Week 4 – April 7

The topic for this week is “Disruptive Innovation.”  Kodak was once on of the world’s most iconic brands.  We will study disruptive innovation from two perspectives.  First,  from the perspective of a company impacted by it, Kodak.  Second from those causing disruption such as ABB (this week) and Apple (next week).

In terms of material due, both your weekly reading summary and Kodak case should be turned-in at the start of the class.  I would expect that your weekly reading summary also include your thoughts and references to the case in addition to the articles.  Again, this is emphasized in the syllabus, and I just wanted to re-emphasize the point.  It is especially important for this week’s lecture to read all of the material in advance.

In preparation for the class discussion, I would like you to give thought to the question of  “Would Kodak’s position be different had the company adopted a different strategy in the 80s and 90s, or was the actual outcome inevitable?”  I have posted a question to the discussion board and would like your thoughts on it.  Respond with one of three choices “Kodak could have been a disruptor, Kodak could have survived as a fast follower, or the demise of Kodak was inevitable.”

The lecture material has been published to this site accordingly.  I look forward to our next class on Thursday.

Regards,

David S. McGettigan