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Frugal Innovation and Development: Aides or Adversaries?

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Abstract

Frugal innovation aims to bring products, services and systems within the reach of billions of poor and emerging middle-class consumers. Through significantly cutting costs while safeguarding user value, frugal innovation opens opportunities for new business models and may well disrupt innovation processes in entire economies. The debate on the developmental implications of frugal innovation is ideologically polarized. Whereas advocates suggest a business view of ‘win-win’ in which companies can earn profits while simultaneously alleviating poverty, critics argue that frugal innovation will merely exacerbate capitalist exploitation and inequality. In this contribution we argue that an empirical approach is needed to assess where and when frugal innovation is more likely to enhance inclusive development.

Abstract

Les innovations frugales portent des produits, des services, et des systèmes à la portée de billions de consommateurs pauvres et de l’aspirante classe moyenne. Les innovations frugales baissent les couts et préservent la valeur pour les consommateurs, et créent des nouveaux modèles économiques qui ont le potentiel de perturber les processus d’innovation dans plusieurs économies. Le débat sur les implications développementales de l’innovation frugale est idéologiquement polarisé. Les défenseurs des innovations frugales suggèrent un scenario d’affaires bénéfique pour toutes les parties, ou les entreprises peuvent réaliser des profits simultanément soulageant la pauvreté. Les critiques des innovations frugales soutiennent qu’elles vont simplement augmenter l’exploitation capitale et l’inégalité. Dans cet article, on soutien qu’un approche empirique est nécessaire pour établir où et quand une innovation frugale est plus susceptible de soutenir le développement inclusif.

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Notes

  1. In this article we do not deal with the environmental/ecological dimension.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Institute of Social Studies – Erasmus University of Rotterdam, The Hague, The Netherlands

    Peter Knorringa

  2. Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Iva Peša & André Leliveld

  3. Technical University Delft, Delft, The Netherlands

    Cees van Beers

Authors
  1. Peter Knorringa
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  2. Iva Peša
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  3. André Leliveld
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  4. Cees van Beers
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Correspondence to Peter Knorringa.

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Knorringa, P., Peša, I., Leliveld, A. et al. Frugal Innovation and Development: Aides or Adversaries?. Eur J Dev Res 28, 143–153 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1057/ejdr.2016.3

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