Leading for constructive innovation: Preliminary evidence from China

Abstract

Abstract Disruptive innovation theory has received widespread attention. With the rapid development of the Chinese economy, Chinese firms accomplished many instances of innovative disruption in recent years, and many latecomer companies are gradually growing into world class innovative companies. As an emerging economy, it is necessary to analyze how China may achieve more disruptive innovations in the future, and what Chinese companies should do when faced with disruptive innovation threats and opportunities. We investigated several Chinese companies' disruptive growth with the aim of further developing the original disruptive innovation theory by incorporating Chinese experience. We divided disruptive innovation types into disruptive strategy innovation, disruptive technology innovation, and disruptive business model innovation, and then analyzed their characteristics separately. Using this perspective to examine different Chinese companies’ innovation processes, and adopting holistic innovation theory, we built a model for leading constructive innovation that bypasses the western disruptive innovation and creative destruction model. We propose this as a useful alternative framework for global corporate innovation.