MOOCs, disruptive innovation and the future of higher education: A conceptual analysis

Ahmed A. Al-Imarah, Robin Shields · 2018 · Innovations in Education and Teaching International

Summary. This paper examines whether MOOCs truly constitute disruptive innovation in higher education. By comparing MOOC characteristics against established criteria for disruptive innovation across performance, benefits, and market dimensions, the authors find that MOOCs do not fully meet the definition of disruptive innovation. Instead, MOOCs function as sustaining innovation, creating new educational markets for learners traditionally underserved by universities.

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@article{al-imarah-2018-moocs-disruptive-innovation-future-higher,
  title   = {MOOCs, disruptive innovation and the future of higher education: A conceptual analysis},
  author  = {Ahmed A. Al-Imarah and Robin Shields},
  journal = {Innovations in Education and Teaching International},
  year    = {2018},
  doi     = {10.1080/14703297.2018.1443828},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2018.1443828}
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - MOOCs, disruptive innovation and the future of higher education: A conceptual analysis
AU  - Ahmed A. Al-Imarah
AU  - Robin Shields
JO  - Innovations in Education and Teaching International
PY  - 2018
DO  - 10.1080/14703297.2018.1443828
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2018.1443828
ER  - 

Details

DOI

10.1080/14703297.2018.1443828

Countries

United Kingdom

Regions

Europe

Categories

education, innovation-theory, general-innovation

Added

2026-04-28