---
id: "prereq-innovators-dilemma"
type: "prereq"
source_timestamps: ["§ Why Firms Will Resist Change"]
tags: ["business-theory", "strategy"]
related: ["concept-innovators-dilemma-consulting", "entity-clayton-christensen"]
reason: "Required to understand why traditional consulting firms will struggle to adopt the obelisk model despite its obvious efficiency advantages."
sources: ["reskilling"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-reskilling"
originDay: 10
articleStem: "hbr-edu-44-ai-changing-consulting-structure"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2025/09/ai-is-changing-the-structure-of-consulting-firms"
sourceTitle: "AI Is Changing the Structure of Consulting Firms"
---
# The Innovator's Dilemma

**Prerequisite knowledge:** [[entity-clayton-christensen]]'s theory of **disruptive innovation** is assumed. The reader must understand why highly profitable, successful incumbents structurally struggle to adopt new, cheaper, or leaner technologies — because doing so would **cannibalize existing revenue** and conflict with established cost structures.

**Why it's required:** it is the causal mechanism behind [[concept-innovators-dilemma-consulting]] and [[claim-incumbent-resistance]] — the reason firms will struggle to adopt the [[concept-consulting-obelisk]] despite its efficiency advantages.