Definition
Organizational Disabilities are the structural, cultural, or process limitations that prevent a company from adapting to new opportunities or markets.
Why It Matters
They explain why highly successful incumbents fail to adopt disruptive innovations due to process lock-in.
Core Concepts
- The RPV Framework:
- Values: The criteria by which prioritization decisions are made (e.g., “Is the margin high enough?”, “Is this customer important?”). Values reflect the firm’s business model and cost structure, defining what the organization cannot do.
- Capability Migration: As an organization matures, its capabilities migrate from its Resources (the people) to its Processes and Values. This institutionalizes success but simultaneously creates “disabilities” when a new task requires different processes or values.