The Innovator's
Dilemma

What does the launch of a sailing ship in 1902 have to do with today’s steel trade? Much more than it may initially seem. The renowned strategy professor Kurt Matzler explained the surprising connection between ship and steel at BayBG events in Nuremberg and Munich, offering attendees numerous thought-provoking insights.

In his compelling keynote, he spoke about the “Innovator’s Dilemma – Why Established Companies Lose the Race for Breakthrough Innovations.” He vividly described the paradox of why successful companies and entire industries can fail to embrace the future. For decades, it was enough for businesses to evolve their existing offerings incrementally. Proven products were adapted to market needs, further developed and improved. Today, this strategy is no longer sufficient. Disruptive innovation has become the true game-changer driving groundbreaking transformation.

Matzler demonstrated how rapidly conditions are shifting for established players and which strategic measures are needed to prepare companies for the future. Sustainable success, he argued, requires openness to new ideas and the “Open Strategy” approach he presented.

Following his keynote, the passionate extreme athlete answered numerous questions from more than 100 guests attending the Mittelstandsgespräche in Nuremberg and Munich. Can smaller companies also implement an “Open Strategy” or does it require the resources of a large corporation? Which industries will be most affected by disruption? And how should leaders deal with skeptics within their own ranks?

Matzler entered into dialogue with the audience and urged entrepreneurs to actively face the challenges ahead: “Nothing fails like success” – past success, he warned, is one of the greatest barriers to change.