A product or type of technology that challenges existing companies to ignore or embrace technical change.

• A. Innovators
• B. Early majority
• C. Disruptive innovation
• D. First to market

Answer: (C)

Disruptive innovation describes a product or technology that changes the competitive landscape by challenging what incumbents value and how they operate. It often starts by serving a different or lower-end segment with something simpler, cheaper, or more convenient, and then improves over time to meet the needs of mainstream customers. This forces existing companies to decide whether to ignore the change or embrace it, because the disruptive option can gradually overtake established players who focus on sustaining innovations for their current customers. Examples include digital cameras disrupting film, streaming services disrupting DVD rental, and smartphones transforming traditional mobile phones. The other terms refer to who adopts tech or when a product enters the market, not the way a new technology disrupts incumbent firms.