Differentiating between incremental and radical innovation is somewhat a matter of
degree. According to a punctuated equilibrium or metamorphosis model of convergence
and reorientation (Gersick, 198
, organizations evolve through relatively long periods of
stability in their basic patterns of activity that are punctuated by “relatively short bursts of
fundamental change” (Romanelli & Tushman, 1994). Tushman, Newman, and
Romanelli (1986) examined four major organizations and found that technology evolves
through relatively long periods of incremental change punctuated by relatively rare
innovations that radically improve the state of the art. Most innovations simply build on
what is already there, requiring modifications to existing functions and practices, but
some innovations change the entire order of things, making obsolete the old ways (Van
de Ven, Polley, Garud & Venkataramen 1999: 171).