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Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , A Comparison of German and Indian innovation pathways in the auto component industry(Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), Institute for Technology and Innovation Management, 2017-10); ; This paper is a part of a series of analyses conducted within a BMBF-funded research project to investigate potentials of frugal innovations for Germany. One of the objectives of this project has been to identify innovation pathways that foster frugal innovations. Since auto component suppliers based in India are known to contribute significantly to the development of “affordable and good quality” vehicles, it was considered useful to conduct comparative studies of the prevalent innovation pathways in Germany with those in India. This paper is based on our investigations of innovation pathways in Indian and German auto component industries and aims to provide a coherent comparative analysis. After discussing similarities and differences in Indian and German innovation pathways, a reference model for frugal innovation pathways is outlined. The results provide insights on how certain elements of frugal innovation pathways could be implemented in Germany in order to create solutions that are affordable, fulfil the requisite quality standards and avoid unnecessary usage (wastage) of resources. Altogether, exploratory connections are identified which provide impetus for further research and can be thought-provoking for relevant business, social and political stakeholders.Publicationtype: Working Paper1501 865 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , Potenziale frugaler Innovationen : Handlungsimplikationen für das deutsche Forschungs- und Innovationssystem(2017-09); ; In Deutschland ist ein Trend hin zu mehr Frugalität und folglich zu frugalen Innovationen erkennbar. Dieser Trend wird maßgeblich getrieben von der zunehmenden Bedeutung von Wachstumsmärkten in Schwellenländern, der Einkommensentwicklung in der hiesigen Gesellschaft sowie dem sich wandelnden Werteverständnis – besonders dem hohen Umweltbewusstsein und der Wahl moderater Lebensstile durch viele (insbesondere junge) Leute. Auch die demographische Entwicklung („alternde Gesellschaft“) scheint die Nachfrage nach benutzerfreundlichen, weniger komplexen und zugleich erschwinglichen Lösungen zu steigern. Die vorliegende Studie setzt sich mit den politischen Handlungsimplikationen dieses Phänomens für das deutsche Forschungs- und Innovationssystem auseinander. Die Studienergebnisse zeigen, dass es empfehlenswert ist, die High-Tech Strategie Deutschlands um eine frugale Komponente zu ergänzen. Auch von der Förderung weiterer transdisziplinärer Forschungs- und Bildungsaktivitäten werden positive Effekte erwartet. Frugale Innovationen besitzen hohe Relevanz für den längerfristigen Erfolg der deutschen Wirtschaft. Sie können auch einen Beitrag dazu leisten, eine gerechtere soziale Teilhabe und bessere ökologische Nachhaltigkeit zu erreichen. Zurzeit sind allerdings noch keine „Best Practices“ zur Generierung frugaler Innovationen verbreitet. Die kontextspezifische und zugleich transdisziplinäre Erforschung dieser wird daher ausdrücklich empfohlen.Publicationtype: Working Paper1022 671 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , Innovation pathways and trajectories in India’s auto component industry(2017-07); India’s automotive sector has grown tremendously in the post-liberalization period. The growing domestic market, increased export opportunities and greater emphasis of vehicle manufacturers on high-quality, innovative solutions have created a context for component suppliers to ramp up their innovation capabilities as well. For about past 20 years the auto component industry has consistently acted as a key enabler of various frugal vehicles launched in India. Our multi-level and multi-approach study, making use of firm and sector-level data while combining case studies with expert interviews, seeks to investigate the prevalent innovation pathways and trajectories in India’s Auto Component Industry. The results indicate that firms often engage in designing and developing components making use of modern, digital technologies, and manage to reach very high levels of process and resource efficiency. The huge domestic market, and the rising global demand, for affordable, high quality products provide good incentives for investments and openness for external knowledge. Cooperation between Indian and global companies as well as mergers and acquisitions have accelerated the development of innovation capabilities in India. The focused approach on developing concrete applications within requisite parameters gives rise to “appropriate solutions” that balance economic, ecological and technological performance. The study discovered a remarkable set of innovation pathways that makes use of collaborative development, avoids over-engineering and is often driven by economies of scale. All this is also stimulated by the state that developed into a key promoter of innovations.Publicationtype: Working Paper860 319 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , A bibliometric analysis of academic papers on frugal innovation(2016-08); The term “frugal innovation” has established itself in scholarly discourse as well as in actual business practice in a short time. Nevertheless, its theoretical antecedents and underpinnings remain unclear. In this study we present results of a bibliometric analysis, which indicate that the present-day understanding of frugal innovation is shaped primarily by discourses on “bottom of the pyramid”, “reverse innovation” and “disruptive innovation” and it has been targeted at “emerging economies”. Even though rediscovery of frugality’s virtue began in the developing world, it is spreading steadily to the economically developed world due to growing (global) demand for sustainable and affordable excellence. Frugal innovations are often associated with sustainability and development. Today, research on frugal innovations represents a very young and dynamic field: most scholarly publications and many of the references cited therein have been published in the past 5-6 years. Researchers would be, however, well-advised to incorporate insights on frugality and simplicity generated in other disciplines and other times, for example in the 1970s. Our study shows that the research on frugal innovations needs to take a calibrated, multidisciplinary approach.Publicationtype: Working Paper1140 726 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , Frugal Innovation in Scholarly and Social Discourse: An Assessment of Trends and Potential Societal Implications(2016-03); ; The topic of frugal innovation is increasingly gaining relevance in social as well as scholarly discourse. Frugal innovations have been perceived by many to be a phenomenon generally confined to emerging economies where there are large groups of unserved consumers with unmet needs. But there is increasing evidence that this phenomenon is getting relevant also in the industrialized nations potentially affecting the long-term competitiveness of domestic firms not only overseas but also at home. This paper has a three-fold objective: (a) It seeks to establish the theoretical antecedents of frugal innovation by examining the scholarly discourse; (b) It attempts to generate hypotheses about its long-term relevance by examining historical trends of frugality and their disappearance; (c) It seeks to comprehend the social perception of frugal innovation in the specific German context by assessing the relevant social discourse. Based upon an extensive literature review and some preliminary primary data we propose a new working definition for frugal innovation and hypothesize that frugality was a key social value with positive associations before the era of unprecedented prosperity in the industrialized world, which led to saturated markets and inter alia to feature-driven competition and over-consumption of resources. New ground realities, e.g., economic downturn in the industrialized world and the rapidly rising consumption in the economically developing world, are expected to turn frugality, once again, into an important societal value and frugal innovation into a critical success factor in mid-term future.Publicationtype: Working Paper1956 1995