A literature review of disruptive innovation: What it is, how it works and where it goes

Abstract The disruptive innovation theory, proposed and developed by Christensen over 20 years ago, has been widely discussed and applied. However, there are still serious misunderstanding and misusing of the concept and connotation of disruptive innovation. Doubts about its practical significance and predictability also remain. In this paper, we attempt to further clarify the concept and emphasize its important role in guidance in practices through reviewing relevant literatures published in SSCI journals. Furthermore, we propose a multilevel theoretical framework to examine the influence factors of disruptive innovation by integrating various research results. We also provide suggestions and implications for future research.