The Kuhn Paradigm Shift Theory
Thomas Kuhn's paradigm shift theory challenges our notion of progress as linear and continuous. In his 1962 work "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions," Kuhn argued that knowledge advances through revolutionary cycles rather than steady accumulation.
A dominant framework (paradigm) guides normal practice until anomalies accumulate that it cannot explain, creating crisis and eventually sparking revolutionary change. This cyclical model reveals why innovation often happens in leaps rather than incremental steps.
The history of tech products illustrates this perfectly: BlackBerry dominated business communication until touchscreen smartphones rendered their keyboard-centric paradigm obsolete. Similarly, we saw DVD rentals give way to streaming services, and desktop software packages replaced by cloud-based subscriptions. In each case, the shift wasn't gradual but revolutionary, with new entrants often displacing established leaders.
What makes these transitions fascinating is the resistance that precedes them. Established companies frequently dismiss anomalies in their business models as exceptions rather than early warnings. Eastman Kodak Company's reluctance to embrace digital photography despite inventing it themselves, or Blockbuster declining to purchase Netflix, exemplify how paradigm defenders often fail to recognise when their foundational assumptions are crumbling.
At Tax Traders, we're mindful that financial technology follows similar patterns. The question for any business isn't whether paradigm shifts will occur in your product category, but whether you'll recognise the signals early enough to position yourself as an architect of change rather than defender of an increasingly unstable model.
Have you witnessed a Kuhnian shift in your industry? What product categories have seen revolutionary rather than evolutionary change?
