The Concept of Breakthrough Innovations in the Scientific Discourse of Economic Science

The aim of the article is to define the essence of breakthrough innovations and to differentiate, on this basis, related but distinct concepts in the field of technological development. The research methods included scientific abstraction to determine the essence of the category «breakthrough innovations»; the grouping method to establish the belonging of breakthrough and disruptive innovations to certain classifications, both general and specific methods, when identifying differences between related categories in the innovation sphere. Based on the analysis of theoretical and methodological approaches to defining innovations that cause social transformations, a coexistence in economic science of several categories reflecting the essence of the same phenomenon has been identified. The presence of terminological confusion in scientific publications has been clarified, manifesting in the use of terms such as «breakthrough», «disruptive», and «destructive» innovations by researchers to describe the same phenomenon or process. Based on the characteristics of breakthrough innovations as those that fundamentally change society, they have been classified as a type of radical innovation. Choosing the radical nature of innovations as the criterion for defining them as breakthrough, a distinction has been made between other types of technological innovations. It is determined that, unlike breakthrough innovations, disruptive innovations are not related to revolutionary changes. They do not transform the technological foundation and the organization of production, but are the improving ones. They ensure a better balance between costs and efficiency, help create new markets or form market niches, and also modify existing business models. To describe innovations that are radical in nature, manifesting at the macroeconomic level of economic development and possessing the ability to cause societal transformations, it is recommended to use the term «breakthrough innovations». In the case of improving innovations, which are microeconomic in nature, related to products, markets, and business models, it is worth operating with the concept of «disruptive innovations».