article thumbnail

Blockbuster Becomes a Casualty of Big Bang Disruption

Harvard Business Review

DISH Networks, the owners since 2011 of video rental giant Blockbuster, announced Wednesday the shuttering of all remaining company-owned retail locations and of Blockbuster’s DVD-by-mail service. As the disruptor improves its offering, though, the incumbent’s position becomes increasingly fragile. million customers.

article thumbnail

Filing for a Patent Versus Keeping Your Invention a Trade Secret

Harvard Business Review

Why do some companies choose to patent their innovation while others choose to hide it? When facing the choice of patenting or hiding a valuable innovation, you must first ask yourself whether the invention is patentable at all. This change may further tip the balance for more reliance on secrecy for certain innovations.

article thumbnail

How Software Is Helping Big Companies Dominate

Harvard Business Review

They’re more productive , more profitable , more innovative , and they pay better. In 2011, venture capitalist Marc Andreessen declared that “software is eating the world.” These are often referred to as “intangible assets,” but it’s worth getting more specific than that.