Final answer:
A disruptive innovation is most likely to be successful if it captures the low end of the market first, gradually improving and lowering costs to eventually appeal to the broader market, including average and high-end users.
Step-by-step explanation:
A disruptive innovation can be defined as an innovative new product or production technology that disrupts the status quo in a market, leading innovators to earn more income and profits. Such innovations can create significantly positive changes by outperforming existing products, which may result in the older technology becoming obsolete.
The personal computer serves as a classic example, where it started as a tool for hobbyists and evolved to outperform mainframe and minicomputers for many applications. Adopting a strategy that captures the low end of the market first is typical for disruptive innovations. Low-end disruption targets customers who do not need the full performance valued by customers at the high end of the market. Successful disruptors begin by capturing the low end of the market and gradually move upmarket. As improvements are made and costs are lowered, the innovation becomes appealing to a broader customer base, which includes average and eventually high-end users.
Companies can benefit from this approach as it allows them to establish a strong foothold and brand loyalty within a new or underserved market segment. By focusing on affordability and accessibility, they can initially avoid competition with established firms that are focusing on higher-profit customers. Over time, as they improve their products and reduce costs through scales of economies, they can expand their reach to a wider portion of the market. Hence, the correct option is D, which states a disruptive innovation is more likely to be successful if it captures the low end of the market first.