive response. The basic tenets of the theory have been broadly validated over a wide range of situations, primarily in the context of the developed world, leaving a gap in our understanding of how the theory explains similar situations in a developing world context. We studied the application of Christensen's theory in the Indian context over nine cases in six industrial segments. Closely following Christensen's definition, four key concepts of the theory were identified and analyzed in each case. A novel four-stage disruption matrix was evolved to map the antecedents and temporal evolution of the process of disruption. Although the theory finds broad support for some of the key concepts, it has limitations in its present form in explaining situations from a developing economy with a complex socioeconomic and regulatory background. We suggest possible reasons for these anomalous observations and propose a more generalized definition of what constitutes a Christensen disruption.