Reverse Innovation by Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble, offers a framework for leaders to innovate and extract opportunities in today’s emerging markets

Reverse Innovation – Create Far From Home, Win Everywhere’, puts forward the fact that one needs to innovate in order to tap the humungous growth opportunities existing in the developing markets. The stakes in these economies are global and ignoring these glaring opportunities would result in a formidable competition in their home markets in the near future.

The book is a remarkable account of trials and tribulations of the world’s leading organizations including GE, Deere & Company, P&G, and PepsiCo. It highlights what exactly works and what does not, in these cases, and creates a framework for senior leaders and managers to generate innovation in emerging markets and utilize these innovations to dig out opportunities worldwide. The book says that it is always wise to initially develop in emerging markets instead of following the herd in scaling down rich world products. There is a huge world of opportunities for companies which are looking at leveraging long-term benefits from these developing markets.

The term ‘reverse innovation’ in the words of the author means any innovation that is adopted first in the developing world. In the past, reverse innovations were the rare exception to the rule, but the phenomenon is becoming ever more common, and the implications for multinationals are profound.

There is an intense focus on the fact that organizations need to learn new tricks in order to succeed and sustain in the growing economies of today. As the gap has been on the decline between the rich nations and the developing economies, innovations will not necessarily flow from developed to emerging economies; there will be reverse innovation. The authors also state that this is the right time to apply reverse innovation and create new products and strategies for emerging markets. As quoted in the book, “Reverse innovation is a potent force that will transform the global economy over the next few decades. It will redistribute power and wealth to countries and companies who understand it and diminish those who do not.”

The basic essence of reverse innovation has been successfully captured and portrayed by the authors in a highly creative and interesting manner. There is not a single point when the attention of the reader will fluctuate, as the content maintains a strong grasp throughout. The book is truly a culmination of decades of in-depth research done by the authors, which easily come across to the reader. Whether one is a student, a manager, a senior leader or a CEO, understanding the phenomenon of reverse innovation is integral in unfolding the innumerable opportunities that emerging markets have to offer.

Reverse Innovation: Create Far From Home, Win Everywhere
Authored by: Vijay Govindarajan & Chris Trimble
Published by: Harvard Business Review Press