Frugal Innovation as A Lever of Competitiveness in The Moroccan Hotel Industry

Abstract

As the world continues to pivot to a post-pandemic reality and global tourism gradually regains pre-pandemic levels, competition in the hotel industry becomes fiercer. This article explores the applicability of frugal innovation as a potential strategy for hoteliers to enhance their competitiveness and appeal to customers, particularly in an era of rising costs, weakened purchasing power and changing traveler habits. Our article synthesizes a wide range of academic work, books and reports, to analyze the concept of frugal innovation and its relevance to the Moroccan hotel industry in the post-Covid era. In the article, we examine how frugal innovation can influence competitiveness and also aim to provide a better understanding of the concept through an overview of similar types of innovation and its application examples. Drawing from our analysis, we propose frugal innovation as a promising strategy and emphasize on how it can help Moroccan hoteliers gain competitive advantage by developing affordable and sustainable products and services that meet the changing needs and expectations of travelers. Despite the lack of empirical results, the article serves to consolidate the existing literature, outlines the theoretical underpinnings of frugal innovation and sets the scene for future empirical research to explore and validate the theoretical propositions.