Page 54 - The Complexity Perspective 20 02 18

The Phenomenon of Disruption

Disruption is a phenomenon of agents embedded in dynamic systems.

There are four triggers for disruption:
 The emergence and diffusion of a new functionality or idea that

undermines the business model of the agent including its goals.
This could happen in any of the waves of diffusion. All that is
necessary is that the affected organization is ‘blind’ to the new

functionality; such blindness can result from willful failure to
monitor the context outside the ‘usual suspects’, cultural
blindness, becoming captive to a legacy installed -base, or simple
hubris.

 The prolonged failure of the organization to make micro-

adaptations as competitors co-evolves the context leading to a
total loss of fit. This can be the result of sloth, cultural blindness,
internal orientation, a focus on exploitation rather than
exploration, external demands pushing the business to short-

term profit maximization, or simple incompetence in contextual
monitoring.

 An event in the general context, completely outside the enacted
context of the organization, that eliminates a key element of its
business model. This could range from war to the entry of a new

competitor.

 The simple wearing out of the old organizational purpose. This

can easily happen to activist groups that succeed, charities that
eliminate the need they serve, or political parties stranded by a
shift in public preferences. The response of the organization is
most commonly to repurpose themselves, as the agents that

compose the organization have a personal interest in its
economic survival.

54
©Business Games Works 2018 (Version 1)