Frugal innovation for smart connected products: a case study of IoT-based smart farming by Vietnamese startups

ABSTRACT

Frugal innovation has been gaining increasing attention from scholars, practitioners, and policymakers over the past two decades. Frugal innovation refers to innovations that emerge in resource-constrained settings with scarcity of financial capital, technological capability, or human resources. The innovation output offers significantly lower prices compared to other market alternatives while still delivering an optimal performance level catered to the specific needs of the unserved or underserved customer groups. This research employs a qualitative research methodology, using thematic coding analysis techniques to investigate case studies of three Vietnamese startups that provide IoT-based (Internet of Things) smart farming solutions for Vietnamese farmers and farming businesses. The findings highlight three characteristics of frugal innovation in Vietnam’s agriculture industry of substantial cost reduction, focused functionality, and optimal performance level. The study also identifies various enablers and barriers during the deployment process of frugal innovation. In addition, the research emphasises the distinction in the means of achieving frugal innovation in the context of smart connected products, compared to products that are mainly comprised of hardware components (i.e. hardware-based products). The study has important theoretical and managerial implications for various stakeholders, aiming to accelerate the transformation process from traditional farming to smart farming in Vietnam.

KEYWORDS:

• Frugal innovation
• smart farming
• smart connected products
• startups
• Vietnam

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Long M. Thai

Long Minh Thai obtained his Bachelor's Degree in business administration from Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU) and is a lifetime member of the Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society. His research primarily focuses on frugal innovation and technological strategies for emerging countries. Thai has presented his research at the ASIALICS conference. He is now working as a management consultant specialising in the life sciences industry.

Kumiko Miyazaki

Kumiko Miyazaki has served as a specially appointed professor at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU) from 2020 to 2024. She is an Emeritus Professor at Tokyo Institute of Technology. Miyazaki graduated from Oxford University, and holds a master's degree from Cambridge, an MBA from INSEAD and a PhD from SPRU (University of Sussex). She has been doing innovative empirical research in the field of strategic management of technology and sector innovation systems focusing particularly on the high tech and Information Communications technologies. She was the Chair of the Japan Society for Research Policy and Innovation Management. Currently, she is an associate member of the Science Council of Japan. She is the author of the book ‘Building Competences in the Firm: Lessons from Japanese and European Optoelectronics’ published by Macmillan.