Sustaining Innovation
Updated 2026-08-02
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
Named by Clayton Christensen in The Innovator's Dilemma, sustaining innovation improves an existing product along the dimensions that current customers already value, such as faster processors, better cameras, or higher reliability. Incumbent firms excel at this because their processes, customer relationships, and incentives are tuned to it. The danger is that sustaining innovation keeps the firm moving upmarket while leaving the low end open to a disruptive entrant. Key qualification: sustaining innovation is not inherently harmful, and most profitable improvements fall into this category.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Check the track: ask whether your improvement serves existing customers or opens a new market. - Watch the low end: monitor whether an entrant is serving customers you have deliberately abandoned. - Separate portfolios: manage sustaining improvements and disruptive bets through different processes.
Anchor fast decisions
Listening closely to the best customers pushes a firm toward higher margin, higher performance segments, because that is where the clearest demand signals come from. Resources, processes, and metrics then align around that trajectory, which makes low-margin opportunities look unattractive. The firm keeps improving exactly where it is strongest while the neglected low end becomes a foothold for a new entrant.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disruptive_innovationverified
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