Closing the Loop of Innovation: How Can Firms From Developed Markets Apply Innovation From Emerging Markets?

新兴市场的消费者群体具有异质性。相对富裕的上层消费者群体通常得到来自工业化国家的国际公司的良好服务，而低端消费者群体迅速增长的需求往往得不到充分服务。与此同时，跨国公司（MNCs）越来越意识到转移重心并参与新兴市场增长的必要性。传统上，西方跨国公司已经为发达市场的消费者和环境开发了创新，以便在其国际生命周期中将其转移（并最终适应）到新兴市场。然而，越来越清楚的是，创新要想在低端消费者群体中取得成功，就必须针对这些消费者及其市场背景的需求（如简单性、健壮性和低成本）专门开发（专业化）创新。新兴市场低端消费者群体的创新专业化同时代表着挑战和机遇：在发达市场，价格合理、质量良好的简单创新也在不断增长。在新兴市场引入创新后才扩散到发达市场的创新颠覆了传统的创新流动，因此被创新研究称为逆向创新。根据资源优势理论，这种来自新兴市场的专业化创新，如果得到企业的认可，并有效地在整个企业网络中转移并在全球范围内应用，就可以为跨国公司产生全球比较优势。本研究项目旨在确定影响新兴市场创新成功专业化的因素，以及企业对其的认可和向发达市场的转移。最重要的研究问题是，来自发达市场的跨国公司如何在全球舞台上应用新兴市场的创新？分为两部分，以便对感兴趣的主题进行全面分析：来自发达市场的跨国公司如何成功地为新兴市场的低端消费者群体开发和营销创新？（专业化）以及跨国公司如何使创新从新兴市场转移到发达市场？（认可和转移）。由于在新兴市场和逆向创新领域缺乏前期研究，本项目计划在定性研究和施特劳斯扎根理论方法应用的基础上，初步建立理论和概念见解。所产生的结果将在本项目框架内由随后的定量研究进行测试和验证。

Consumer segments in emerging markets are characterized heterogeneity. The upper relatively affluent consumer segments are usually well served by international companies often hailing from industrialized nations, while the rapidly growing demand by lower-end consumer segments tends to be under-served. At the same time, multinational companies (MNCs) increasingly realize the necessity to shift their center of gravity and to participate in this growth in emerging markets. Traditionally, Western MNCs had developed innovations for the consumers and contexts of developed markets to transfer (and eventually adapt) them to emerging markets in the course of their international lifecycle. However, it becomes increasingly clear, that for innovations to be successful in lower-end consumer segments, they have to be specifically developed (specialized) for the needs (such as simplicity, robustness and low-cost) of these consumers and their market context. The specialization of innovations for lower-end consumer segments in emerging markets represents challenge and opportunity at the same time: Affordable and simple innovations of good quality experience increasing demand in developed markets too. Innovations that diffuse to developed markets only after having been introduced in emerging markets first reverse the traditional flow of innovations and thus have been labeled reverse innovation by innovation research. According to Resource Advantage Theory, such specialized innovations from emerging markets can generate a global comparative advantage for MNCs if they are recognized by the corporation and effectively transferred throughout the corporate network for their global application. This research project aims at identifying the factors that influence the successful specialization of innovations for emerging markets as well as their corporate recognition and transfer to developed markets. The overarching research question How can MNCs from developed markets apply innovations from emerging markets on the global stage? is split in two, to enable throughout analysis of the subject of interest: How can MNCs from developed markets successfully develop and market innovations for lower-end consumer segments in emerging markets? (specialization) and How can MNCs enable the transfer of innovations from emerging to developed markets? (recognition and transfer). Due to a lack of prior research in the field of emerging markets and reverse innovation, this project plans to initially build theory and conceptual insights on the base of qualitative research and the application of a Straussian Grounded Theory approach. Generated findings will be tested and validated by subsequent quantitative studies in the frame of this project.