A Cognitive Account Of Incumbent Responses To Disruptive Innovation

Abstract

Research has shown that managerial cognition and cognitive frames play a prominent role in shaping organizational strategy under conditions of market uncertainty and ambiguity. While this work often has implications for understanding incumbent responses to disruptive innovation, relatively few attempts have been made to apply a cognitive lens directly to cases of disruptive innovation. Where a cognitive approach has been applied, it has often incorporated binary or dichotomous understandings of cognitive framing: often involving an opportunity/threat heuristic Recent work has begun to suggest that cognitive positions held by organizational members can incorporate multi- dimensional and non-binary cognitive frames. This paper explores the cognitive processes involved in incumbent organizations following the emergence of a disruptive innovation. We conduct an in-depth case study of the response of Aviva plc. to a disruptive innovation - the rise of general insurance aggregator sites between 2005 and 2007 -t...