Keywords
Citation
Govindarajan, V. (2012), "A reverse-innovation playbook", Strategic Direction, Vol. 28 No. 9. https://doi.org/10.1108/sd.2012.05628iaa.008
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2012, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
A reverse-innovation playbook
Article type: Abstracts From: Strategic Direction, Volume 28, Issue 9
Govindarajan V. Harvard Business Review, April 2012, Vol. 90 Issue: 4, Start Page: 120, No. of pages: 5
Discusses the technique of reverse innovation, where insights gained from the development of products for emerging markets are used in the country of origin, noting that adapting products aimed at developing countries for Western markets poses immense challenges, because it requires a company to overcome the institutionalized thinking that guides its actions. Illustrates these points with particular reference to the experience of US automobile-infotainment division of Harman International, a US based business known for ultra-sophisticated dashboard audiovisual systems designed by German engineers. Explains how Harman developed a radically simpler and cheaper way of creating products in emerging markets and then applied what it had learned in the process to its product development centres in the West. Records that Harman accomplished this using a two-part approach involving radical change from below combined with astute leadership from above. Article type: Viewpoint ISSN: 0017-8012 Reference: 41AJ199
Keywords: Automotive industry, Developing countries, Innovation, Manufacturing systems, Organizations, Product development, Product innovation, Research and development, Technology-led strategy, United States of America