//
2023 ZIBS Forum, on the theme of "Innovating for the Future: The Frontier in Business Excellence", was successfully held on January 13. The forum focused on topics such as data intelligence, environmental science, financial technology, digital innovation, and corporate restructuring. It shared the latest research findings, innovative discoveries, and practical experiences related to cutting-edge business developments, providing insightful perspectives and strategies for the sustainable development of the global business, technology, and education sectors.
During the Young Scholars Forum, ZIBS Assistant Professor Sheikh Fayaz Ahmad presented his research work — "Frugality, Regional Development and Digital Innovations: Gleaning Insights from China and India". Here's the review:
This work provides a vignette of Sheikh Fayaz's 15-year ethnographic research undertaken to examine frugal grassroots innovations in India and China. The research endeavors to address two primary objectives:
First, to bridge the scholarship gaps that exist within the regional innovation system literature and the burgeoning scholarship on frugal innovation;
Second, to advocate for frugality-oriented innovation systems for the development of rural regions.
Innovation is always seen as something that brings growth and economic development. This unquestioned understanding of innovation actually prompts us to look critically into the dark side of innovation. Nowadays, Innovation-optimism is slowly fading. There is a growing policy cry for rethinking the direction of innovation due to stagflation, unemployment, inequality, the climate change crisis, development deficits, etc. As a result, counter-hegemonic narratives around innovation that question the centrality of the pursuit of capital accumulation and valorization are emerging. Many argue that the 'seemingly neutral view of innovation as a necessary driver of economic growth and thus prosperity has not only become obsolete but also represents a noxious and dangerous compass guiding S&T policy' (Robra et al., 2023)
Why is frugality an alternative for future innovation discourses? According to Bhatti et al. (2018), frugal innovation is about “doing more with less, for the many, and being creative, innovative, and resourceful in the face of institutional voids and resource constraints.” Since a significant proportion of the world's population lives in underdeveloped regions, it is necessary to look for the people who are actually excluded from the dominant innovation model. The terminology is new, but the core idea behind frugal innovation is not new. We have seen a lot of people discuss frugality and frugal innovation.
For many years, frugal innovation was seen as happening in developing countries that tried to copy the technology from advanced economies. But with the advent of COVID-19, we have seen that advanced economies started copying the technologies from poor countries, and this started advocating for frugality and frugal innovation.
What Sheikh Fayaz has been exploring in China is Frugal Digital Innovation (FDI). As the name suggests, FDIs represent a blend of frugality with digital innovations. Ahuja (2021) conceptualized FDIs as “frugal innovation[s] where IT/IS play a pivotal, core role in enabling capabilities to overcome challenges of resource-constrained business environments.” They further noted that FDIs are intrinsically inexpensive, simple, and sustainable; importantly, such innovations can also promote novel products and services.
The research aims to explore the dynamic interplay between frugal and digital innovation and tries to find how such blended innovations create impact at the peripheries. the preliminary findings are as follows:
Rural Regions are emerging as new innovation hotspots using digital frugal innovations. Frugal approach is wittingly adopted as a new innovation strategy to target the non-consumption market. Using frugal features rural innovation networks are taking different directions;
Overcoming the deprivation of capabilities: People residing in rural areas often face challenges due to limited opportunities available for them to showcase their abilities (Sen, 1999). Digital platforms with frugal features, have facilitated technological de-skilling mechanism (Fu et al., 2023), whereby esoteric technologies are being demystified, and participation is made accessible and free;
A sign of rural-to-rural migration. Usually, there is rural to urban migration. But in China, using frugal digital innovation, there is a cross-migration from rural to rural, which we have not witnessed in Africa or India;
Innovation begets further innovations. The introduction of digital frugal platforms has sparked a chain reaction of innovations, where one innovation begets another;
Tradition intersects with innovations. Some of the traditional practices are taking new shape, new directions and people in rural areas are trying to modify tradition by modern technologies, modern know-how, trying successfully blending the traditional practice, traditional craft, traditional, capabilities and exploring new market for them;
Empowering Women and Reducing Income Disparity through Rural E-commerce. There's a new discussion happening in China, which is the feminization of the Chinese e commerce industry. the female participation is increasing and the so-called marginalized communities are getting equal opportunities in market participation. This is one of the important things which is happening because of the frugal digital platforms, because these platforms have given access to people to participate without any bias and prejudice;
Formal dominant innovation models need a rethink. Embracing innovation driven by frugality might serve as a viable counter hegemonic innovation approach to eliminate exclusion and foster inclusion. Poor countries cannot invest in R&D and fundamental research base. Learning from existing innovations could be less expensive option. Rural areas always have remained outside the innovation radar and there is a need to create innovation spots in the peripheries. Top-down innovation models are not working in many countries, bottom-up innovations need a try.
*This article is based on the speech made by ZIBS Assistant Professor Sheikh Fayaz Ahmad at ZIBS 2023 Forum. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of ZIBS.
Sheikh Fayaz Ahmad
Assistant Professor
Dr. Sheikh Fayaz Ahmad is working as an Assistant Professor at ZIBS. He holds M.Phil and PhD from the Centre for Studies in Science Policy, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Postdoc from Zhejiang University. He is co-editor of the book titled 'Informal Sector Innovations: Insights from Global South', (Routledge, Taylor and Francis, 2015). His major research interests include Alternative Innovation Models, Digital Frugal Innovations, Regional Development and China Innovation. Journals such as Oxford Development Studies, International Planning and Development Review, Current Science, Journal of Rural Studies and Science Technology and Society have published some of his recent papers. He also contributed to the Handbook on Alternative Theories of Innovation (Edward Elgar, 2021) and the upcoming Handbook on Frugal Innovations (Edward Elgar, 2022). Recently, he co-edited a special issue on ‘Rethinking Innovation and Development Discourses in Light of COVID-19' for Science Technology and Society, a Sage Journal. Notably, this special issue included contributions from prominent scholars in the fields of innovation and development, including a Nobel Laureate. He also moderated a special session on ‘Alternative Innovation and Development Models: Insights from China, India, and Pakistan' on September 23, 2022 for Science Summit of the United Nations General Assembly.
