On 12 January 2016, around 30 stakeholders from industry, academia and politics met in Hamburg to analyse and discuss the relevance of frugal innovations for German companies and society-at-large. Frugal innovations are defined as (technological) solutions, focussed on their core functions robustness, user-friendliness and affordability. This phenomenon has, so far, predominantly been observed in emerging markets. The model of frugal innovations could, however, also hold great potentials for industrialized nations, such as Germany, and other international marketplaces. The importance of frugal innovations is, as evidence shows, expected to increase for the domestic market, too.
Tag Archives: China
Experten sehen frugale Innovationen auf dem Vormarsch
Erkenntnisse aus dem ersten gemeinsamen Workshop vom Fraunhofer-Zentrum Leipzig und der TU Hamburg
Am 12. Januar 2016 trafen sich rund 30 Vertreter aus Wirtschaft, Wissenschaft und Politik, um die Relevanz frugaler Innovationen für deutsche Unternehmen zu analysieren und zu diskutieren. Als „frugale Innovationen“ werden auf Kernfunktionen fokussierte, robuste, benutzerfreundliche und bezahlbare (Technologie-)Lösungen bezeichnet. Dieses Phänomen wurde bislang vornehmlich in Schwellenländern beobachtet. Für Industrienationen wie Deutschland könnte das frugale Innovationsmodel jedoch im Rahmen des internationalen Wettbewerbs große Potenziale bergen. Ebenso wird erwartet, dass die Bedeutung frugaler Innovationen im Hinblick auf den Binnenmarkt zunimmt.
Imperative of Frugal Innovations for Emerging Markets and Beyond
A Report on the Schmalenbach-TUHH Symposium
By: Dr. Rajnish Tiwari
On the 9th and 10th October 2014 a well-received symposium on the topic of frugal innovation was held at the premises of Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH). The symposium, carrying the title “Frugal Innovation” und die Internationalisierung der FuE: Hintergründe, Strategien, Fallstudien (English title: “Frugal Innovation and the Internationalization of R&D: Backgrounds, Strategies and Case Studies”) was organized by the Working Group on Innovation Management of the Schmalenbach-Gesellschaft für Betriebswirtschaft e.V. (hereafter SG) in collaboration with the Center for Frugal Innovation (hereafter CFI) of TUHH. The symposium with close to 45 participants from the industry and academia was well-attended and saw some very interesting contributions by invited speakers. The insights generated here through a unique setting of business/academia interaction can potentially push the envelope of research and help expand the currently limited understanding of frugal innovations.
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Schmalenbachgesellschaft und TUHH organisieren Symposium zum Thema “Frugal Innovation”
“Frugal Innovation”
und die Internationalisierung der FuE
Hintergründe, Strategien, Fallstudien
Hamburg, 9./10. Oktober 2014
Direkter Link zu allen weiteren Details sowie zur Anmeldung: hier anklicken
New paper: “Global Innovation Strategies of German Hidden Champions in Key Emerging Markets”
A new paper by Stephan Buse and Rajnish Tiwari of the Center for Frugal Innovation at the Hamburg University of Technology that examines product and market cultivation strategies employed by German mid-sized firms (“Mittelstand”) in the BRIC nations, especially China and India. The paper was preseneted at the XXV ISPIM Conference – Innovation for Sustainable Economy & Society, Dublin, Ireland on 8-11 June 2014.