Is technical innovation as competence enhancing and / or competence destroying?

At the beginning of the s-curve, the technology is new and untried. As we progress in time and with application of effort the technology gains in performance at an increasing rate. At a certain point the curve starts to slow down, as the technology matures. Growth and innovation slows, and level-off as the curve reaches the performance limitations imposed by external factors.

The implications of s-curves are clear; continuing to ride on a technology wave when a new s-curve is starting will render obsolete the company’s technological foundations. Hence, the waves of technical innovation may deposit new possibilities to be combined into current and future products- or they may wash away the technical foundations of the company. Thus technical innovations are competence enhancing and / or competence-destroying.