(2013-09-23) Thompson Contra Christensen Apple

Ben Thompson explains why Clayton Christensen's predictions (2006-01-10-ChristensenIpodDisruptionProprietary) about Apple Computer's closed products losing to open/modular alternatives keep failing. The theory of low-end disruption (Disruptive Innovation) is fundamentally flawed... Consumers (B2C) don’t buy aircraft, software, or medical devices. Businesses (B2B) do... Consumers aren't rational... In the case of low-end disruption, the rational buyer considers the superior integrated offering and the inferior (but still good) modular offering, decides the latter is “good enough,” and buys it because it is cheaper... The attribute most valued by consumers, assuming a product is at least in the general vicinity of a need, is Ease Of Use. It’s not the only one – again, doing a Job To Be Done is most important – but all things being equal, consumers prefer a superior user experience. What is interesting about this attribute is that it is impossible to overshoot... The business (Enterprise) buyer, famously, does not care about the user experience.