Top

Published in:

2021 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

34. Frugal Innovation: A Developmental Implications Perspective

Authors : Daniel Etse, Adela McMurray, Nuttawuth Muenjohn

Published in: The Palgrave Handbook of Workplace Innovation

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Activate our intelligent search to find suitable subject content or patents.

search-config

AI-assisted search

Off

Abstract

This chapter explores the implications of frugal innovation for socio-economic development. Two case studies, eRanger motorcycle ambulance and Tata Swach water purifier, are examined using the qualitative content analysis methodology. The findings suggest that frugal innovation’s developmental effect is nuanced; while it may enhance living conditions at the micro level and serve as a useful stop gap measure for managing developmental challenges, it might not be adequate for addressing the underlying factors of socio-economic underdevelopment. Related theoretical and practical implications highlight the need to recognise the developmental capabilities and limitations of frugal innovation in order to ensure its appropriate use for purposes of development.

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

über 102.000 Bücher
über 537 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

Automobil + Motoren
Bauwesen + Immobilien
Business IT + Informatik
Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
Finance + Banking
Management + Führung
Marketing + Vertrieb
Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe
Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

über 67.000 Bücher
über 340 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

Bauwesen + Immobilien
Business IT + Informatik
Finance + Banking
Management + Führung
Marketing + Vertrieb
Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

previous chapter Educational Technology at Pivotal Crossroads

Agarwal, N., & Brem, A. (2017). Frugal Innovation – Past, Present, and Future. IEEE Engineering Management Review, 45(3), 37–41. https://doi.org/10.1109/EMR.2017.2734320

Albert, M. (2019). Sustainable Frugal Innovation – The Connection Between Frugal Innovation and Sustainability. Journal of Cleaner Production, 237, 117747. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.117747

Angot, J., & Plé, L. (2015). Serving Poor People in Rich Countries: The Bottom-of-the-Pyramid Business Model Solution. Journal of Business Strategy, 35(2), 3–15.CrossRef

Annala, L., Sarin, A., & Green, J. L. (2018). Co-production of Frugal Innovation: Case of Low Cost Reverse Osmosis Water Filters in India. Journal of Cleaner Production, 171, S110–S118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.07.065CrossRef

Ayala-carcedo, F. J., & González-Barros, M. R. Y. (2005). Economic Underdevelopment and Sustainable Development in the World: Conditioning Factors, Problems and Opportunities. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 7(1), 95–115. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-003-4012-9CrossRef

Basu, R., Banerjee, P., & Sweeny, E. (2013). Frugal Innovation: Core Competencies to Address Global Sustainability. Journal of Management for Global Sustainability, 2, 63–82.CrossRef

Bengtsson, M. (2016). How to Plan and Perform a Qualitative Study Using Content Analysis. Nursing Plus Open, 2, 8–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.npls.2016.01.001CrossRef

Bhatti, Y. A., Prime, M., Harris, M., Wadge, H., McQueen, J., Patel, H., et al. (2017). The Search for the Holy Grail: Frugal Innovation in Healthcare from Low-Income or Middle-Income Countries for Reverse Innovation to Developed Countries. BMJ Innovations, 3(4), 212–220. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjinnov-2016-000186CrossRef

Chester, M. V. (2019). Sustainability and Infrastructure Challenges. Nature Sustainability, 2(4), 265–266. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0272-8CrossRef

Dolan, C. (2013). Capital’s New Frontier: From ‘Unusable’ Economies to Bottom of the Pyramid Markets in Africa. African Studies Review, 56(3), 123–146.CrossRef

eRanger. (2019). Case Studies. Retrieved February 14, 2020, from https://www.eranger.com/case-studies

Goffin, K., Åhlström, P., Bianchi, M., & Richtnér, A. (2019). State-of-the-Art: The Quality of Case Study Research in Innovation Management. Journal of Product Innovation Management. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.12492

Grey, D., & Sadoff, C. W. (2006). Water for Growth and Development. In Thematic Documents of the IV World Water Forum. Mexico City: The World Bank.

Haddaway, N. R., Collins, A. M., Coughlin, D., & Kirk, S. (2015). The Role of Google Scholar in Evidence Reviews and Its Applicability to Grey Literature Searching. PLoS One, 10(9), e0138237. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0138237CrossRef

Hofman, J. J., Dzimadzi, C., Lungu, K., Ratsma, E. Y., & Hussein, J. (2008). Motorcycle Ambulances for Referral of Obstetric Emergencies in Rural Malawi: Do They Reduce Delay and What Do They Cost? International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics, 102(2), 191–197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijgo.2008.04.001CrossRef

Hossain, M. (2018). Frugal Innovation: A Review and Research Agenda. Journal of Cleaner Production, 182, 926–936. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.02.091CrossRef

Howitt, P., Darzi, A., Yang, G.-Z., Ashrafian, H., Atun, R., Barlow, J., et al. (2012). Technologies for Global Health. The Lancet, 380(9840), 507–535. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(12)61127-1CrossRef

Hyvärinen, A., Keskinen, M., & Varis, O. (2016). Potential and Pitfalls of Frugal Innovation in the Water Sector: Insights from Tanzania to Global Value Chains. Sustainability, 8(9), 888. https://doi.org/10.3390/su8090888CrossRef

Hyypiä, M., & Khan, R. (2018). Overcoming Barriers to Frugal Innovation: Emerging Opportunities for Finnish SMEs in Brazilian Markets. Technology Innovation Management Review, 8(4), 38–48.CrossRef

Kahle, H., Dubiel, A., Ernst, H., & Prabhu, J. (2013). The Democratizing Effects of Frugal Innovation. Journal of Indian Business Research, 5(4), 220–234. https://doi.org/10.1108/jibr-01-2013-0008CrossRef

Khan, S. T., & Malik, A. (2019). Engineered Nanomaterials for Water Decontamination and Purification: From Lab to Products. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 363, 295–308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2018.09.091CrossRef

Knorringa, P., Peša, I., Leliveld, A., & van Beers, C. (2016). Frugal Innovation and Development: Aides or Adversaries? The European Journal of Development Research, 28(2), 143–153. https://doi.org/10.1057/ejdr.2016.3CrossRef

Krippendorff, K. (1989). Content Analysis. In E. Barnouw, G. Gerbner, W. Schramm, T. Worth, & L. Gross (Eds.), International Encyclopedia of Communication. New York: Oxford University Press.

