---
description: Disruptive products are inferior only on metrics the incumbent's value network prizes -- they are superior on dimensions incumbents systematically ignore like convenience and accessibility
type: claim
domain: teleological-economics
created: 2026-02-21
source: "Clayton Christensen, The Innovator's Dilemma (1997); The Innovator's Solution (2003)"
confidence: likely
tradition: "Christensen disruption theory"
---

# disruptors redefine quality rather than competing on the incumbents definition of good

When Christensen describes disruptive technologies as "inferior," he means inferior on the performance dimensions that the incumbent's value network prizes. But the disruptive product is often superior on dimensions the incumbent ignores or undervalues: simplicity, affordability, convenience, accessibility, portability. The 5.25-inch disk drive was "inferior" to the 8-inch drive on capacity -- the metric minicomputer manufacturers cared about -- but superior on size, weight, and price, the dimensions the emerging PC market valued. Honda's Super Cub was "inferior" to a Harley-Davidson on power and speed but superior on ease of use, price, and accessibility for people who had never ridden a motorcycle. The steel mini-mill's rebar was "inferior" on every quality dimension integrated mills tracked but superior on price and delivery speed, which was all rebar customers cared about.

The incumbent cannot see this redefinition because its [[value networks act as perceptual filters that make disruptive opportunities invisible to incumbents]]. The company's customers, employees, processes, and partners all reinforce a particular definition of quality. Redefining quality would mean abandoning the consensus of the entire value network. This is not a failure of intelligence but of perception -- the incumbent's measurement systems, customer feedback loops, and resource allocation processes all optimize for the existing definition of "good." Since [[companies and people are greedy algorithms that hill-climb toward local optima and require external perturbation to escape suboptimal equilibria]], incumbents cannot voluntarily adopt a definition of quality that would devalue their current competitive position.

This quality redefinition mechanism is what makes [[proxy inertia is the most reliable predictor of incumbent failure because current profitability rationally discourages pursuit of viable futures]] so lethal. The incumbent is not just protecting profits -- it is defending an entire worldview about what quality means. When [[UnitedHealth and Humana exhibit textbook proxy inertia where coding arbitrage profits rationally prevent pursuit of purpose-built care delivery]], they are also defending the definition of "good healthcare management" as coding optimization rather than clinical outcomes. The disruptor (Devoted) redefines quality as patient outcomes and care delivery, not revenue cycle management. This connects directly to [[meme propagation selects for simplicity novelty and conformity pressure rather than truth or utility]] -- the incumbent's quality definition propagates through the organization as an unquestioned meme, resistant to competing definitions even when market evidence accumulates.

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Relevant Notes:
- [[value networks act as perceptual filters that make disruptive opportunities invisible to incumbents]] -- the mechanism that prevents incumbents from perceiving the quality redefinition
- [[proxy inertia is the most reliable predictor of incumbent failure because current profitability rationally discourages pursuit of viable futures]] -- quality redefinition explains why proxy inertia is so lethal: incumbents defend a worldview not just a margin
- [[companies and people are greedy algorithms that hill-climb toward local optima and require external perturbation to escape suboptimal equilibria]] -- the optimization framework that explains why quality definitions get locked in
- [[meme propagation selects for simplicity novelty and conformity pressure rather than truth or utility]] -- quality definitions propagate as organizational memes resistant to competing definitions
- [[quality is revealed preference and disruptors change the definition not just the level]] -- Shapiro's extension of this insight to media with the quality-as-algorithm framework

Topics:
- [[competitive advantage and moats]]
- [[LivingIP architecture]]