The company has been featured by Vijay Govindrajan, Professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College in the US in his book, ‘Reverse Innovation: Create Far from Home, Win Everywhere’. The book which was co-authored by Chris Trimble, a well-known innovation speaker and also a faculty at Tuck, has profiled companies that have pioneered ‘reverse innovation’.
Innovations that are adopted first in the developing world are called ‘reverse innovation’. This is contrary to the dominant innovation pattern which dictates that innovations typically originate in rich and developed countries and later flow downhill to the developing world.
“The Mahindra USA case study is one of the excellent examples whereby senior leaders at our Executive Programme can understand the challenges as well as the frustrations they will face on the road to innovation,” said Prof. Govindrajan.
“The Mahindra USA story can show executives that in the pursuit of reverse innovation’s rewards, one can be both disciplined and flexible,” he added.
Mahindra USA entered the US tractor market in 1994. The company has established itself as a successful niche player using innovative marketing and sales strategies.
Instead of trying to develop a product that could compete with bigger brands, Mahindra USA targeted a smaller agricultural niche - hobby farmers, landscapers, and building contractors. It coupled this strategy with personalised service, building close relationships with dealers, customers and the community at large.
