ICFI’s Dr. Georgina Gomez and Dr. Sanghamitra Chakravarty’s article “A Development Lens to Frugal Innovation: Bringing Back Production and Technological Capabilities into the Discourse” has been published in European Journal of Development Research in July 2023. This article examines the ways in which frugal innovation can act as a positive driving force within the socio-economic landscapes of developing countries.
In journal: The European Journal of Development Research
Publication date online: 13 July 2023
Title: A Development Lens to Frugal Innovation: Bringing Back Production and Technological Capabilities into the Discourse
Authors: Dr. Georgina Gomeza, Sanghamitra Chakravartyb,
Cite this article as: Chakravarty, S., Gómez, G.M. A Development Lens to Frugal Innovation: Bringing Back Production and Technological Capabilities into the Discourse. Eur J Dev Res (2023). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41287-023-00594-w
Keywords: Frugal innovation, Resource constraints, Technological change, Technological capabilities, Inclusion, Development, Manufacturing
a The International Centre for Frugal Innovation, Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands
b Leiden-Delft-Erasmus International Centre for Frugal Innovation, The Hague, The Netherlands. Present Address: Technical University of Delft, Jaffalaan 5, Building 31, 2628 BX Delft, The Netherlands
Abstract
A Development Lens to Frugal Innovation: Bringing Back Production and Technological Capabilities into the Discourse” published in European Journal of Development Research, offers a framing of the relationship of frugal innovation with development within the current global landscape. It critically reviews the evolving frugal innovation narrative and explore the theoretical foundations of frugality, interpreting it both as a product for and as processes under resource constraint to advance a capabilities lens. While innovation for resource constraint offers a path for enhancing individual capabilities through availability and access to frugal products, innovation under constraints contributes to firm-level capability. It argues that active policy interventions are needed to enable both these processes. Failing this, frugal innovation would continue to reproduce the status quo, offering a limited challenge to mainstream technological hegemony.