INNO-Grips Workshop: Disruptive Innovation – Implications for Competitiveness and Policy

Objectives

Some strands of innovation theory make a distinction between ‘incremental’ and ‘disruptive’ (or ‘radical’) innovation. The term disruptive innovation is widely used today in the sense introduced originally as ‘disruptive technology’ by Christensen (1997). The OECD's Oslo Manual defines an innovation as ‘disruptive’ if it has a significant impact on a market and on the economic activity of firms in that market, up to the point that new markets are created while existing markets or products may be rendered obsolete.

This workshop is to discuss the concept of disruptive innovation with a view to possible implications for the competitiveness of the European industry and for innovation policy design. The workshop will focus on three sectors which are all very important for the European economy:

• the chemical industry
• the automotive industry
• tourism The workshop will aim to identify disruptive trends in each of these industries and discuss possible impacts for the various actors in the sector’s value network.

The workshop is organised in the context of INNO-Grips, the innovation policy strand of the PRO INNO Europe portal, the European Commission's focal point for innovation policy analysis and policy cooperation in Europe.

Audience and participation

The workshop addresses, in particular, policy makers, innovation managers, economists and industry representatives of the sectors at stake. We expect a group of about 25 innovation experts. Participation in the workshop is free, but requires registration, as the capacity of the room is limited. If you are interested in participating, please contact Mr Hannes Selhofer.