Habilitation colloquium of Dr. Rajnish Tiwari on the theme of “Digital Transformation as Enabler of Affordable Excellence”

On June 30, 2020 there was a Habilitation colloquium of Dr. Rajnish Tiwari that marked the successful completion of his Habilitation (“venia legendi”). The colloquium was on the theme of “Digital Transformation as Enabler of Affordable Excellence”. The presentation showed how digital technologies can help achieve frugal solutions that in turn enable affordable excellence.

Abstract of the presentation

Latest since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic the potential of digital technologies as enabler of high-quality-yet-affordable solutions has become clear. Nevertheless, reports suggest that many firms struggle with implementing digital transformation due to the (perceived) need for high investments. Moreover, the true (potential) value-add of digital transformation is not clear to many, as digital transformation is often associated with complex terms such as “Industry 4.0”, “Internet of Things” or “Smart Homes”, whose true value-add is either not obvious to non-experts, or whose value-add is rather perceived in “nice-yet-superfluous” things such as a refrigerator which can autonomously re-order groceries. Thus, the cost-benefit analysis apparently does not seem to justify the requisite investments in many an instance. Continue reading

Seminar on frugal innovation for sustainable development goals with CFI participation in Mumbai

CFI is happy to announce organisation of a seminar on frugal innovation as an enabler for the achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs) in Mumbai on 25th Sept. 2019. The seminar marks continuation of the fruitful cooperation that CFI has forged with the German Centre for Research and Innovation (DWIH) New Delhi, and this is the third year running for our joint events. Dr. Stephan Buse and Dr. Rajnish Tiwari from CFI will deliver talks outlining the scope of frugal innovation and their potential contribution for societal and economic development for all relevant stakeholders, while Prof. Dr. Cornelius Herstatt will moderate a panel discussion.

The event is organised by DWIH, New Delhi together with the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce and will take place on Wednesday, September 25, from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM in Mumbai. Details of the events are as follows.

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Frugale Innovation: Wissenschaftliche Einordnung eines neuen Innovationsbegriffs

Ein neues Arbeitspapier von Cornelius Herstatt und Rajnish Tiwari setzt sich mit der Frage der wissenschaftlichen Einordnung des Begriffs “frugale Innovation” auseinander. Zielsetzung des vorliegenden Beitrags ist es, frugale Innovation einzuordnen und von anderen, verwandten Innovations-Konzepten (“Jugaad”, “Bottom of the Pyramid” und “Reverse Innovation”) abzugrenzen. Die Autoren schlagen einen Katalog von Bestimmungsfaktoren für frugale Innovation vor. Die Bestimmungsfaktoren werden anhand von Beispielen erläutert. Ferner gehen die Autoren auf ausgewählte betriebswirtschaftliche Instrumente (Wertanalyse, Target Costing, innovative Analogien) ein, die bei der Realisierung von frugaler Innovation genutzt werden können.

Details: Working Paper 88 (Institut für Technologie- und Innovationsmanagement der TU Hamburg-Harburg / PDF, ca. 640 KB)

Abstract

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