The innovator’s dilemma: when new technologies cause great firms to fail is the third printing of a classic by the Harvard innovation scholar and prolific author Clayton Christensen. It contains new research since the 1997 and 2000 versions, so old and new readers alike will want this edition.

The book consists of two parts--essentially theory and practice. Part 1, “Why Great Companies Can Fail,” contains four chapters: “How Can Great Firms Fail? Insights from the Hard Disk Drive Industry”; “Value Networks and the Impetus to Innovate”; “Disruptive Technological Change in the Mechanical Excavator Industry”; and “What Goes Up, Can’t Go Down.” These chapters lay out Christensen’s theory of disruption and failure framework. In a nutshell, the theory and framework explain why successful firms fail to adopt new technologies--what Christensen frames as the “innovator’s dilemma,” and fail as a consequence.

In Part 2, Christensen describes his blueprint for managing disruptive technological change. It consists of seven chapters: “Give Responsibility for Disruptive Technologies to Organizations Whose Customers Need Them”; “Match the Size of the Organization to the Size of the Market”; “Discovering New and Emerging Markets”; “How to Appraise Your Organization’s Capabilities and Disabilities”; “Performance Provided, Market Demand, and the Product Life Cycle”; “Managing Disruptive Technological Change: A Case Study”; and “The Dilemmas of Innovation: A Summary.”

The book concludes with a practical “book group guide” and index.

While busy executives and organizational change managers can skip to the case study and summary, innovation leaders will want to devour the whole book, and embrace the practices outlined. Additionally, they should consider integrating the theory of disruption with the two other prominent models in their innovation processes: Rogers’ diffusion of innovations [1] and Moore’s technology adoption cycle [2]. Those needing a big picture of innovation and its challenges in organizations should see [3]. Successful examples of IT innovation and change in organizations can be found in the work by Rossignoli et al. [4].

The wizard of innovation has generously shared his knowledge and wisdom about disruptive innovation--again. Hopefully, more organizational leaders will listen this time.

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