Approach for a Pattern-Based Development of Frugal Innovations

Lehner, Anne-Christin; Koldewey, Christian; Gausemeier, Jürgen

doi:10.22215/timreview/1149

Cited by 11 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 21 publications

(20 reference statements)

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“…This can be helpful to better understand why it can be challenging to develop frugal innovations. First principles and approaches to develop frugal innovation have been published (Basu et al 2013;Kumar and Puranam 2012;Lehner and Gausemeier 2016;Prahalad 2012;Prahalad and Mashelkar 2010;. However, owing to the research stream's newness, we still lack a comprehensive theoretical understanding of frugal innovation (Cunha et al 2014).…”

Section: Theoretical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

What is frugal innovation? Three defining criteria

2016

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Recently, the innovation management literature has witnessed a rising interest in the so-called frugal innovation. The term was initially discussed in the context of emerging markets, giving non-affluent customers opportunities to consume affordable products and services suited to their needs. However, the meaning of frugal innovation is fuzzy. Further, the increasing appearance of frugal innovation in developed markets challenges earlier definitions that often characterised frugal innovation particularly in the context of emerging markets. So far, it has not been clear what differentiates frugal innovation from other innovation types. Thus, we need criteria that make it possible to determine what frugal innovation is and what is not. In order to determine a clear definition, we choose a multimethod approach, conduct a literature review, and interview 45 managers from companies and researchers from different research institutes. On the basis of the results, we define three criteria for frugal innovation: substantial cost reduction, concentration on core functionalities, and optimised performance level. We contribute to the literature by refining the meaning of frugal innovation. We also enable organisations to better deal with the challenge of developing frugal innovation in both emerging and developed markets.

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Section: Theoretical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

What is frugal innovation? Three defining criteria

2016

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“…This involves both the simplification of some processes, as well as the introduction of different technologies within others. A reduction in complexity is noted as necessary in product development [18], [44], [82] and production [20], [73] in particular. The integration of technology within processes is a relatively new topic in literature, despite many existing debates on the necessary level of technology sophistication for products.…”

Section: B Characteristics Of Frugal Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most articles addressing frugal innovation in bottom of the pyramid markets refer to "waste" as environmental damages or unused materials. However, Lehner et al [44], who studied frugal innovation in contexts outside the bottom of the pyramid, described waste as the following: "A comprehensive understanding of the customer must be established and, in particular, the willingness of customers to pay. It is just as important to determine what the customer does not want to pay for" [44, p. 25].…”

Section: A Research Opportunities At Each Stage Of the Supply Chain mentioning

confidence: 99%

Frugal Processes: An Empirical Investigation Into the Operations of Resource-Constrained Firms

Knizkov

Arlinghaus

2021

IEEE Trans. Eng. Manage.

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The severe resource constraints that characterize markets at the bottom of the world's economic pyramid have forced firms to innovate both their products and processes. However, discourse in frugal innovation literature on how firms can design frugal processes in response to the resource constraints they face remains relatively sparse. Based on a systematic literature review, in this article we consolidate existing work on the process echelon of frugal innovation. We outline three ways frugal processes that have been conceptualized in the literature thus far, and distill their key characteristics. Based on an exploration of the supply chains of 87 small-and medium-sized enterprises, we show how firms configure these characteristics to overcome resource constraints at each stage of their supply chain. Ultimately, we propose three archetypes of a frugal supply chain that firms can strategically adopt. Firms with the primary goal of increasing consumer access to affordable products opt for a supply-chain structure that favors traditional economies of scale, and postpone any decentralization as further downstream as possible. In contrast, firms aiming to provide consumers with greener alternatives can adopt a hyperdecentralized structure throughout their supply-chain, which is made economically viable through low-cost approaches to distributed manufacturing. Firms interested in empowering local communities should consider hybrid structures that balance the high costs of investments in local capabilities. Index Terms-Base of the pyramid, bottom of the pyramid, emerging markets, frugal innovation, process innovation, smalland medium-sized enterprises, supply-chain management, sustainability, sustainable operations. I. INTRODUCTION F RUGAL innovation emerged from highly practice-oriented origins, as an approach by companies trying to achieve the price and functionality requirements of their customers at the bottom of the world economic pyramid, who, at times, earn as little as two United States Dollar (USD) a day [58]. Companies operating in bottom of the pyramid markets frequently face constraints such as limited material resources, limited financial resources, as well as limited institutional or infrastructural Manuscript

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“…As a result, policies began to focus more on building scientific and technological capacity and infrastructure (Brook et al, 2013 emerging literature has renewed its focus on innovation for development -as compared to science and technology capacity and infrastructure. This emerging perspective considers innovation occurring in developing countries -using terms such as "frugal innovation" (Lehner & Gausemeier, 2016;Zeschky et al, 2011), "reverse innovation" (Chataway et al, 2014), "Jugaad innovation", "bottom of the pyramid (BOP) innovation" (Hall et al, 2012;Prahalad, 2005), "Gandhian innovation", "empathetic innovation" and "pro-poor vs. fromthe-poor", "long-tail and long-tailoring innovation", "below-the-radar innovation" -and explicitly acknowledges social contexts characterized by resource constraints and insecurities (Pansera & Martinez, 2017).…”

Section: Theoretical Precursors To Inclusive Innovationmentioning

confidence: 99%