ABSTRACT
The idea of disruptive change has become so embedded in everyday discourse about technology and industry that it is easy to lose sight of the radical nature of its central thesis. Disruption occurs when innovators in an industry offer a new product or service that is initially inferior to that of market leaders, but which gains acceptance by virtue of greater convenience, lower cost, or other features. Disruption theory is inextricably linked to the concepts of market dominance and market power. A dominant firm is one that controls the major share of a market. Such dominance reduces competitive pressures, which in turn gives a dominant firm unusual market power, especially to control pricing. The first and most visible example of adaptation is online education. The late 1990s and early 2000s were extraordinary times for any activity touched by—or potentially touched by—the internet.
