Frugal Innovation in Emerging Markets

Abstract

The quality and number of innovations developed by multinational companies from emerging countries is increasing dramatically. In particular, frugal innovations—“good-enough,” affordable products that meet the needs of resource-constrained consumers—have created tremendous demand in emerging markets. While the development of such products has largely been the do- main of local corporations in emerging countries, Western corporations have recently started to engage in frugal in- novation as well. This is a diffi cult task for Western fi rms, however, because their business models and organizational structures are traditionally designed for the development of advanced products for the affl uent few at the top of the economic pyramid. Using Swiss weighing-instrument manufacturer Mettler Toledo as a case example, this arti- cle suggests that frugal innovations are largely developed by local R&D subsidiaries of Western fi rms in emerging countries. A substantial degree of autonomy for those local R&D subsidiaries, including product-portfolio responsi- bilities, can facilitate the development of frugal innovation.