Dive Brief:
- Researchers at two British universities have found disruptive innovation is best implemented when there is an autonomous organizing structure in place to monitor it.
- In a review of two case studies, researchers found that implementing an unconventional practice through conventional pathways provokes conflict within established structures for teaching, professional development, research, IT systems, and administrative processes.
- The study found that disruptive innovations are very likely to be rejected based on existing structures and processes, and institutions interested in implementing such innovation should set up an “autonomous subunit, which can then develop without the cultural rejection and resources battles it would otherwise face.”
Dive Insight:
Disruptive innovation, by definition, creates a new business model for higher education institutions. Usually, disruptive innovation comes in the form of a new technology. The case studies in the UK report follow two institutions implementing work-focused learning initiatives. One created a new degree program through a semi-autonomous unit and the other tried to encourage university-wide reform. In the second case, there was very little adoption, while the subgroup in the first created a thriving degree program until it, too, was absorbed into the main institution and then floundered.