Innovating for the future: charting the innovation agenda for firms in developing countries

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the four principles for firms in developing countries to enhance and augment their innovation agenda for staying competitive. With increasing globalization, firms need to continually calibrate and realign their innovation strategies to remain competitive. Although many firms in the developed countries are making sustained efforts to adopt the developing world perspective on innovation, similar efforts by firms in developing countries to reorient their innovation strategies to the developed world are minimal. In the long run, this might erode the competitiveness of firms in developing countries. Leveraging the global innovation strategy framework, the paper suggests four principles that can help developing country firms transition from a local to a global innovation strategy. Specifically, the paper exhorts developing country firms to move from a “good-enough” innovation approach to an “augmented” innovation philosophy that aims to serve the latent needs of the users. The four principles suggested for the developing country firms to further their innovation agenda are: invest in research; learn to fail; be patient; and alliance and acquire. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses prior literature and frameworks to identify the four principles that firms in developing countries should follow for furthering their innovation agenda with a view to becoming global in their approach. Findings – The four principles suggested for the developing country firms to further their innovation agenda are: invest in research; learn to fail; be patient; and alliance and acquire. Originality/value – The paper identifies the four principles for firms in developing countries to enhance and augment their innovation agenda for staying competitive.