Leliveld, A., & Knorringa, P. (2018). Frugal Innovation and Development Research. The European Journal of Development Research, 30(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41287-017-0121-4CrossRef

Martín-Martín, A., Orduna-Malea, E., Thelwall, M., & Delgado López-Cózar, E. (2018). Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Scopus: A Systematic Comparison of Citations in 252 Subject Categories. Journal of Informetrics, 12(4), 1160–1177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joi.2018.09.002CrossRef

McMurray, A., Weerakoon, C., & Etse, D. (2019). Exploring the Dark Side of Frugal Innovation. In A. McMurray & G. de Waal (Eds.), Frugal Innovation: A Global Research Companion. London: Routledge.CrossRef

Meagher, K. (2018). Cannibalizing the Informal Economy: Frugal Innovation and Economic Inclusion in Africa. The European Journal of Development Research, 30(1), 17–33. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41287-017-0113-4CrossRef

Mountjoy, A. (2017). Industrialization and Underdeveloped Countries (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge.CrossRef

Myint, H., & Krueger, A. (2016). Economic Development. Retrieved January 25, 2020, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/economic-development

Ogun, T. (2010). Infrastructure and Poverty Reduction. Helsinki: World Institute for Development Economics Research.

Pooi, C. K., & Ng, H. Y. (2018). Review of Low-Cost Point-of-Use Water Treatment Systems for Developing Communities. npj Clean Water, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41545-018-0011-0

Prabhu, J. (2017). Frugal Innovation: Doing More with Less for More. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering, 375(2095). https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2016.0372

Radjou, N., & Prabhu, J. (2014). Frugal Innovation: How to Do More with Less. London: Profile Books.

Ramdorai, A., & Herstatt, C. (2015). Study 3: Lessons from Tata: How Leadership Can Drive Disruptive Innovations. In Frugal Innovation in Healthcare (pp. 105–130). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16336-9_7CrossRef

Rao, B. C. (2013). How Disruptive Is Frugal? Technology in Society, 35(1), 65–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2013.03.003CrossRef

Rosca, E., Arnold, M., & Bendul, J. C. (2017). Business Models for Sustainable Innovation – An Empirical Analysis of Frugal Products and Services. Journal of Cleaner Production, 162, S133–S145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.02.050

Rosca, E., Reedy, J., & Bendul, J. C. (2018). Does Frugal Innovation Enable Sustainable Development? A Systematic Literature Review. The European Journal of Development Research, 30(1), 136–157. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41287-017-0106-3CrossRef

Szirmai, A. (2015). Socio-Economic Development (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRef

Tata Swach. (2017). About Tata Swach Retrieved February 13, 2020, from https://tataswach.com/pages/about-tata-swach

The Economic Times. (2016). 76 Million People in India Have No Access to Safe Water: Report. Retrieved February 14, 2014, from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/76-million-people-in-india-have-no-access-to-safe-water-report/articleshow/51513761.cms?from=mdr

The World Bank. (2019). Poverty. Retrieved January 23, 2020, from https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/overview

Tiwari, R., & Herstatt, C. (2012a). Frugal Innovation: A Global Networks’ Perspective. Swiss Journal of Business Research and Practice, 66(3), 245–274.

Tiwari, R., & Herstatt, C. (2012b). Assessing India’s Lead Market Potential for Cost-Effective Innovations. Journal of Indian Business Research, 4(2), 97–115. https://doi.org/10.1108/17554191211228029CrossRef

Tiwari, R., & Herstatt, C. (Eds.). (2014). Growing Demand for Affordable Solutions. Cham: Springer.

Tran, V. T., & Ravaud, P. (2016). Frugal Innovation in Medicine for Low Resource Settings. BMC Medicine, 14(1), 102. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-016-0651-1CrossRef

Tranfield, D., Denyer, D., & Smart, P. (2003). Towards a Methodology for Developing Evidence-Based Management Knowledge by Means of Systematic Review. British Journal of Management, 14, 207–222.CrossRef

United Nations. (2016). The Human Rights to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation. United Nations General Assembly.

Weyrauch, T., & Herstatt, C. (2016). What Is Frugal Innovation? Three Defining Criteria. Journal of Frugal Innovation, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40669-016-0005-y

WHO. (2008). Health and Development. Retrieved February 12, 2020, from https://www.who.int/hdp/en/

Yin, R. K. (2013). Validity and Generalization in Future Case Study Evaluations. Evaluation, 19(3), 321–332. https://doi.org/10.1177/1356389013497081CrossRef

Title: Frugal Innovation: A Developmental Implications Perspective
Authors: Daniel Etse
Adela McMurray
Nuttawuth Muenjohn
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Book: The Palgrave Handbook of Workplace Innovation
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-59915-7

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-030-59916-4

Copyright Year: 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59916-4_34