Unpacking disruptive innovation: Key insights and strategies for competitive advantage

Abstract

Disruptive innovation plays a decisive role in business success, yet its practical implementation remains underexplored. Despite extensive theoretical work, a persistent gap exists between understanding the concept and applying it effectively within organizations. This systematic literature review analyzes 50 high-impact articles published since 2000 to identify best practices and barriers to implementing disruptive innovation, with particular attention to the role of open innovation as a catalyst. Findings show that adopting innovative, often collaboratively developed business models reduced market-entry barriers in 68 % of the cases studied. Open innovation practices—such as external partnerships, co-creation with customers, and digital platform collaboration—emerged as critical enablers, alongside organizational culture and customer engagement. Key obstacles include incumbent resistance, rigid performance metrics, and resource allocation constraints. The study contributes theoretically by clarifying conceptual boundaries between disruptive and open innovation, and empirically by offering an actionable framework for leveraging open innovation to foster disruptive change in dynamic markets. These findings provide evidence-based guidance for managers, policymakers, and researchers seeking to translate innovation theory into sustainable competitive advantage.