Abstract
Inspired by Schumpeter, researchers studying the influences of technical change on industries and firms have sought to classify types of technical change according to how dramatic the shift is in the technology underlying products in an industry. Such technical changes have been commonly classified as either radical or incremental. Radical technical change is a discontinuous shift in the base of scientific or technical knowledge underlying the products in an industry or product class, whereas incremental technical change is continuous refinement along an existing technological trajectory.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Abernathy, W.J., and J.M. Utterback. 1978. Patterns of industrial innovation. Technology Review 80: 40–47.
Anderson, P., and M.L. Tushman. 1990. Technological discontinuities and dominant designs: A cyclical model of technological change. Administrative Science Quarterly 35: 604–633.
Benner, M.J. 2007. The incumbent discount: Stock market categories and response to radical technological change. Academy of Management Review 32: 703–720.
Benner, M.J. 2010. Securities analysts and incumbent response to radical technological change: Evidence from digital photography and internet telephony. Organization Science 21: 42–62.
Benner, M.J., and M. Tushman. 2003. Exploitation, exploration and process management: The productivity dilemma revisited. Academy of Management Review 28: 238–256.
Christensen, C.M., and J.L. Bower. 1996. Customer power, strategic investment, and the failure of leading firms. Strategic Management Journal 17: 197–218.
Cooper, A., and C. Smith. 1992. How established firms respond to threatening technologies. Academy of Management Executive 6: 55–70.
Dosi, G. 1982. Technological paradigms and technological trajectories. Research Policy 11: 147–162.
Ettlie, J.E., W.P. Bridges, and R.D. O’Keefe. 1984. Organization strategy and structural differences for radical versus incremental innovation. Management Science 30: 682–695.
Foster, R. 1986. Innovation: The attacker’s advantage. New York: Summit Books.
Gatignon, H., M. Tushman, W. Smith, and P. Anderson. 2002. A structural approach to assessing innovation. Management Science 48: 1103–1122.
Gilbert, C.G. 2005. Unbundling the structure of inertia: Resource versus routine rigidity. Academy of Management Journal 48: 741–763.
Green, S., M. Gavin, and L. Smith. 1995. Assessing a multidimensional measure of radical innovation. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management 42: 203–214.
Henderson, R. 1993. Underinvestment and incompetence as responses to radical innovation. RAND Journal of Economics 24: 248–269.
Henderson, R.M., and K.B. Clark. 1990. Architectural innovation: The reconfiguration of existing product technologies and the failure of established firms. Administrative Science Quarterly 35: 9–30.
Landes, D. 1983. Revolution in time: Clocks and the making of the modern world. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Schumpeter, J.A. 1934. The theory of economic development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Schumpeter, J.A. 1942. Capitalism, socialism and democracy. London: Routledge.
Tripsas, M. 1997a. Unraveling the process of creative destruction: Complementary assets and incumbent survival in the typesetter industry. Strategic Management Journal 18: 119–142.
Tripsas, M. 1997b. Surviving radical technological change through dynamic capability. Industrial and Corporate Change 6: 341–377.
Tushman, M.L., and P. Anderson. 1986. Technological discontinuities and organizational environments. Administrative Science Quarterly 31: 439–465.
Utterback, J. 1994. Mastering the dynamics of innovation. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2018 Macmillan Publishers Ltd., part of Springer Nature
About this entry
Cite this entry
Benner, M.J. (2018). Radical and Incremental Technical Change. In: Augier, M., Teece, D.J. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Strategic Management. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-00772-8_703
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-00772-8_703
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-230-53721-7
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-00772-8
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences