Reverse Innovation: Ideas from Emerging Countries

Emerging markets are usually coveted for the potential customers they represent — perhaps hundreds of millions of new consumers who are looking (or will be looking in the near future) for products to buy. Most companies, however, develop products for developed markets first and then adapt them to the emerging markets. Research conducted by two professors from Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business reveals a new strategy that reverses the traditional flow of innovation. This new strategy calls for developing products that are adopted first in emerging markets and then adapted for developed markets. This strategy, developed by Professor of International Business Vijay Govindarajan and Associate Professor of Business Administration Chris Trimble, ‘reverses’ the traditional path to innovation.