What is frugal innovation? Three defining criteria
Summary. Frugal innovation lacks a clear definition despite growing interest across emerging and developed markets. This paper identifies three defining criteria: substantial cost reduction, concentration on core functionalities, and optimized performance level. The authors conducted a literature review and interviewed 45 managers and researchers to establish these criteria, enabling organizations to better understand and develop frugal innovations in diverse market contexts.
Cite this article
Weyrauch, T., & Herstatt, C.. (2016). What is frugal innovation? Three defining criteria. Journal of Frugal Innovation. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40669-016-0005-y
Weyrauch, Timo, and Cornelius Herstatt. “What is frugal innovation? Three defining criteria.” Journal of Frugal Innovation, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40669-016-0005-y.
Weyrauch, Timo, and Cornelius Herstatt. 2016. “What is frugal innovation? Three defining criteria.” Journal of Frugal Innovation. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40669-016-0005-y.
@article{weyrauch-2016-what-frugal-innovation-three-defining,
title = {What is frugal innovation? Three defining criteria},
author = {Timo Weyrauch and Cornelius Herstatt},
journal = {Journal of Frugal Innovation},
year = {2016},
doi = {10.1186/s40669-016-0005-y},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s40669-016-0005-y}
}
TY - JOUR TI - What is frugal innovation? Three defining criteria AU - Timo Weyrauch AU - Cornelius Herstatt JO - Journal of Frugal Innovation PY - 2016 DO - 10.1186/s40669-016-0005-y UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/s40669-016-0005-y ER -
Details
- DOI
- 10.1186/s40669-016-0005-y
- Countries
- Germany
- Regions
- Europe
- Categories
- innovation-theory, general-innovation
- Added
- 2026-04-28