Frugal Approaches to Innovation: Industrial Settings and Innovation Strategies

Frugal innovation is a strategy for organizations that provides products with cost advantages compared with the existing solutions. Frugal innovation can be applied to both products and services across industries. We provide lessons for managers and organizations based on a scientific review of frugal innovation as an innovation strategy. Using published studies, four distinct frugal innovation strategies are introduced. Frugal innovation can be operationalized across different industrial contexts. It also interplays with other firm innovation strategies. We also identify concerns and barriers associated with frugal innovation approaches.