Why disruption happens a lot less often than CEOs think - Washington Post (blog)
As former corporate giants like American Motors, Studebaker, American Can and RCA can also attest, the leader board of America's biggest corporations can change quickly. To top executives, this represents the omnipresent threat of "disruption," an idea that has become so ingrained in some corporate circles that it is almost like a religious belief, with MBA programs, books and conferences all counseling business... Yet a closer look at the history of the Fortune 500 suggests disruption is not now as big of a force as many people think, especially for America's largest companies. As Alan Murray of Fortune writes , 57 percent of the Fortune 500 disappeared between 1995 and today. That's not a very big increase from the list’s first two decades, when 45 percent of companies disappeared between 1955 and 1975. In fact, academic research suggests that the playing field for America’s largest companies may actually be more... In 2014, the Fortune 500 companies together had revenue that equaled 71. 9 percent of U. S. gross domestic product, up from 58. 5 percent in the 1990s and 35 percent in 1955. Dane Stangler, the vice president of research. Source: www.washingtonpost.com
