While the development of frugal innovations is generally examined primarily from the perspective of emerging and developing countries, the development of products with frugal characteristics in industrialized countries remains unconsidered. In the new publication, Dr. Julian Barnikol and Prof. Dr. Ingo Liefner examine this connection using the example of the manufacturing industry in Lower Saxony and Hesse. To this end, they develop a new measurement concept for determining frugal product characteristics and examine the connection with different characteristics of the observed companies.
The research results indicate that the application of certain frugal design approaches impairs attractiveness in certain markets. At the same time, these can result in a strategic advantage in other markets. According to this, the application of frugal design principles can increase the long-term competitiveness of companies in industrialized countries if embedded strategically. The article has been published in Technological Forecasting and Social Change and is freely accessible.
Barnikol, J.; Liefner, I. (2024): Serving society at large. Operationalization and evidence of (advanced) frugal innovation in industrialized economies. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 204, 123444, DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2024.123444
