Fostering Reverse Innovation With Value Chain Cocreation

Abstract

Reverse innovation is a growing area of interest in the academic literature and managerial practice. This “reversal” of innovation originates in the observation that products or services are sometimes first ideated, developed, prototyped, or adopted in emerging economies before being introduced to advanced economies. Prior research argues that adopting reverse innovation also heralds major organizational and global supply chain challenges and calls for more research into its antecedents and structures. Building on structural equation modeling and qualitative comparative analyses (fsQCA), we examine important antecedents and configurations for reverse innovation. Our study uses executive-level, cross-country data to emphasize the preceding role of ambidextrous supply chain strategies for value chain cocreation that drive reverse innovation.