Retrovation typology: Exploiting and exploring past knowledge for nostalgic and sustainable innovation

Retrovation, also known as retro-innovation, is an underexplored innovation process that has recently garnered increasing attention from researchers and companies. However, the literature is scarce and ambiguous, lacking a clear definition of the concept. Drawing on past knowledge, it is possible to give new life to updated products and technologies which can be re-diffused within specific cultural and market niches to originally develop nostalgic and sustainable solutions. In this paper, based on a qualitative inductive study of different business projects applying past knowledge and adopting an entrepreneurial market-driven perspective, we propose an original typology of retrovation based on the market motivations behind the retrieval of the past knowledge (nostalgia versus sustainability) and the past knowledge reconfiguration process (exploitation versus exploration). While the market motivation can range from the most traditional driver of nostalgia to the emerging driver of sustainability, the reconfiguration process examines the extent to which companies must adapt past knowledge to make it suitable for modern markets. Through this framework, we contribute to the literature by identifying four distinct types of retrovation: revivification, reappropriation, revisitation, and regeneration. Finally, we suggest managerial implications to enable companies to better leverage the different types of retrovation. • This study adopts an entrepreneurial market-oriented perspective to innovation. • Retrovation emerges to leverage past knowledge to shape market innovations. • Retrovation can be inspired and motivated by nostalgia and sustainability. • Retrovation can reconfigure past knowledge through exploitation and exploration. • We propose a novel typology that identifies four main types of retrovation.