Is E-commerce A Disruptive Innovation? An Analysis of the Belgian Fashion Retail Industry

Abstract

The purpose of this master dissertation is to examine whether or not E-commerce can be categorized as a disruptive innovation according to the theory popularized by Christensen (1997) within the Belgian fashion retail industry and what the impact has been of its incumbent firms. By conducting semi-structured interviews with seven Belgian fashion retail incumbents, insights were gathered, and it can be concluded that E-commerce is a disruptive innovation as it is characterized by the four critical elements of the disruptive innovation theory. Furthermore, established fashion retailers are losing customers and market share to these retail disruptors who are able to exploit organizational and operational agility.