Inclusive innovation is the means by which new goods and services are developed for and/or by the billions living on lowest incomes. Although a topic of increasing interest, it has been relatively under-researched and under-conceptualised to date. This article studies arguably the most successful new technology to reach low-income groups: the mobile phone, focusing specifically on its diffusion in Kenya. Systems of innovation are shown to be an appropriate frame for conceptualisation of inclusive innovation. However, the conventional content of this framework must be modified to allow for particular features of inclusive innovation, including the nature of innovations required, the actors involved and their interrelations, the type of learning they undertake, and the institutional environment in which they operate. Four system domains must be effective if inclusive innovation is to succeed: the product, its retailing and support, the micro-enterprises that provide these demand-side services, and the wider context. L'innovation inclusive est le moyen par lequel de nouveaux produits et services sont de´veloppe´s pour et/ou par les milliards de personnes aux revenus les plus faibles. Bien que ce the`me fasse l'objet d'un inte´reˆt croissant, il reste a`ce jour relativement peu e´tudie´et sous-conceptualise´. Cet article examine la technologie qui a probablement le mieux re´ussi a`atteindre les populations a`faibles revenus, a`savoir le te´le´phone mobile et, plus particulie`rement, sa diffusion au Kenya. Nous montrons que les syste`mes d'innovation constituent un cadre approprie´pour la conceptualisation de l'innovation inclusive. Toutefois, le contenu traditionnel de ce cadre doit eˆtre modifie´pour pouvoir prendre en compte les caracte´ristiques particulie`res de l'innovation inclusive, notamment la nature des innovations ne´cessaires, les acteurs implique´s ainsi que leurs interrelations, les types d'apprentissage qu'ils entreprennent et l'environnement institutionnel dans lequel ils e´voluent. Quatre domaines de syste`me doivent fonctionner efficacement pour permettre le succe`s de l'innovation inclusive: le produit lui-meˆme, sa distribution et les services d'assistance, les micro-entreprises qui fournissent ces services axe´s sur la demande et, enfin, le contexte ge´ne´ral
This special issue of Innovation and Development focuses on inclusive innovation; specifically on analysis of the new models of this form of innovation which are emerging. After discussing the growing need for research into those models, this editorial paper interrogates the meaning of 'inclusive innovation' and what it means to understand inclusive innovation in terms of models. The editorial then outlines the contribution of the papers that make up this special issue before drawing out some lessons for inclusive innovation policy and practice, and discussing future research priorities.
Scaling represents successful diffusion that ensures sizeable impact and earnings from information and communication technology (ICT) innovations in emerging markets. Practice can still be shaped by dualistic views - innovation vs diffusion, pilot vs scale-up, lead firm vs other actors, technical vs social. Synthesising the literature that challenges these dualities, this paper creates a systemic perspective that is particularly appropriate for scaling of ICT to bottom-of-the-pyramid (BoP) markets. That perspective is then instantiated through the case study of a successfully-scaled ICT innovation that has reached millions of poor consumers: the Kenyan m-money system, M-Pesa. It finds that scaling of this ICT system can be understood as a four-stage process of exploratory, incremental then aggressive growth, followed by (attempted) standardisation. Throughout these stages of scaling, ongoing adaptive innovations have been fundamental and have been both necessitated and shaped by the BoP context. These innovations have been more socio-technical than technical, and have emerged from a growing variety of actors and locations closer to poor consumers than the lead firm. The lead firm has buffered the unfamiliarity of BoP markets by approaching them through the ‘middle-of-the-pyramid’ and by intensive learning. At times, its planned ‘shifts’ in scaling strategy have triggered adaptive innovations. At other times, emergent innovations and learning lead to incremental ‘drifts’ in lead firm strategy. ICT firms wishing to scale goods and services for BoP markets must therefore recognise the multi-locational, continuous, and emergent nature of innovation, and develop processes to monitor and address those innovations.
Global production networks (GPNs) have become a key framework in conceptualizing linkages, power and structure in globalized production. However, this framework has been less successful in integrating the influence of digital information and ICTs in production, and this problematic in a world where relationships and power are increasingly mediated by digital information flows and resources. We thus look to adapt the GPN framework to allow more substantive analysis of 'the digital'. Primarily, this is done through a theoretical analysis of the three core categories of the GPN framework -embeddedness, value and networksto highlight how these categories can better integrate a more dynamic and contested conceptualization of the digital. Illustrations from research on the digitalization of tea sector GPNs in East Africa highlight how these theoretical advances provide new insights on the digital and its expanding role in economic production. Keywords GLOBAL PRODUCTION NETWORKS, INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY, INTERNET, NETWORK SOCIETY, SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAGlobal production networks (GPNs) have become a key framework in conceptualizing linkages and crucially uneven power and structure in globalized production (Coe and Yeung 2015;Henderson et al. 2002). The GPN framework explores the economic relations of actors directly involved in economic production, as well as a wider gamut of networked relationships, institutions and policy that orientate the forms and practices of production.This article originates from research exploring changing practices around digital information flows, digital data and information and communication technologies Reconsidering the role of the digital in global production networks© 2016 The Author(s) 69 (ICTs) in production -we will refer to this socio-technical bundle of activities as 'the digital' (as outlined in the next section). In previous research we explored the impacts that the digital might play in reconfiguring production, with a particular interest on lowincome producers in the Global South.Initially, the GPN framework seemed an appropriate choice. It would allow us to conceptualize the broader relationships and power related to the producers we were examining, and it would form a basis for understanding how the digital might disrupt economic structures and relationships. Yet, in practice, in its current form, we found that the GPN framework provided only limited analytical value in our investigations.As has been detailed elsewhere Graham 2015b, 2015c; Waema and Katua 2014), our empirical research findings have suggested that the digital is an increasingly contested element of production. Active exclusionary practices have led to overt contestation around access to digital information flows, and services (for example where agri-business actors make it difficult for smallholder farmers to access information resources). Meanwhile, less visible affordances and functioning of ICTs and digital software subtly reinforce the disadvantages that small firms have (for exampl...
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.