关键词: 突破性创新, 颠覆性创新, 内涵, 特征, 演化

Abstract:     Although a large amount of previous research has theorized about the character of breakthrough innovation and disruptive innovation, there has been limited evolutionary relationship theoretical investigation of this matter. By adopting the systematic review method, the study reiterates the concept connotation of breakthrough innovation and disruptive innovation, explores the historical process of disruptive innovation, and then clarifies their underlying logic of evolution. The study discovers that: (1) Breakthrough innovation belongs to the concept of technological innovation, which is an innovation activity based on the organizational and tactical levels. In terms of technical attributes, breakthrough innovation emphasizes major technological breakthroughs and belongs to the positive discontinuous technical curve. The primary traits of breakthrough innovation are discontinuity, novelty, mutation, and interdisciplinarity. (2) Disruptive innovation is a complex innovation oriented by "subversive breaking" that is based on organizational strategy. In a narrow sense, disruptive innovation is based on the perspective of technology. It includes cross-border integration of low-end or existing technologies as well as major breakthroughs in cutting-edge technologies with significant national strategic implications. Generally, disruptive innovation not only includes the scope of technological innovation activities, but also covers all innovation activities proposed by Schumpeter. It is distinguished by more discontinuity and mutation, as well as non-competitiveness, relativity, fusion, and timeliness. (3) There are significant disparities between disruptive and breakthrough innovation. The information and communication technology era serve as the background for breakthrough innovation, which emphasizes the change in product performance brought on by technological advancements. Disruptive innovation is founded on the backdrop of rapid technological advancement at the end of the twentieth century and the ongoing compression of the social demand change cycle. It pays more attention to the deep integration of technology and organizational resources, covering all innovation activities. In short, breakthrough innovation is related to organizational tactic innovation. Disruptive innovation is a type of organizational strategic innovation. From the perspective of market occupation, breakthrough innovation is generally driven by incumbent enterprises and invades the market from top to bottom. Contrarily, disruptive innovation is led by new entrants and plays a subversive role from bottom to top by invading low-end markets or establishing emerging markets. (4) Disruptive and breakthrough innovation are linked by a gradient evolution. The market value brought by breakthrough innovation is formed in the original value network of the organization. Although breakthrough innovations have disruptive effects, they do not cause the entire industry to fall into trouble. Disruptive innovation not only includes the "additional effect" of technology, but also emphasizes the faster and more profitable delivery of products and services. New entrants break through resource barriers to obtain innovative resources. They can overthrow the entire sector and eventually complete the transition from incremental advancement to qualitative change by creating a new self-centered value network.Based on the key findings, the disruptive innovation is the core of the digital economy era. The study thinks that the following issues should be prioritized in the future. (1) Talk about the evolutionarily based logic of disruptive and breakthrough innovation. The internal connection and correlation between them will involve deeper theoretical research. (2) Develop a theoretical framework for the digital economic era. Disruptive innovation is committed to seeking development opportunities in the organization′s external environment, which has the characteristics of high organizational openness and dynamic correlation. This theoretical analysis framework will provide an analytical tool for dealing with the uncertainty of disruptive innovation. (3) Pay close attention to the strategic balance and governance of disruptive innovation opening and control, which can help latecomers grasp the scale of openness and control. (4) Focus on identifying and mining the unmet needs of users. This is an important prerequisite for organizations to implement disruptive innovations. (5) Explore early identification methods for disruptive technologies, which requires the clarification and precise quantification of the advent of disruptive technologies. It will have strategic importance in determining the course of disruptive technologies and putting them into practice. (6) Analyze the evolutionary mechanism and realization path of disruptive innovation in the context of China, which can open the "black box" of the evolutionary process of disruptive innovation. Through the systematic research, a deep understanding of the concepts of breakthrough innovation and disruptive innovation has been developed. More importantly, it serves as a source of inspiration for both longitudinal theory-deepening research and situational research on innovation practice.

Key words: breakthrough innovation, disruptive innovation, connotation, characteristics, evolution