The phrase
tipping point or
angle of repose is a
sociology term that refers to that dramatic moment when something unique becomes common.
The phrase was coined by Morton Grodzins, who studied integrating neighborhoods in the early
1960s. He discovered that most white families would remain in the neighborhood so long as the comparative number of black families remained very small. But, at a certain point, when "one too many" black families arrived, the remaining white families would move out
en masse in a process known as
white flight. He called that moment the "tipping point."
The idea was expanded and built upon by
Thomas Schelling in 1972.
The term subsequently became applied to the popular acceptance of new technologies. It served as a good explanation of the success of
VHS over
Betamax, for instance. The concept has been applied in many fields from
economics to
epidemiology. It can also be compared to
phase transition in
physics or the propagation of memes or populations in an unbalanced
ecosystem.
The term was popularised and applied to daily life by Malcolm Gladwell's book
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. Since the publication of Gladwell's book, "tipping point" has become a common cliche, with uses often far removed from its theoretical underpinnings. The concept has been applied to any process in which beyond a certain point, the rate at which the process (
chemical,
sociological, etc.) proceeds increases dramatically.
Mathematically, the angle of repose may be seen as an inflection point.
See also:
category:Strategic managementcategory:Product managementcategory:Marketing