India’s Frugal Innovations: Jugaad and Unconventional Innovation Strategies

Abstract

In recent years, many low-cost innovations, to solve the problems of economically weaker sections of the society has emerged, with the goal of bringing together enterprise and social welfare. In reality, all businesses were concerned that high quality and low price may cannibalise their own existence. Concurrently, the customers who were intended to be benefitted from the novel strategy, tend to evade the products, quoting, the quality of the products being inferior and talking about the social stigma of using low-cost goods or products. The researchers by using different case studies have shown how the companies can effectively and successfully reduce the uncertainties of the market and technological challenges of low-cost products for price sensitive customers. After analyzing the case studies used in the article, it appears that the most important criteria to improve customer perceptions of quality and image is to keep the cost low and provide value for money. The case studies show that organisations that use the networks of open global innovation for the overall collaborative development at various stages of the value chain representing innovation are more likely to succeed with affordability-driven innovations