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What is frugal innovation? Three defining criteria? 


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Frugal innovation refers to solutions, methods, or designs that focus on serving new customers in resource-constrained contexts, such as emerging and developing markets. It involves creating affordable products or services that meet the needs of customers while utilizing as few resources as possible. Frugal innovation is characterized by three defining criteria: substantial cost reduction compared to conventional counterparts, concentration on core functionalities, and optimized performance level. These criteria highlight how frugal innovation aims to provide affordable solutions with reduced functionalities, making them more inclusive and accessible to a wider range of people.

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Frugal innovation refers to solutions, methods, or designs that focus on serving customers in resource-constrained contexts. The defining criteria include serving new customers in the bottom of the pyramid or emerging markets, utilizing as few resources as possible, and requiring significant changes in firms' activities.
Open accessJournal ArticleDOI
Timo Weyrauch, Cornelius Herstatt 
01 Jan 2017
250 Citations
The paper defines frugal innovation as having three criteria: substantial cost reduction, concentration on core functionalities, and optimized performance level.
Frugal innovation is defined as an approach that involves substantial cost reduction compared to conventional counterparts, a focus on core functionalities, and an optimized performance level.
Frugal innovation is the ability to generate more value while using fewer resources. The three defining criteria are affordability, sustainability, and high quality.

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