Frugal Innovation – Its Concept & Attributes of Success; Learning Lessons For Western MNCs

Author(s)

Fouzia Ashfaq , Dr. Wasif Ali Waseer , Sehrish Ilyas ,

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Volume 7 - January 2018 (01)

Abstract

Frugal Innovation is an emerging trend as affordability has become a major constraint on purchasing behaviour of the growing population of emerging/developed economies. The Westerns MNCs are good at innovation; however working in a resource-constrained environment requires extra challenges. The success of frugal innovation depends on the ability to sense the local needs and translating them into low cost products without compromising on quality. Using four case examples of Mettler Toledo Basic Weighing Scale,  GE’s Portable Ultrasound Machine, Haier’s Mini Magic Child and Philips Bedside Patient Monitoring System, the research  findings reveal that the firms which are aware of the difference between developed and developing markets and are more flexible and adaptive can have more opportunities to capture the market.

Keywords

Frugal innovation, Emerging markets, Resource Constraints, Innovation Challenges. 

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