How Frugal Innovation Promotes Social Sustainability

Rakhshanda Khan

doi:10.3390/su8101034

Abstract

There is a need to develop an understanding of how frugal innovation promotes social sustainability. The objective of this paper is to find the connections between the two concepts of social sustainability and frugal innovation, by reviewing the existing literature concerning both fields. This paper presents a framework that identifies essential themes of social sustainability and explores them through frugal innovation. The framework builds on the important themes of social sustainability and shows their relevance in practice through frugal innovation. The notion of frugal innovation can be viewed as an approach towards realizing social sustainability and fulfilling the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Highlights

Within the sustainability discourse, the social pillar is considered of utmost importance, alongside the other two pillars of sustainable development—environmental and economic
The objective of this paper is to find the connections between the two concepts of social sustainability and frugal innovation, by reviewing the existing literature concerning both fields
Frugal innovation is considered to be the future of the innovation management and a notion to look out for in the years to come [13,14]

Summary

Introduction

The social pillar is considered of utmost importance, alongside the other two pillars of sustainable development—environmental and economic. Social sustainability is focused on the development of programs and processes that promote social interaction and cultural enrichment. It emphasizes protecting the vulnerable while respecting social diversity and is related to more basic needs of happiness, safety, freedom, dignity and affection [1]. It is essential to develop the concept of social sustainability by adopting the integrating framework of sustainability [3]. Both the environmental and economic aspects of sustainable development are intertwined with the social pillar. According to Torjman [4], “human well-being cannot be sustained without a healthy environment and is unlikely in the absence of a vibrant economy”

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Conclusion