Management Practice Insights
DOI: 10.59571/mpi.v4i2.13
Year: 2026, Volume: 4, Issue: 2, Pages: 154-161
Original Article
Ravi Roshani* & Monika Guptai
iS.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research
*Corresponding author
Email: [email protected]
Received Date:27 May 2026, Accepted Date:28 September 2026, Published Date:15 October 2026
Businesses are now rethinking how to create value in their operations due to rising material costs, supply chain disruptions, and climate risks. Sustainable innovation is one option for value creation. Most firms think of innovation as novel products, processes or business models which involve new-age technologies. However, another readily available source of innovation that is often overlooked: the organisation’s own history, historical knowledge within the industry, and within the local community. This source also creates a challenge for innovation managers, sustainability managers, and entrepreneurs: How can organisations identify useful historical knowledge, assess its relevance, and transform it into a sustainable innovation? The concept of ‘retrovation’ can help, according to by Research I. De Noni, S. Blasi, and E. Sabbadin.1 Retrovation refers to reviving and reinterpreting historical knowledge for new products and processes by tapping into two motivational forces: growing demand for sustainability and customers’ nostalgia
1 I. De Noni et al., “Retrovation Typology: Exploiting and Exploring Past Knowledge for Nostalgic and Sustainable Innovation,” Research Policy 55, no. 2 (2026): 105406, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2025.105406. 2 Hillary K. Grigonis, “In an AI Era, This Retro Camera Company Is One of the Most Influential Brands of 2026,” Cameras, Digital Camera World, 30 April 2026, https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/cameras/the-cameracompany- known-for-retro-designs-is-among-the-time-mostinfluential- companies-of-2026-but-not-for-the-camera-youthink. 3 Hillary K. Grigonis, “Fujifilm Just Posted Record Profit – and the Viral X100VI Isn’t Even to Blame,” Cameras, Digital Camera World, 5 February 2026, https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/cameras/fujifilm-justposted- record-profit-and-the-viral-x100vi-isnt-even-to-blamefujifilm- says-these-new-cameras-are-boosting-sales. 4 Levi Strauss & Co, “Use and Reuse,” Levi, Levi Strauss & Co, 24 February 2019, https://www.levistrauss.com/how-we-dobusiness/ use-and-reuse/. 5 Emily Farra, “Levi’s Launches Its Own Recommerce Site and Buyback Program, Levi’s Secondhand,” Vogue, 5 October 2020, https://www.vogue.com/article/levis-secondhand-launchvintage- denim-sustainability. 6 Stamford, “Gartner CEO Survey Finds Growth Is the Top Business Priority for 2024, Reaching Highest Level in 10 Years,” Gartner, 22 May 2024, https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2024- 05-22-gartner-ceo-survey-finds-growth-is-the-top-businesspriority- for-2024--reaching-highest-level-in-10-years. 7 Madhurima Bhatia, “Ipsos Global Study Reveals Strong Nostalgia Worldwide,” Ipsos, 20 November 2025, https://www.ipsos.com/en-in/ipsos-global-study-revealsstrong- nostalgia-worldwide. 8 reCharkha, “Recharkha About Us,” reCharkha - The EcoSocial Tribe, 1 October 2020, https://www.recharkha.org/pages/aboutus. 9 Matt Peckham, “Nintendo Says It Sold Over 2 Million NES Classics,” Business, TIME, 28 April 2017, https://time.com/4759594/nes-classic-millions-sales/. 10 ArchDaily, “Gallery of Pearl Academy of Fashion,” ArchDaily, 13 November 2009, https://www.archdaily.com/40716/pearlacademy- of-fashionmorphogenesis/ 5011e98228ba0d5f4c0003ce-pearl-academy-offashion- morphogenesis-image.11 Unzipped Staff, “Making Levi’s® SecondHand Second Nature For Fans,” Levi Strauss & Co, 8 October 2020, https://www.levistrauss.com/2020/10/08/making-levissecondhand- second-nature-for-fans/. 12 Forest Essentials, Forest Essentials About Us, Forest Essentials, 7 October 2020, https://www.forestessentialsindia.com/about-us. 13 Press Release, The Estée Lauder Companies and Forest Essentials to Enter a New Chapter in Their Long-Term Partnership, 5 March 2026, https://www.elcompanies.com/en/news-andmedia/ newsroom/press-releases/2026/03-05-2026-054514302. 14 Tarun Bharat Sangh, “Know Us,” Tarun Bharat Sangh, 16 January 2014, https://tarunbharatsangh.in/know/. 15 Knowledgebase, 3 Traditional Rainwater Harvesting Methods in India, Knowledgebase, 13 September 2026, https://cpsenviro.com/traditional-rainwater-harvestingmethods- india/. 16 Council on Energy, Environment and Water, “Water Management Programme: Tarun Bharat Sangh,” CEEW, 15 March 2024, https://www.ceew.in/sustainable-agricultureinitiatives/ tarun-bharat-sangh-johad-water-conservationharvesting- and-revitalisation. 17 AVEI, “About Us - Auroville Earth Institute,” Auroville Earth Institute, 22 April 2022, https://dev.earth-auroville.com/aboutus- auroville-earth-institute/. 18 Jan Bredenoord, Yask Kulshreshtha, Compressed Stabilized Earthen Blocks and Their Use in Low-Cost Social Housing, https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/6/5295. 19 Press release, Converting Waste into Renewable Fuels: Finnish Group Selected as Finalists at the European Inventor Award 2023, epo.org, 5 September 2023, https://www.epo.org/en/newsevents/ press-centre/press-release/2023/476881. 20 Neste Corporation News, Neste Takes Allegations on Sustainability Violations Seriously – Credible Allegations on Suppliers’ Sustainability Violations Always Investigated, 5 November 2020, https://neste.com/news/neste-takes-allegations-onsustainability- violations-seriously-credible-allegations-onsuppliers- sustainability-violations-always-investigated
© 2026 Published by SPJIMR. This is an open-access article under the CC BY license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
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