Synopses & Reviews
Frugal innovation is a way that companies can create high-quality products with limited resources. Once the preserve of firms in poor markets, Western companies are now seeking ways to appeal to cost-conscious and environmentally-aware consumers at home. With an estimated trillion-dollar global market for frugal products, and with potentially huge cost savings to be gained, frugal innovation is revolutionizing business and reshaping management thinking. This book explains the principles, perspectives and techniques behind frugal innovation, enabling managers to profit from the great changes ahead. The book explains:
How to achieve mass customization, using low-cost robotics, inexpensive product design and virtual prototyping software.
How consumers and other external partners can help develop products
How to implement sustainable practices, such as the production of waste-free products
How to change the corporate culture to become more frugal
Review
and#147;An engrossing masterclass from two business school academics in how companies can develop high-quality products with limited resources.and#8221;
and#151;Independent"and#147;The book is enlivened by fascinating case studiesand#8221; and#151;Financial Times
"This book lists practical solutions for companies who want to do more innovation with less, no matter where you are in the world."and#151;Henry Chesbrough, Faculty Director, Garwood Center for Corporate Innovation at UC Berkeleyand#8217;s Haas School of Business, and author, Open Innovation
"The authors make a compelling case for a feedback-rich economy that is restorative and regenerative rather than extractive, heading for the and#147;upcycleand#8221;. (They) are to be congratulated for their stimulating guide to the future."and#151;The Ellen MacArthur Foundation
and#147;Frugal innovation is now becoming a strategic business imperative in developed economies, where consumers demand affordable and sustainable products. No business leader in the 21st century can ignore the paradigm shift fully described in this book.and#8221; and#151;Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and CEO, Renault-Nissan Alliance
and#147;Radjou and Prabhu demonstrate that frugal innovation is one of the most critical emerging models of value creation for both businesses and the customers they serve.and#8221;and#151;Indra K. Nooyi, chairman and CEO, PepsiCo, Inc.
and#147;Required reading for executives who want to get to market faster and more efficiently while delivering what customers want.and#8221; and#151;Beth Comstock, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, GE
and#147;The practical roadmap and numerous cases in this book find the beat of the new customer-led world orderand#151;where velocity, synergy, empathy and involvement come standard. The future will be about doing more with less, and here we see how.and#8221;and#151;Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide, Saatchi and Saatchi
and#147;Health care may be the global sector most urgently in need of Radjou and Prabhuand#8217;s insights in this book. Innovation must be harnessed to create massive, sustainable improvements in health delivery systems without crippling economic growth. Frugal innovation sets forth a compelling roadmap for delivering better care at lower cost for more people.and#8221;and#151;Molly Coye, MD, Chief Innovation Officer, UCLA Health
and#147;Insightfully articulates how Western companies can evolve to capture opportunities presented by the burgeoning and#147;do more with lessand#8221; economy."and#151;Dominic Barton, Global Managing Director, McKinsey and Company
and#147;Valuable insights for business leaders everywhere.and#8221;and#151;Pierre Nanterme, Chairman and CEO, Accenture
and#147;The book is of great relevance to the financial services industry and banks like Barclays that are working with new technologies and start-ups to help customers manage their finances better.and#8221;and#151;Elisabetta Osta, Managing Director, Design Office Information, Insight and Innovation Team, Barclays Bank
and#147;Addressing clientsand#8217; pain points and dreams in a frugal way requires a focus on simplicity and agility. This book gives many suggestions on how to do this well.and#8221;and#151;Sophie Vandebroek, chief technology officer, Xerox and president of Xerox Innovation Group
Synopsis
Winner of the CMI Management Book of the Year 2016
Frugal innovation is a way that companies can create high-quality products with limited resources. Once the preserve of firms in poor markets, Western companies are now seeking ways to appeal to cost-conscious and environmentally-aware consumers at home. With an estimated trillion-dollar global market for frugal products, and with potentially huge cost savings to be gained, frugal innovation is revolutionizing business and reshaping management thinking. This book explains the principles, perspectives and techniques behind frugal innovation, enabling managers to profit from the great changes ahead. The book explains:
How to achieve mass customization, using low-cost robotics, inexpensive product design and virtual prototyping software.
How consumers and other external partners can help develop products
How to implement sustainable practices, such as the production of waste-free products
How to change the corporate culture to become more frugal
About the Author
Navi Radjou is a writer, analyst and consultant specializing in innovation and leadership. He is a Fellow at Judge Business School, Cambridge, and winner of the 2013 Thinkers50 Innovation Award. Navi has been featured in
The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Businessweek, The Economist, and
The Financial Times In addition to being a columnist on HarvardBusinessReview.org, Navi is a sought-after speaker by the World Economic Forum, Council on Foreign Relations, The Conference Board, Harvard University, and Asia Society.
Radjou is the co-author of Jugaad Innovation: Think Frugal, Be Flexible, Generate Breakthrough Growth and, with Prasad Kaipa, From Smart to Wise, a book on next-generation leadership. He is a graduate of Yale University and of the Yale School of Management. He lives in Palo Alto, California and Cambridge, England.
Jaideep Prabhu is a writer, consultant and Director of the Centre for India and Global Business at Judge Business School, Cambridge, specializing in marketing, innovation, strategy and international business. Jaideep Prabhu is a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Marketing, the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, the International Journal of Research in Marketing Science and the Journal of Management Studies, and a member of the senior advisory board of the European Journal of Marketing.
He has consulted with or taught executives from ABN Amro, Bertelsmann AG, British Telecom, the UK's Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), EDS, Egg, IBM, ING Bank, Laird, the NHS, Nokia, Oce Copiers, Philips, Roche, Shell, Vodafone and Xerox among other organisations in Colombia, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, UK and US. He has been interviewed by or has had his work profiled on BBC News 24, The New York Times, MIT Sloan Management Review, BusinessWeek, US News and World Report, The Financial Times, Le Monde, The Times, The Times of India, and elsewhere. He earned his PhD at the University of Southern California. He lives in Cambridge, England.