Incremental Transformation?

This statement from Chapter 1 of "The Great Transformation" (Scott D. Anthony) caught my eye last week:

"Transformation comes from entering new markets and leaving old ones. Companies rarely transform themselves through cost cutting or improved operational effectiveness....in almost all cases, operational effectiveness is insufficient to stave off disruption and drive long-term competitive advantage."

In a footnote Anthony references a 2008 book by Steven Spear ("Chasing the Rabbit") that looks at some exceptions (Toyota, Southwest Airlines, Alcoa) that are characterized by a "learning culture."

I don't quite know what to think about the exceptions...is their synthesis of Exploitation and Exploration possible (at least in part), for example, because their business/capital/knowledge/etc. ecosystems are at the lower end of the complexity and/or rate-of-change spectrum? Or is this kind of incremental longevity possible in any ecosystem? Speculation is probably all that's possible...a large range of intertwined factors, many of which are impossible to analyze with any rigor, are likely responsible. About the only observation I feel comfortable making is that recipes are a sure path to failure.