On Monday 6 October 2025, M.A. Pineda Escobar will defend the doctoral thesis titled : Frugal Innovation Beyond Its Surface. The relevance of context for understanding the concept and its relation to sustainability
- Promotor
- Promotor
- Date
- Monday 6 Oct 2025, 16:00 - 16:00
- Type
- PhD defence
- Space
- Auditorium of the ISS
- Location
- International Institute of Social Studies
Below is a brief summary of the dissertation:
Taking a deeper dive into the exploration of frugal innovation than what is found in current discourse, this article-based PhD thesis contributes to existing literature by emphasizing and operationalizing the relevance of contextual considerations for the study of frugal innovation, thereby advancing previous research that has noted the influence of context in the understanding of frugality in innovation. The work proposes two analytical frameworks that make this relevance operational by explicitly including the context as a criterion for the identification of frugal innovation and for the assessment of its relation to sustainability. This PhD thesis also makes a methodological contribution by exploring various techniques for qualitative inquiry and using them to gather and analyze primary and secondary data. In particular, the use of mind maps for qualitative data analysis in multiple-case study research makes a genuine contribution to knowledge by proposing a distinct way for accessing and analyzing qualitative data. Innovation has tended to be viewed as inherently positive. However, its double-edged potential to either address or (also) induce or worsen societal challenges is being increasingly recognized. There is a growing interest in academia, policymaking, and practice in alternative types of innovation that are environmentally and socially sound. Given its core aim of providing affordable, simple, and good performing solutions for un(der)served users in resource-constrained environments, frugal innovation has been proposed as one of these new types of innovation and has garnered increasing attention over the past two decades.
- More information
The Public Defence will take place on Monday, 6 October 2025 in the ISS auditorium (Aula B) and theceremony will begin promptly at 16:00 hrs. The doors will be closed at the start of the Public Defence.
Children below the age of 7 are not allowed in the auditorium during the first part of the ceremony.
The ceremony will be followed by a reception in the Atrium of the ISS.
Professors are invited to join the academic procession.