Disruptive innovation – A study on the interplay between policy and the commercialization of drone (UAV) technologies

Abstract

Integrating insights from global governance, technology policy, and disruptive innovation, this paper seeks to utilize the example of commercial drone technologies to illustrate how discussions on entrepreneurship have evolved in recent years. With references to three indicative case studies in the commercial drones sector, this paper argues that a conducive policy environment is critical in the successful commercialization of emerging and future technologies. It argues that in the case of commercial drone technologies, the lack of such a policy environment constitutes a major inhibitor of the technology's global proliferation and commercialization. The paper will draw on Christensen, Raynor, and McDonald's work on disruptive innovation (2015) in shedding light on the intricate interplay between new technologies, commercialization, and innovation policy. Analyzing and comparing policy environments, this paper asserts that companies that originally produced lowperforming commercial drones have now moved to disrupt the Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) equipment market.