CEOs from Brazil, China, and India have endorsed the book.
“Knowledge has flowed from north to south, but wisdom has always flowed from south to north. Emerging countries have development challenges that are unique and warrant extreme innovation. The unmet needs of millions give rise to breakthrough innovations. As countries like India march ahead on their rightful promising future of growth, they will be breeding grounds of such first-to-the-world innovations. In this book, Vijay and Chris have captured this phenomenon exceptionally well and have very lucidly articulated a roadmap of business innovation for the rest of the world to embrace. The dynamic combination of Vijay and Chris has again delivered on ‘understanding innovation and making innovation happen’—as they are respectively renowned for!”
Mukesh D. Ambani
Chairman and Managing Director
Reliance Industries Limited, India
“Winning in emerging markets has required evolving business models. Nowadays, innovative companies located in emerging markets are usually best positioned to innovate for their own domestic customers and then take those innovations to other parts of the world. Reverse Innovation is a good compass for emerging multinationals in their endeavor to expand and achieve a prominent global presence.”
Frederico F. Curado
President and CEO
Embraer, Brazil
“Reverse Innovation by Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble is an excellent discourse on the increasing trend of innovations from the developing countries to meet the consumer needs of low-income populations. These innovations are being increasingly translated successfully, not just to other developing countries but also to the developed world. The trend is clear and accelerating and bodes well for increasing GDP growth in the world. This book is a must-read for businesses not only in the developing world but also in the developed world.”
Adi Godrej
Chairman
Godrej Group, India
“Three decades of working in the emerging markets units of a large multinational convinced me that the way of doing things in these markets was often simpler, quicker, and more effective than the Western paradigms. Low purchasing power, poor infrastructure, and large populations just required solutions that were different. In Reverse Innovation, VG and Chris have not only captured this reality but also created a substantive framework for transferring these emerging market ideas back to developed markets effectively. A great resource to lubricate your thinking about winning solutions in the emerging world—and how to leverage these globally!”
Piyush Gupta
CEO
DBS Bank, Singapore
“This book shows how the concept and practice of reverse innovation is going to be important for corporations in developed countries, but the book will be most useful for companies in the developing world as well. I enjoyed reading all the case studies, but more than that I found the summary at the end of every case study—‘Playbook Lessons’ and ‘Questions for Reflection’— particularly useful.”
Vikram S. Kirloskar
Chairman and Managing Director
Kirloskar Systems Limited, India
“This is an outstanding book that offers a deep understanding of how low-cost innovations are crafted with minimal capital. It makes us stop for a second and contemplate if the developed nations have become tighter, more rigid, more hierarchical, and maybe, over the years, complacent. The wonderful case studies in this book all highlight one thing—innovation is bred from dissatisfaction.”
TK Kurien
CEO
Wipro, India
“This book is about an idea whose time has come. The concept of focusing on the developing world as the fount of change and innovation and leveraging these strengths to change lives (not just in emerging markets but in the developed world as well) compels a significant shift in corporate thinking. Govindarajan and Trimble convincingly analyze the ‘why’ and also set out the ‘how’, making this book an eminently practical guide to the future of corporate growth.”
Anand G. Mahindra
Managing Director
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., India
“Innovation transforms creative ideas into useful applications. VG and Chris lucidly describe how reverse innovation is transforming lives in the developing world first and then, subsequently, in the developed world. They show, using case studies, data, and analysis, how large, fertile, and rapidly growing markets in emerging economies provide an unprecedented opportunity to innovate and create economic value, develop sustainable competitive advantage, and improve the quality of life. This book is an essential field guide for global business leaders.”
N.R. Narayana Murthy
Chairman Emeritus
Infosys, India
“To cater to individualized user demands in the Internet age, we developed the Individual-Goal Combination business model (zero distance between employees and users), in which employees create value for users and value for themselves. At the very beginning, such an innovative business model was carried out by China Haier. With further implementation of the business model and gradual emergence of results overseas, Haier businesses discovered that such an innovative business model was also applicable to them. This book casts light on reverse innovation’s role in driving enterprises to establish a new competitive edge. It is well worth reading.”
Zhang Ruimin
CEO
Haier Group, China
“Innovation is increasingly one of the key factors differentiating organizations. This book, which explains how innovations are increasingly originating in developing countries and flowing back to companies in the rich countries, would be useful reading for the leadership of companies in diverse economies.”
Ratan N. Tata
Chairman
Tata Sons Limited, India