Drivers of reverse innovation Some insights gained from case studies

The term reverse innovation describes innovations which started their development in emerging economies and spread into developed economies. This phenomena has long been identified and describes the opposite to the prevailing and traditional view of internationalization of products, which are invented in developed economies and find their way into emerging economies. Some Multi-National Companies use this phenomena to foster their own innovations across the globe. A plenty of reasons for reverse innovation to happen have been identified. A clear view on essential drivers for such innovation is however still lacking. Through the introduction and discussion of three case studies which describe reverse innovations by firms in emerging economies it is envisaged to contribute to the formation of an explanation of this phenomena and its drivers. The three cases stem from India, Kenya and South Africa, and are fairly heterogeneous in terms of the invented product. However the analysis of the cases and looking for common factors, including and in particular external factors, is deemed to enrich the existing picture of reverse innovation. The aim of the presented study was hence to contribute to the formation of a common understanding of the phenomena and its external factors. The limitation of this approach is fully acknowledge since only a small case number is looked at. However some commonalities appear in the analysis of the cases and might worthwhile following up on.