Abstract

Information and communication technology innovations (ICT) are considered to be of

central importance to social and economic developments. Various innovation theories
offer classifications to predict and assess their impact. This article reviews the
usefulness of selected approaches and their application in the convergent
communications sector. It focuses on the notion of disruption, the comparatively new
distinction between disruptive and sustaining innovations, and examines how it is
related to other innovation-theoretical typologies. According to the literature, there is a
high frequency of disruptive changes in the field of internet protocol-based innovations
in combination with wireless technology. A closer analysis reveals that these
classifications and assessments not only differ in detail but are even contradictory. The
article explains these differences by highlighting delicate choices that have to be taken
by analysts applying the disruption concept. It argues that its applicability is
comparatively low in the convergent communications sector and generalizations of
single-firm assessments are hardly valid.

Keywords communications sector, disruptive technologies, ICT, internet, innovation

theory, P2P, radical innovations, VoIP, WLAN