Commercialising innovations from the informal economy

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss the commercialisation mechanisms of the innovations that emerge from the informal sector of Indian economy. Also known as grassroots innovations, they are said to better fit with the local market demands and conditions in the developing nations of the world. The paper discusses the grassroots innovation ecosystem in India and the role that is played by the state in providing institutional support. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on an exploratory study using both the primary and secondary sources of data. Primary data are taken from the interview of the innovators during the field work, whereas secondary data are acquired from research articles published in various journals indexed in Scopus and web of sciences, government publications and reports. The annual reports of National Innovation Foundation are analysed to gather information and to build the arguments for this paper. The secondary data are also collected and evaluated from the database of the grassroots innovators available on Grassroots Innovation Augmentation Network. Findings The paper provides insight into how the grassroots innovations are commercialised in India through different pathways such as social entrepreneurship, technology transfer and open source technology. It takes four case studies to discuss the institutional support to the grassroots innovator and the challenges in the diffusion of the grassroots innovations. Research limitations/implications Due to the chosen research approach, the results cannot be generalised on all grassroots innovations. Researchers are encouraged to conduct a survey of more grassroots innovations in order to derive generalised outputs. Practical implications The paper includes implications for understanding the diffusion process of grassroots innovations that can be useful for all the emerging and developing nations. Originality/value The paper fulfils an identified need to study the diffusion modes of informal sector innovations and management of grassroots innovations.

Grassroots innovation and social innovation in perspective

“…Less papers focused on how grassroots innovations emerged in the informal sector ( Sharma and Kumar, 2018 , 2019 ; Sheikh and Bhaduri, 2020 , 2021 ), and learning practices and networking capacities ( Singh et al, 2020b , 2021 ). Other themes identified were ICT supporting the development of grassroots innovation ( Singh et al, 2018 ; Shin et al, 2019 ), grassroots innovation in language ( Tan and Zuckermann, 2021 ), and rural grassroots innovations ( Ng et al, 2019 ), these themes were found seldom.…”

“…In a clustering analysis of the documents on grassroots innovation, two countries were found to be in the spotlight: India ( Sharma and Kumar, 2018 , 2019 ; Singh et al, 2018 ; Patnaik and Bhowmick, 2020 ; Sheikh and Bhaduri, 2020 ; Singh et al, 2020a , b , 2021 ; Hossain et al, 2021 ; Parwez and Chandra Shekar, 2019 ; Sharma, 2021 ; Wierenga, 2020 ) and Spain ( Boni et al, 2018 ; Belda-Miquel et al, 2020 ; Pellicer-Sifres, 2020 ; Rasillo, 2021 ; Pellicer-Sifres et al, 2018 ). Other regions mentioned in the grassroots innovation papers were Australia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, United States, China, Mexico, England, Italy, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden, Austria, Laos, and Taiwan.…”

Technological Transformation and the Role of Frugal Innovations in Entrepreneurship Development in India

“…For example, the improvised version of traditional pottery wheels used by households in cottage industries in Assam (locally called ‘Chaak’). Understanding the needs of local communities, they address the extremely complex societal challenges identified in the BoP (Bhaduri & Talat, 2020; Gupta, 2012; Sharma & Kumar, 2019).…”

Grassroots innovations and sustainable energy use in urban contexts: case studies from India

“…While the literature discussed above conceptualises grassroots innovations as the practices and activities of activists and civil society organisations generating novel solutions for sustainable development, there are scholars from India (and also outside India) who have explored this area in the Indian context. This strand of literature studies grassroots innovators as individuals working outside the realms of formal sectors and thus focuses on their motivations, commercialisation of their innovations, institutionalisation of grassroots innovations, intellectual property rights issues and entrepreneurial and market prospects (Bhaduri and Kumar, 2011;Gupta, 2013;Pastakia, 1998;Abrol and Gupta, 2014;Dutz, 2007;Gupta et al, 2003;Ustyuzhantseva, 2015;Sharma and Kumar, 2018a, 2018b, 2019Sarkar, 2018;Sharma, 2021). The meeting point of these two strands of literature lies in their recognition of common people as innovative agents possessing knowledge, skills and determination to generate solutions to problems which exist in their surroundings.…”