Frugal Innovation: origins, evolution and future perspectives

Frugal innovation has recently become a relevant topic in social and academic discourse. The real challenge for this new manifestation of innovation is the introduction of something new or different with the use of few resources. Frugal innovations have generally been associated with emerging economies where large consumer groups are at the bottom of the pyramid with unmet needs. However, there is growing evidence that this phenomenon is also becoming relevant in industrialized nations, potentially affecting the long-term competitiveness of domestic enterprises, not only abroad but also locally. Consequently, frugal innovation scholars have begun to investigate attempts to systematize this emerging field of research and promote the development of this debate. This theoretical study presents the origin and evolution of the frugal innovation approach and its current characterization in the literature; discusses future perspectives on the topic; and suggests that future works invest in empirical research, enriching existing debates on frugal innovation, especially from the lens of local economic development, through financial results and economic returns. It also reinforces the need to develop frugal innovation measurement instruments.