Latecomer Firms’ Innovation Choice And Disruptive Innovation Path

For latecomer firms, how to replace the incumbent firms and realizeleapfrogging successfully as the industry leader has been an importantproposition in the strategic management field. But it can not get a good argumentfor a long time. By using the latest achievements of disruptive innovation theory,this dissertation carries out a systematic study. Through providing cheaper, justenough function and more convenient products, or introducing products that havepoor performance but meet the specific consumers’ demand, disruptiveinnovation try to attract the not too picky customers and open new markets. Asthe technology continues to improve, the properties of product are constantlyimproved. Disruptive innovation will erode the existing mainstream marketgradually, even replace the existing products, destroy the old industrycompetition rules, become the new leading technology and establish newcustomer value structure. It is an effective tool to realize great-leap-forwarddevelopment for latecomer firms.Based on the identification of the relevant innovation concept, thisdissertation analyzed the latecomer firms’ development opportunities underdifferent innovation mode. The initial conditions on latecomer firms’ innovationare not suitable for opening the sustaining innovation that based on the originaltechnological trajectories to meet the mainstream consumers’ demand, since it isdifficult for the latecomer firms to grasp the real core technology by using theimitation innovation strategy, although it can narrow the technical gap with theincumbent firms, it is difficult to achieve the real technology catching up.Lacking innovation ability makes it difficult to make a significant technologicalbreakthrough for breakthrough innovation for latecomer firms. The disruptiveinnovation provides an opportunity for the latecomer firms to realize the rapiddevelopment. By pointing out that the disruptive innovation is the best way for the latecomer firms to realize the great-leap-forward development. Based on therelated literature and the theory research, this dissertation carried out thedisruptive innovation model of motivation, ability and performance. Themotivation of disruptive innovation mainly includes innovation will,organizational learning, incentive mechanism and external knowledge source.And the ability elements that significantly influence the innovation performanceinclude technical opportunity ability, the knowledge absorptive capacity andresource conformity ability. And the model was validated through the empiricalstudy. It is points out that the enterprise can utilize the innovation will,organizational learning, incentive mechanism and external knowledge source toplay a part in enterprise’s innovation ability, and improve the enterprise’sinnovation performance. Finally, the dissertation points out the specific path forlatecomer firms to implement disruptive innovation.