Derek van Bever

Rita McGrath from Columbia Business School, Felix Oberholzer-Gee from Harvard Business School, and Derek van Bever, also from Harvard, dive into the fascinating world of disruptive innovation. They discuss its origins, tracing back to a ceramic startup that challenged industry giants in the 1980s. The conversation highlights the shift from product innovation to innovative business models and critiques of the theory's application. They explore lessons from the dot-com boom and emphasize the need for established companies to adapt while balancing current operations with future opportunities.

In this discussion, Derek van Bever, a Senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, and Akshat Agrawal, a recent graduate and co-author of the Google Stadia case study, tackle the challenges Google faced in the cloud gaming market. They explore Stadia’s strategic choices, from casual gamers to potential missteps against competitors like Microsoft and Sony. The duo emphasizes the need for strong market strategies and insights gained from Stadia's rise and fall, ultimately questioning the future of cloud gaming for tech giants.