Paper short abstract:

This paper reviews the available evidence on how frugal innovations (i.e. the activities of 'frugal' entrepreneurs) in the health care, energy, and mobile money sectors are governed, how such innovations in turn trigger new regulations, and what this means for entrepreneurial resilience.

Paper long abstract:

This paper builds on the growing body of knowledge on frugal innovation. Frugal innovation is often defined as 'meeting the desired objective with a good-enough, economical means' (Soni et al 2014: 31). There are now numerous case studies on the role of Multinational Corporations as well as domestic firms in bringing about "low-cost, good-enough" products and services in developing countries (ibid.). However, there is a surprising lack of systematic studies on how the processes and outcomes of frugal innovations are governed, as well as how in turn, frugal innovations can trigger government action in terms of policy and legislation, and with what effects. This paper aims to contribute to filling these gaps. The paper will review the available evidence on this two-way causal relationship to answer two research questions: on the one hand, 'How do norms, institutions and (sustainability) standards influence the behaviour of producers of frugal innovations?' and on the other hand, 'How do high technology systems and infrastructures affect effectiveness of governance and regulations with regard to inclusive and sustainable frugal innovations?' Given the availability of relevant case studies, the focus will be on the health care, energy, and mobile money sectors. The paper will contribute to this DSA panel by outlining the regulatory, legal, and policy conditions in which entrepreneurs in developing countries operate, and what this means for their ability to be resilient in turbulent environments.

Reference: Soni, P., & T. Krishnan, R. (2014). 'Frugal innovation: aligning theory, practice, and public policy'. Journal of Indian Business Research, 6(1), 29-47.