TY - CHAP

T1 - Developing Frugal Innovations with Inventive Analogies

T2 - Preliminary Evidence from Innovations in India

AU - Tiwari, Rajnish

AU - Kalogerakis, Katharina

AU - Herstatt, Cornelius

PY - 2017

Y1 - 2017

N2 - Frugal products and services generally, though not exclusively, aim at satisfying the unsaturated demand of a large and growing middle class in emerging economies such as India. Although research has been conducted in regard to the strategic importance of frugal innovations, so far, there is a lack of in-depth research on the actual development process of such innovations. Some examples show that inventive analogies are used to develop frugal innovations. For instance, the development of a frugal artificial heart in India was based on the heart structure of cockroaches, which led to a reduction of costs by 20 times.The aim of this paper is to examine the use of inventive analogies in creating frugal solutions and their impact on project results. Based on three explorative case studies from India, we generate preliminary evidence that analogies can make a significant impact on the successful development of innovations in environments that are characterized by severe resource constraints and high price-sensitivity. Furthermore, the inherent aim of frugal innovations to create radically new solutions with very restricted resources seems to stimulate the application of inventive analogies. The results point to some valuable learnings in regard to an effective employment of analogies. Besides, useful insights for companies that want to exploit market opportunities in the emerging economies are generated.

AB - Frugal products and services generally, though not exclusively, aim at satisfying the unsaturated demand of a large and growing middle class in emerging economies such as India. Although research has been conducted in regard to the strategic importance of frugal innovations, so far, there is a lack of in-depth research on the actual development process of such innovations. Some examples show that inventive analogies are used to develop frugal innovations. For instance, the development of a frugal artificial heart in India was based on the heart structure of cockroaches, which led to a reduction of costs by 20 times.The aim of this paper is to examine the use of inventive analogies in creating frugal solutions and their impact on project results. Based on three explorative case studies from India, we generate preliminary evidence that analogies can make a significant impact on the successful development of innovations in environments that are characterized by severe resource constraints and high price-sensitivity. Furthermore, the inherent aim of frugal innovations to create radically new solutions with very restricted resources seems to stimulate the application of inventive analogies. The results point to some valuable learnings in regard to an effective employment of analogies. Besides, useful insights for companies that want to exploit market opportunities in the emerging economies are generated.

KW - Management studies

U2 - 10.1007/978-3-319-46392-6_7

DO - 10.1007/978-3-319-46392-6_7

M3 - Chapter

SN - 978-3-319-46390-2

SN - 978-3-319-83509-9

SP - 147

EP - 162

BT - Lead Market India

A2 - Herstatt, Cornelius

A2 - Tiwari, Rajnish

PB - Springer International Publishing

ER -