Value creation using minimal resources – A meta-synthesis of frugal innovation

Abstract

The practice of frugal innovation (FI) has been garnering great research interest in recent years. Although initially focused on emerging economies, the idea is now more global, gaining adepts in developed economies. FI shows potential to effectively provide valuable products for underserved communities while sparing resources globally and contributing for social and environmental change. To reconcile a fragmented literature and provide a useful basis for evidence-based entrepreneurship and management, we conducted a meta-synthesis of 36 studies comprising 95 FI cases. We draw on our evidence-based analysis to present a phenomenological overview of FI through the sequential and interrelated relationships of the who-why-where-how-what of the practice. We then structure the evidence into a typology of archetypes, establishing the building blocks for future research to focus on the less investigated elements and explore additional interrelationships. Our conclusions contribute to the FI literature by providing a broader view of the concept, constituting a foundation for future theory and practice.