What is disruptive innovation and why should MBA students know about it?

Disruptive innovation is everywhere. The way people bank, shop, and work is constantly evolving as new ideas challenge traditional industries and create space for new ones.

From the invention of the light bulb to Amazon revolutionizing e-commerce, history’s most successful innovations have changed the way we work and live.

But what exactly makes innovation ‘disruptive’ and why should MBA students pay attention?

Gabriel Mendes asked himself these questions before pursuing an MBA. Having spent most of his professional career in São Paulo, Brazil, Gabriel studied geography and law, and built a career spanning industries including fintech, fashion retail, law, and corporate mergers and acquisitions. 

Yet despite his broad professional experience, he sought more international exposure and deeper insights into business innovation.

This led Gabriel to enroll in the MBA specialization in Sustainable and Disruptive Innovation at HEC Paris. BusinessBecause sat down with Gabriel to understand why disruptive innovation is crucial for future business leaders and how his MBA is preparing him to lead change.

What is disruptive innovation?

Disruptive innovation transforms industries by offering simpler, more affordable, or more accessible alternatives to existing products and services.

The term, popularized by Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen, describes how smaller companies with fewer resources can challenge established industry leaders by identifying market opportunities overlooked by larger corporations.

Netflix, which evolved from a mail-order DVD service into a global streaming giant, and Uber, which disrupted the taxi industry by reimagining urban transportation, are classic examples.

However, innovation isn't limited to technology. Shifts in consumer preferences, regulatory changes, and increased pressure for sustainability also push companies to rethink their business strategies.

Gabriel sees disruption as essential for creating new standards and opportunities in business.

“Disruption is all about creating new standards and new requirements. We live in a fast-paced world full of disruptions, and to succeed in business, you must be prepared for that,” says Gabriel.

How an MBA cultivates disruptive thinking

The Sustainable and Disruptive Innovation specialization at HEC Paris allowed Gabriel to experience disruption from multiple angles. The program combined case studies, experiential projects, and interactions with industry experts to understand the dynamics behind successful innovation.

A particularly impactful project for Gabriel (pictured) involved assessing the authenticity behind corporate sustainability pledges. The class split into groups to investigate how genuinely committed companies were to sustainability—beyond marketing claims.

“We built business cases and conducted our own due diligence, comparing what companies claimed they were doing against their actual practices. That process was transformative for me,” he says.

Another key moment was an experiential learning project involving a local organic farm in France. Coming from a background in corporate environments, Gabriel found it eye-opening to work directly with small producers.

“This was an opportunity to understand the reality of smaller businesses. In big corporations, everything operates at scale. But here, I saw first-hand how smaller enterprises innovate differently because they must be pragmatic and resourceful.”

Gabriel observed that smaller businesses typically lack the resources for high-risk innovation, prompting them to prioritize small improvements instead of radical changes. 

Understanding this difference between smaller enterprises and large corporations helped Gabriel recognize that innovation takes various forms based on resources, risk tolerance, and organizational needs.

“Innovation always involves some level of risk. Large companies have the resources to make big bets, but smaller firms have to innovate more carefully. Understanding both sides has helped me understand innovation from multiple angles,” Gabriel explains.

Why diversity matters for innovation

Research shows that teams deliberately built with diverse perspectives consistently outperform homogeneous groups. They’re 87% more likely to make better decisions, and 70% more likely to successfully enter new markets.

Gabriel experienced this firsthand at HEC Paris, where his classmates represented 60 nationalities and came from backgrounds spanning engineering, business, law, humanities, and more.

“Some of the biggest lessons from my MBA have come from debates where we completely disagreed with each other. 

“If you’re always surrounded by people who think the same way, it’s easy to miss the bigger picture—and different perspectives are crucial when it comes to innovation.”

Opportunities to network extend beyond the classroom. Studying in Paris places MBA students near Station F—the world’s largest startup incubator—where HEC Paris maintains close ties. This proximity allows students to connect directly with entrepreneurship and innovation through events, workshops, and interactions with the wider startup community.

For Gabriel, these external opportunities also led to co-founding the Brazil Climate Summit 2024, which brought together policymakers, sustainability leaders, and businesses from Europe and Brazil to discuss climate innovation. 

Building a career with a disruptive mindset

Sustainability, AI, and automation are changing the way businesses operate, influencing everything from how financial firms assess risk to how healthcare providers deliver patient care. As companies rethink traditional models, they need professionals who can anticipate disruption and adapt business strategies accordingly.

For Gabriel, the MBA was a chance to step back and rethink his approach to innovation.

“I came to the MBA because I realized I had so much to learn. A collective brain is powerful, and people with different skills from different corners of the world bring valuable perspectives,” he says.

By combining the fundamentals of business with a focus on sustainable and disruptive innovation, he was able to reflect on his past experiences and reassess how he would approach business challenges in the future.

“This was an extremely impactful experience. I have four years of working in startups, and yet my MBA learnings and projects have given me a chance to reflect on my past experiences of scaling solutions and think about how I would do things differently in future,” he concludes.