Breakthrough Innovation: A Bibliometric Analysis of the literature and Proposed Framework

A surfeit of definitions for innovation types has resulted in the equivocal way breakthrough innovation is defined and used in the academic literature. The term breakthrough is often synonymously used with radical, disruptive, discontinuous, or stated results of radical innovations built to destroy past competencies. Such misperception may lead to several problems. First, it confuses breakthrough with competence destroying innovations, radical innovations, and product innovations. Second, if a breakthrough is equated with radical or competence destroying innovations, or new product launches, we assume that firms risk disbanding their existing technologies. Such activities without a clear path have shortcomings such as integration costs and information overload, leading to inconclusive results and the high complication of combining dissimilar innovations. Lastly, we do not know how these innovations relate to each other with a lack of comprehensive understanding. We analyze the extant literature using bibliometric method and propose a Configuration-Application-Performance framework that provides an evaluative assessment of types of innovations and their thematic linkages. This framework allows us to resolve some myths on how innovation has been conceptualized and operationalized. It also helps future researchers understand breakthroughs from an innovation performance perspective.