RRI Beyond Its Comfort Zone: Initiating a Dialogue with Frugal Innovation by ‘the Vulnerable’

Abstract

Responsible research and innovation (RRI) aims at mitigating the negative unintended consequences of technologies, developed by large business organisations, on society and environment. Scholars point out that the broader ethical underpinnings of RRI in terms of ‘transparency, interaction and mutual responsiveness’ are difficult to achieve in a typical business environment as conforming to these principles may erode the very competitive advantages the corporations seek to achieve through innovations. At the same time, the scholarship on frugal innovations by ‘the vulnerable’ puts forward an alternative narrative of innovations. Seeking to respond to the gap created by the apparatus of the mainstream market, and the State, these innovations reflect many pro-social motivations, and desire for inclusive development. The two discourses, however, remain isolated from each other. Our article is an attempt to initiate a dialogue between them. We intend to widen the scope and ambit of both RRI and the frugal innovation scholarships, which might help garner more policy and social support in favour of developing socially relevant, inclusive and context-specific innovations.

The Many Facets of Frugality: Insights from a Quasi-comprehensive Literature Survey

“…This argument of Schonberger [74] provides a kind of backing to Bhaduri and Talat [75] argument that frugality can be a way forward to avoid 'Collingridge's dilemma', or in Schonberger words, "Frugality dictates putting in a small increment of capacity, tentatively planning a second increment, and then pausing to watch sales. If the product is a failure, cancel the second increment; if it's a success, put the next increment in.…”

“…[67] The researchers from Stanford Research Institute (now SRI International), including Duane Elgin, Peter Schwartz, and Willis Harman got influenced by the concept of Journal of Scientometric Research, Vol 10, Issue 2, May-Aug 2021 manufacturing strategy; should be able to modify, customize, and simplify machines so that machines remain relevant for the changing product needs; should approach faster machines and high production capacity with caution, and should understand that the big machines, separated equipment, and long conveyor systems disconnect people and obscure opportunities for merging processes. [74] Further, to demonstrate the advantage of frugal approach, Schonberger [74] cites the example of Japan's industrial ascendency. There he notes Japanese industry spent 60% of their capital in incremental improvements to old machines while U.S. industry spent only 25% on improvements to existing equipment-75% went to new machines.…”

“…There he notes Japanese industry spent 60% of their capital in incremental improvements to old machines while U.S. industry spent only 25% on improvements to existing equipment-75% went to new machines. The other important argument Schonberger [74] makes is that frugal approach can lead to employee-led innovation and writes that, "Frugal approaches have shown that many of the best ideas arise out of the everyday observations of employees, not the abstract analyses of student engineers. Semiskilled operators have the hands-on experience to conceive of and install, say, simple machine-tomachine transfer chutes or rollers.…”

“…The idea is to add machine capacity in a way that permits backing off", if needed. Besides, it is important to note that while Schonberger [74] emphasizes on the frugal approach in manufacturing, he doesn't propose a binary against automation, and duly acknowledges, "Automation has the potential to lower costs and minimize variations in quality, but it makes sense only when it solves clear-cut problems and when it costs less than simpler solutions introduced incrementally. "…”

Exploring the Research Regarding Frugal Innovation and Business Sustainability through Bibliometric Analysis

“…Responsible research; frugal; grassroots; innovations; vulnerable; sustainable development Bhaduri, S; Talat, N [135] Find common aspects between responsible research and innovation (RRI) and the pro-social motivations that promote inclusive development.…”