Disruptive Innovation in Chinese and Indian Businesses: The Strategic Implications for Local Entrepreneurs and Global Incumbents

Given the rapid emergence of China, India, and Brazil as new economic powers in global competition, one has to wonder if the emerging economies are great opportunities or threats. The answer is bound to differ due to diverse perspectives. In the broadest sense, however, it seems increasingly clear that more local firms, especially local entrepreneurs, from the emerging economies will play a more critical role in global competition by becoming challengers to global incumbents. The development of emerging economies, coupled with the fact that the majority of their populations are at the bottom of the pyramid so that they cannot afford those products designed for the developed markets, has made these emerging economies fertile ground for developing and applying disruptive innovations. Disruptive innovation refers to a novel mix of key attributes distinctive from those of established technologies or business models, typically inferior with affordable "good-enough" products or services to start from the low-end market segments, but move up later from the bottom. This book sheds light on disruptive innovations from and for the bottom of the pyramid in China from the point of view of local entrepreneurs and international firms seeking to operate their businesses there.