Technology Assessment: Triz Technology System Evolution Theory

Disruptive innovation (DI) is a technical innovation theory put forward by Christensen in 1997 (Christensen, 1997), and consummated by him at last (Christensen and Bower, 1996; Christensen and Overdorf, 2000; Christensen and Raynor, 2003). DI refers to a technology, process, or business model that brings to a market, a much more affordable product or service that is much simpler to use. When these products are getting stable gradually in the low-end market and in the new market by development, they can take the place of the products in the mainstream market. Though the performance of DI products is not so good when they are introduced, they have the characteristics of cheap, simple, portable, and easy to use. This makes it possible to compete with the mature products in the mainstream market.