Does Frugal Innovation Enable Sustainable Development? A Systematic Literature Review

Rosca, Eugenia; Reedy, Jack; Bendul, Julia C.

doi:10.1057/s41287-017-0106-3

Cited by 76 publications

(76 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…First, the publications' titles and abstracts were screened for their applicability. In keeping with the selection approach of previous reviews [56], [67], we excluded articles from the broader social-sciences and management fields that refer to frugal innovation only in a passing or with very limited focus (for example, [3]). We also excluded articles in highly specialized technical fields (such as medicine or psychology) that refer to the term either in a colloquial sense, or do not aim to provide an explicit connection to any broader stream in management, innovation, or organization literature (for example, [10]).…”

Section: B Systematic Literature Review 1) Article Selection and Datmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We find that "There is consensus in the literature that frugal innovation's core focus is low cost [ …] However, there are different opinions regarding the way that is achieved" [66]. When it comes to the processes of frugal innovation, companies are encouraged to reduce costs by introducing elements of centralized mass production on the one hand [77], [89], but on the other hand, a highly localized and "polycentric" approach is also encouraged [67], [83]. In some cases, companies are encouraged to substantially simplify processes [73] and strip them of technology.…”

Section: ) Characteristics Related To Time Dynamics Of Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The second avenue of research relates to the environmental sustainability of frugal innovation. Frugal innovation, particularly frugal products, are often assumed to be environmentally sustainable [67]. However, the prevalence of environmentally friendly practices in the later stages of the supply chain was significant only in Archetype II and Archetype III (firms aiming at "fostering local empowerment" and "providing greener alternative").…”

Section: B Research Opportunities At a Supply-chain Levelmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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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Section: B Systematic Literature Review 1) Article Selection and Datmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: ) Characteristics Related To Time Dynamics Of Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: B Research Opportunities At a Supply-chain Levelmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Knizkov

Arlinghaus

2021

IEEE Trans. Eng. Manage.

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“…Nevertheless, the number of practical studies are still limited which would assess the sustainability of frugal innovations, taking all of their benefits and weaknesses holistically into account [18] [19]. Generally, frugal innovation is altogether not a coherently defined term; it has also been used for marketing dubious products that overlook next-stage usage possibilities [20].…”

Section: The Frugal Innovation Concept and Sustainabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of the reliability of solar micro-grids in emerging markets – Issues and solutions

Numminen

Lund

2019

Energy for Sustainable Development

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analysing the data and the results. The author co-authored the article. Publication V: "Evaluation of the reliability of solar micro-grids in emerging markets-issues and solutions" The author developed the idea of the paper with the co-author, and was responsible for research design, methodology and analysing the data and the results. The author also conducted interviews and field visits, compiled the reliability assessment framework and co-authored the article. Language check The language of my dissertation has been checked by Anya Siddiqi from Aalto Language Centre, and Elisa Hauhia and Daniel Rajala. I have personally examined and accepted/rejected the results of the language check one by one. This has not affected the scientific content of my dissertation.

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“…The main argument here is that scarcity of (material, financial, human, or organizational) resources can stimulate the search for innovative solutions that are cost-effective, more efficient (e.g., reduce the use of water, energy, material, labour), often more socially acceptable, and even greener. For these reasons, proponents of frugal innovation suggest that frugality can have great implications for the global com-petitiveness of the middle-low income countries (Zeschky et al, 2011;Zeschky et al, 2014) and represents an alternative pathway for their sustainable development (Rosca et al, 2017).…”

Section: The Idea Of Scarcity and Its Limitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Frugal or Fair? The Unfulfilled Promises of Frugal Innovation

Pansera¹

2018

TIM Review

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Does Frugal Innovation Enable Sustainable Development? A Systematic Literature Review

Cited by 76 publications

References 63 publications

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

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

Evaluation of the reliability of solar micro-grids in emerging markets – Issues and solutions

Frugal or Fair? The Unfulfilled Promises of Frugal Innovation

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