Fusion of Disruptive Technologies:: Lessons from the Skype Case

Bharat Rao, Bojan Angelov and Oded Nov

European Management Journal, vol. 24, issue 2-3, 174-188

Abstract: In this paper, we study the effects of integration of one or more disruptive innovations and ask if the resultant (new) innovation can have a dramatic impact on new and existing markets, and the resultant technology paradigm. We describe the evolution and dynamics of this process using Skype as a case in point. Skype successfully fused peer-to-peer computing (P2P) techniques and voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP) to create a new standard and operating model. We discuss whether such integration of disruptive technologies may lead to a "marriage of equals" or whether it leads to dominance by a single technology - and if so, in what circumstances.

Keywords: Disruptive; innovation; Fusion; Integration; Skype; VoIP; P2P; Standards; Peer-to-peer; Telephony; Communications (search for similar items in EconPapers)
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