This book focuses on the small car segment of India's automotive industry to explain the emergence of lead markets. The authors contend that the current understanding of lead markets does not sufficiently explain the business practices that are born out of the intensified globalization of innovation. Lead markets are considered crucial for the global diffusion of new products and this book investigates whether sustainable lead markets can also emerge in developing economies, and if so, under which conditions. The authors question the conventional wisdom and propose updates and extensions to the lead market theory to better reflect the changing ground realities on ground.

Rajnish Tiwari is senior researcher at the Institute for Technology and Innovation Management of Hamburg University of Technology (TIM-TUHH), where he has been leading the 'Global Innovation' research programme since 2006. His particular research interest focuses on internationalization of R&D in India. He has published extensively on frugal innovations and India’s automotive industry. Rajnish Tiwari leads the German-Indian Round Table (GIRT) in Hamburg.

Cornelius Herstatt is professor of Innovation Management and Director of TIM-TUHH. His research focuses on lead user and open innovation in global contexts. His recent work involves combining elements of this research with the investigation of lead markets. He has also been doing extensive research on Innovation Management practices in India and Japan. He holds a guest professorship with Tohoku-University in Sendai and is co-founder of the European Institute for Technology and Innovation Management (EITIM). Prof. Herstatt is a research alumni/fellow of the East-West Centre (Honolulu), JSPS (Japanese Society for promoting Science) and Templeton College in Oxford (UK).