Surviving disruption (managing business disruption and ensuring business continuity)

Citation

(2013), "Surviving disruption (managing business disruption and ensuring business continuity)", Strategic Direction, Vol. 29 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/sd.2013.05629daa.008

Surviving disruption (managing business disruption and ensuring business continuity)

Article Type: Abstracts From: Strategic Direction, Volume 29, Issue 4

Wessel M. and Christensen C.M. Harvard Business Review, December 2012, Vol. 90 No. 12, Start page: 56, No. of pages: 9

Describes ways of determining how dangerous a disruption may be to a business arguing that, with a deep understanding of the jobs the company really does for customers and a clear understanding of both the advantages the disrupters have and the barriers they face, it is possible to predict whether, to what extent, and how quickly an approaching disruption might displace a company’s business model, and what steps can be taken to maximize the company’s core strengths in response. Illustrates these points with particular reference to an example the disruption of retail grocery stores where, although only about 1 percent of all groceries in the USA are currently bought online, the theory of disruption suggests that electronic grocers (e-grocers) will speed their delivery times, increase their product selection, and add features that can hardly be imagined today in pursuit of new customers and higher profit margins. Stresses the three main jobs for which customers use retail grocers, namely: stocking up on non-perishables; shopping for the present evening meal; and grabbing an emergency item. Concludes that only the first is currently vulnerable to the disrupters’ extendable core due to its ability to maintain radically lower prices as it creeps upmarket in search of more customers. Suggests that traditional grocers need to focus on developing innovations to strengthen their hold on the other two. Includes the account in a special issue partly devoted to the theme: “How to manage disruption”. Article type: Viewpoint ISSN: 0017-8012 Reference: 42AB063

Keywords: Business continuity, Corporate strategy, Organizations, Retail trade, Retailing, Strategic management, USA