Frugal innovation

About: Frugal innovation is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 472 publications have been published within this topic receiving 9290 citations.

Upgrading India's Electronics Manufacturing Industry: Regulatory Reform and Industrial Policy

Abstract: India, a leading exporter of information-technology services, faces a fundamental puzzle. Its electronics industry is struggling despite a huge and growing domestic market and pockets of world-class capabilities.Drawing on survey questionnaires and interviews with key private and public industry players and multinationals, this study examines how restrictive regulations and a largely dysfunctional implementation of past support policies have constrained investment in plants and equipment and technology absorption and innovation. Electronics manufacturing remains disconnected from India’s chip-design capabilities which are integrated, instead, into global networks of innovation and production. India’s growing domestic demand for electronic products results in rising imports of final products and high import-dependence for key components. Bold action is required to change the anemic growth of electronics manufacturing just when the global electronics industry is rapidly ending historical strategies for growth. To achieve its potential, electronics manufacturing in India must move beyond “high-volume, low-cost” activities, towards a greater focus on “low-volume, high-value” production and on frugal innovation for the domestic market.The government’s National Policy on Electronics is a first step on this path, but it needs to be complemented by reforms relating to taxation, customs, compliance, and inspections. Equally important are efforts to enhance the strategic use of technical standards and smart approaches to international trade diplomacy.

Beyond Traditional IT-enabled Innovation: Exploring Frugal IT Capabilities

Abstract: Innovation programs in developed economies are centered on resource richness and abundance. As firms seek newer innovation paradigms to sustain competitive advantage, we suggest the use of “frugal innovation”, which originates in emerging economies and is rooted in low cost approaches, constrained resources, and flexible improvisation. Frugal innovation principles when viewed from the theoretical lens of IT capability, RBV, and other related literature, can provide a rich foundation for frugal IT innovation research. In this exploratory paper, we explain the concept of frugal innovation and its position within a number of existing innovation paradigms. This is a significant contribution considering the number of emerging innovation concepts. We also demonstrate the potential integration of frugal innovation principles with traditional IT-enabled innovation approaches – a concept we call “frugal IT innovation”. We then explore potential “frugal IT capabilities” that may enable frugal IT innovation and finally provide propositions to guide future research.

Towards an asymmetry-based view of Chinese firms’ technological catch-up

Abstract: By carefully reviewing our research and related literature, in this paper, we propose a two-stage model of Chinese firms’ technological catch-up, and provide asymmetry-based explanations. We argue that at the approaching stage, Chinese firms mainly focus on knowledge accumulation through frugal innovation for capturing local and global low-end markets; while at the pole vault stage, they focus on knowledge creation through radical innovation for capturing the high-end market. Moreover, we propose that lacking world-leading technologies but striving to achieve technological catch-up quickly, Chinese firms mainly rely on asymmetric resource and capabilities that are embedded within Chinese institutional, technological and market contexts. Turning these asymmetries into sustainable capabilities and then matching them to market opportunities by developing asymmetric innovation strategies, Chinese firms could achieve technological catch-up in a unique way.

Frugal innovation for the BoP in Brazil - an analysis and comparison with Asian lead markets

Abstract: In recent years, frugal innovation and its antecedents have gained significant attention in both theory and practice However, the vast majority of research focuses mainly on China and India and their bottom of the pyramid (BoP) customers Against this background, our research investigates frugal innovation and its reception in Brazil We analyse six Brazilian company cases (three multinational corporations and three small and medium-sized enterprises) in terms of frugal product development, product characteristics, and commercialisation approaches, as well as compare these organisations with findings from Asian lead markets Our results confirm that the principal dimensions of frugal innovation are cost-effectiveness and ease of use However, the findings also contradict the paradigm that frugal innovation must be essentially low-cost Based on these results, we propose a twofold approach to the cost criterion that differentiates between the company's and the customer's perspective and focuses on value-based pricing Further, distinctive product features, branding, and specific marketing activities are crucial for successful frugal innovation in Brazil This research extends the classification of frugal innovation in prior literature and suggests understanding frugal dimensions as a set of building blocks that can be flexibly applied to frugal product development depending on the context and regional requirements

Comparing frugality and inclusion in innovation for development: logic, process and outcome

Abstract: This paper sheds light on two main concepts applied to innovation for development: frugal innovation and inclusive innovation. Researchers often conflate these concepts when classifying or characte...