<p>This study investigates how firms in emerging markets can leverage reverse engineering to achieve competitive advantage, addressing the contradictory findings in existing literature on this practice. Grounded in dynamic capabilities theory, we conceptualize reverse engineering as a knowledge reconfiguration routine that enable latecomer firms decode and integrate external technologies to support capability renewal over time, yet one that yields performance benefits only when translated into complementary operational capabilities. Building on this view, we develop a conceptual framework that explores the role of market disruptiveness capability (MDC) in mediating the relationship between reverse engineering and competitive advantage. Additionally, consistent with the dynamic capabilities emphasis on micro-foundations and environmental contingencies, we examine how entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and market competitive intensity moderate this relationship. Using multi-phase and multi-source data from 294 informants across 147 Chinese manufacturing firms, we test the model with ordinary-least-squares regression. The results show that reverse engineering positively impacts competitive advantage, with MDC serving as a full mediator. Moreover, moderated path analyses indicate that EO enhances this mediation effect, while competitive intensity diminishes it. These findings offer insights into how reverse engineering functions as a dynamic capability in emerging markets, reconciling contradictory evidence by revealing that sustained competitive advantage depends on channeling it through complementary operational capabilities.</p>