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Clayton Christensen: Disruptive innovation

Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
Lectures
YouTube
Cited on HN 3 times, 2019–2023, never outright recommended score 0
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026

HN uses it as a reference for disruption theory when explaining why incumbents like VW or BlackBerry decline.

Clayton Christensen explains his theory of disruptive innovation at Oxford's Said Business School, using examples from steel, Toyota, Sony, Walmart and Godrej. He applies the theory to why some economies stagnate and others grow.

“I believe VW is failing like this: (talk Disruptive innovation by Clayton Christensen).” (HN, 2023)

3 citations · Lectures

3 Hacker News comments

From the HN archive; up to 20 kept per video, favoring different commenters. Recommendations first.

@hobo_mark Sep 2019 Cites it
on HN thread Apple’s New Mac Pro to Be Made in Texas
Was it a lecture by Clayton Christensen by any chance? (can't find the lecture I had in mind but this one mentions the same part in passing) [this video]
Lecture mentioning the same point in passing.
@fxtentacle Nov 2023 Cites it
on HN thread Volkswagen says its core VW brand is 'no longer competitive' financially
Read more
I believe VW is failing like this: [this video] (talk Disruptive innovation by Clayton Christensen). VW used to be the cheap option for the masses, hence the name "Volkswagen" = "people car". They could then successfully push out competitors by gradually raising quality and prices. But by now, VW is one of the most premium brands in Germany. So their usual "raise quality and prices" strategy has stopped working. My parents' generation loved their VW Golf, which back then was a cheap car for students. But nowadays, a new VW Gold can cost €44000 which is completely out of reach for most students and young adults. Similarly, they used to have ads mocking the fact that a VW Transporter was an extremely popular family car used for vacations and camping trips. At €90000 for a Volkswagen Transporter (version 7), it's now become more of a status symbol or collector's item. Actual families will buy a €8000 Dacia transporter. And in line with Christensen's talk, it looks like Dacia is now scaling up quality and raising prices, thereby pushing VW out of the budget market into the much smaller premium segment.
Christensen's disruptive innovation theory explains VW's decline from budget to premium brand.

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