Handbook on Frugal Innovation

This pioneering Handbook details the origins of the concept of frugal innovation, its emergence as an academic field of interest, and the driving forces behind it. It presents new empirical evidence and critical perspectives on what frugal innovation entails, from a range of disciplines including science and engineering, humanities, and the social sciences. Analysing case studies on frugal innovation from across the globe, this Handbook assesses the role of innovation in addressing societal challenges such as poverty, inequality, and climate change. Chapters examine key topics in the field, covering gender as a lens for frugal innovation, managing frugal innovation for sustainable development, design and engineering in frugal product formation, and the global markets for frugal innovation policies. Contributors pay specific attention to the role of technology as an enabler for frugal innovation, and the institutional and social contexts in which it takes place. Providing a comprehensive overview of frugal innovation, this Handbook will be essential reading for academics and students in the fields of development economics, business and management studies and organisational innovation. It will also be beneficial for policymakers and government officials interested in perspectives on innovation that could be instrumental in the formation and implementation of innovation policies.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Preface xvii André Leliveld, Saradindu Bhaduri, Peter Knorringa and Cees van Beers 1 Capturing frugal innovation: introduction to the Handbook on Frugal Innovation 1 André Leliveld, Saradindu Bhaduri, Peter Knorringa and Cees van Beers PART I INCLUDING FRUGAL INNOVATION THINKING IN DISCIPLINARY DEBATES 2 Anchoring: a historical perspective on frugal innovation 28 Miguel John Versluys and Ineke Sluiter 3 Frugal innovation: some theoretical observations from innovation-economic and social-entrepreneurial perspectives 43 Cees van Beers and André Leliveld 4 The apolitical framing of frugal innovation in the global south: beyond the tales of scarcity, heroic inventors and techno-fixes 54 Mario Pansera 5 Frugality in innovation processes: a heuristics-based perspective from the ‘informal economy’ 69 Saradindu Bhaduri, Ariane Agnes Corradi, Hemant Kumar and Fayaz Ahmad Sheikh PART II EMBEDDING FRUGAL INNOVATION IN TRANSDISCIPLINARY THEMATIC DEBATES 6 Frugal innovation and sustainability: bringing together polarized views from the state of the art 84 Stephanie Knizkov and Julia Arlinghaus 7 Frugal innovators as change agents in circular economy transitions 102 Jarkko Levänen, Eugenia Rosca and Sukyung Park 8 A gender lens for frugal innovation 114 Saskia Vossenberg and Solange Hai 9 Governing frugal innovation for sustainable development: the hybrid domain 126 Balaji Parthasarathy and Yuko Aoyama 10 Frugal innovation and legitimacy 142 Greetje Schouten and Peter Knorringa 11 Fairness institutions for frugal innovation 154 Haye Hazenberg and Saradindu Bhaduri PART III TECHNOLOGY AS AN ENABLER 12 Value-sensitive design practices for frugal innovations 164 Neelke Doorn 13 The frugal design of a medical centrifuge: distributed production as a frugal technology to increase access to medical devices in low- and middle-income countries 176 Jan Carel Diehl, Temitope Agbana, G-Young Van, Ludo Hille Ris Lambers and Samenjo Karl Heinz Tondo 14 Frugal engineering solutions for recovery of resources from wastewater 197 Pamela Ceron-Chafla and Ralph E.F. Lindeboom 15 Engineering capabilities for frugal innovations: the case of a radiation-free cancer detection device 220 Christine Wimschneider and Nivedita Agarwal 16 Design and engineering for frugal product development 239 Balkrishna C. Rao 17 Frugality and jugaad in science: evidence from a research laboratory 249 Pankaj Sekhsaria 18 ICTs as frugal innovations: enabling new pathways towards refugee self-reliance and resilience in fragile contexts? 262 Holly A. Ritchie 19 Frugal innovation and digital platforms 278 Erwin van Tuijl and Peter Knorringa PART IV ACTORS, BUSINESS MODELS AND BLURRING BOUNDARIES 20 Lead markets, international business and frugal innovation 296 Rajnish Tiwari and Cornelius Herstatt 21 Frugal energy and the global markets of pico solar systems 313 Pascale Trompette and Céline Cholez 22 Frugal process innovation and local innovation systems – the case of a small producers’ cluster in northern Vietnam 330 Jaap Voeten 23 Frugal innovation: balancing between value capture and value creation 346 Rachel Howell 24 Frugal innovation in public service delivery: reflections from case studies in Kenya 364 Elsie Onsongo 25 University–business cooperation for frugal innovation: a case study of the University of Campinas 379 Bruno Brandão Fischer, José Guimón and Paola Rücker Schaeffer 26 University-driven frugal innovations 393 Marjolijn Dijksterhuis, Sara Grobbelaar and Robert Tijssen Index

About the Author :
Edited by André Leliveld, Senior Researcher, African Studies Centre Leiden, Leiden University, and Co-leader, International Centre for Frugal Innovation, Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Universities, the Netherlands, Saradindu Bhaduri, Associate Professor, Centre for Studies in Science Policy, and Coordinator, JNU-ICFI Transdisciplinary Research Cluster on Frugality Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India, Peter Knorringa, Professor of Private Sector and Development, International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, and Academic Director of the International Centre for Frugal Innovation, Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Universities and Cees van Beers, Professor of Innovation Economics and Management, Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Delft University of Technology, and Co-leader, International Centre for Frugal Innovation, Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Universities, the Netherlands

Review :
‘With an impressive line-up of diverse contributors from Latin America to Asia, from post-docs to senior academics, from engineers to social scientists, and from practitioners to public policy shapers, this Handbook impressively covers a wide range of historical and modern perspectives on frugal innovation. For anyone looking to advance their own research into this topic, this Handbook would be an excellent starting point. I have already highly recommended it to my PhD students.’ ‘As we confront the growing pressures of resource scarcity and sustainability challenges across the globe, frugal innovation becomes a valuable lens to explore the types of solutions that are needed. This book captures the complexities of frugal innovation and highlights the value of innovations that emerge from constrained environments, mainly in the Global South. A must-read.’ ‘The Handbook on Frugal Innovation is a truly remarkable achievement. Expertly edited by André Leliveld, Saradindu Bhaduri, Peter Knorringa, and Cees van Beers, it is breath-taking in conception and execution. The range of topics covered, the list of contributors, and the quality of research writing that underlies everything is peerless. It is a must read for students and practitioners of business more broadly and innovation in particular.’ ‘The Handbook on Frugal Innovation is a must read for all of those concerned with the trajectory of innovation. It provides a valuable and wide-ranging mix of contributions focusing on the history of ideas, the relevance of frugal innovations to innovation theory and development policy, and the implications for the management of innovation. It is truly collaborative and impressive book.’