IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/sustdv/v33y2025is1p740-756.html

Drivers of Frugal Innovation for Achieving Sustainable Development Goals

Author

Listed:
  • Ayman Wael Al‐khatib
  • Mohammad Alghababsheh

Abstract

As stakeholders increasingly emphasize sustainability, understanding how organizations can contribute to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is becoming essential for managers. While frugal innovation is increasingly recognized for its potential to contribute to resource‐efficient solutions, its broader implications for SDGs have not received sufficient empirical attention. Given this, the aim of this study is to: (i) investigate the relationship between institutional forces (i.e., coercive, normative, and mimetic) and the adoption of frugal innovation; and (ii) to explore the role of frugal innovation in achieving SDGs in manufacturing firms. To this end, the study employs a hybrid quantitative approach combining partial least squares‐structural equation modeling (PLS‐SEM) analysis to test the linear relationships, and artificial neural network (ANN) analysis to identify the nonlinear relationships, in the research model. Using a survey data from 279 respondents, the results reveal that all institutional forces positively influence frugal innovation, with mimetic forces having the greatest normalized importance, followed by normative forces, and then coercive forces. The results also demonstrate that frugal innovation plays a positive role in achieving SDGs. This study delivers valuable insights using a robust methodology that highlights the role of frugal innovation in different areas of sustainable development and helps managers aiming to improve their contribution to SDGs through the concept of frugal innovation.

Suggested Citation

  • Ayman Wael Al‐khatib & Mohammad Alghababsheh, 2025. "Drivers of Frugal Innovation for Achieving Sustainable Development Goals," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(S1), pages 740-756, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:33:y:2025:i:s1:p:740-756
    DOI: 10.1002/sd.70039
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.70039
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/sd.70039?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. S. Ananthram & C. Chan, 2021. "Institutions and frugal innovation: The case of Jugaad," Post-Print hal-03336967, HAL.
    2. Basco, Rodrigo & Hair, Joseph F. & Ringle, Christian M. & Sarstedt, Marko, 2022. "Advancing family business research through modeling nonlinear relationships: Comparing PLS-SEM and multiple regression," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 13(3).
    3. Huang, Lei & Wang, Chenhao & Chin, Tachia & Huang, Jiahe & Cheng, Xuanmei, 2022. "Technological knowledge coupling and green innovation in manufacturing firms: Moderating roles of mimetic pressure and environmental identity," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 248(C).
    4. Laura Mariani & Benedetta Trivellato & Mattia Martini & Elisabetta Marafioti, 2022. "Achieving Sustainable Development Goals Through Collaborative Innovation: Evidence from Four European Initiatives," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(4), pages 1075-1095, November.
    5. Ukobitz, Desirée Valeria & Faullant, Rita, 2022. "The relative impact of isomorphic pressures on the adoption of radical technology: Evidence from 3D printing," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    6. Subramaniam Ananthram & Christopher Chan, 2021. "Institutions and frugal innovation: The case of Jugaad," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 38(3), pages 1031-1060, September.
    7. Oier Imaz & Andoni Eizagirre, 2020. "Responsible Innovation for Sustainable Development Goals in Business: An Agenda for Cooperative Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-20, August.
    8. Kassim Alinda & Sulait Tumwine & Irene Nalukenge & Twaha Kigongo Kaawaase & Arthur Sserwanga & Ståle Navrud, 2024. "Institutional pressures and sustainability practices of manufacturing firms in Uganda," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(1), pages 940-958, February.
    9. Barnikol, Julian & Liefner, Ingo, 2022. "The prospects of advanced frugal innovations in different economies," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    10. Govindan, Kannan & Shankar, K. Madan & Kannan, Devika, 2020. "Achieving sustainable development goals through identifying and analyzing barriers to industrial sharing economy: A framework development," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    11. Li, Jian & Zhao, Yueru & Yao, Nengzhi & Guo, Qiaozhe & Zhao, Lexin, 2025. "The role of party embeddedness in environmental governance of Chinese firms: An institutional perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    12. Siying Long & Zhongju Liao, 2023. "Green relational capital, integration capabilities and environmental innovation adoption: The moderating role of normative pressures," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(3), pages 1570-1580, June.
    13. Ahmad Ali Atieh & Alhareth Abu Hussein & Saheer Al-Jaghoub & Ahmad Fathi Alheet & Murad Attiany, 2025. "The Impact of Digital Technology, Automation, and Data Integration on Supply Chain Performance: Exploring the Moderating Role of Digital Transformation," Logistics, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-24, January.
    14. Lai-Wan Wong & Garry Wei-Han Tan & Keng-Boon Ooi & Binshan Lin & Yogesh K. Dwivedi, 2024. "Artificial intelligence-driven risk management for enhancing supply chain agility: A deep-learning-based dual-stage PLS-SEM-ANN analysis," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 62(15), pages 5535-5555, August.
    15. Alwosheel, Ahmad & van Cranenburgh, Sander & Chorus, Caspar G., 2018. "Is your dataset big enough? Sample size requirements when using artificial neural networks for discrete choice analysis," Journal of choice modelling, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 167-182.
    16. Georg M. Eichler & Erich J. Schwarz, 2019. "What Sustainable Development Goals Do Social Innovations Address? A Systematic Review and Content Analysis of Social Innovation Literature," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-18, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Zulfiya Ukbaeva & Theresa Wöllner & Peter M. Bican, 2026. "Constraints and Frugal Innovation: Enabling Sustainable Production Through the New Product Development Process," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(S2), pages 1392-1413, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hameeda A. AlMalki & Christopher M. Durugbo, 2023. "Systematic review of institutional innovation literature: towards a multi-level management model," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 73(2), pages 731-785, June.
    2. Mehak Majeed & Saeed Owais Mushtaq & Zahid Gulzar Rather, 2022. "The Complementarity Between the Formal and Informal Sub-sectors of the Indian Industry," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 65(4), pages 981-1006, December.
    3. Jayaraj, Nikhil & Klarin, Anton & Ananthram, Subramaniam, 2025. "Multistakeholder collaborative strategies for transition towards solar energy storage," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    4. Hari Bapuji & Snehanjali Chrispal & Balagopal Vissa & Gokhan Ertug, 2023. "Local, yet global: Implications of caste for MNEs and international business," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 6(2), pages 201-234, June.
    5. Chutima Suchitwarasan & Emre Cinar & Chris Simms & Mehmet Akif Demircioglu, 2024. "Innovation for sustainable development goals: a comparative study of the obstacles and tactics in public organizations," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 49(6), pages 2234-2259, December.
    6. Tingting Jin & Isidre March Chorda, 2025. "The Driving Mechanisms Behind Green Entrepreneurial Orientation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(7), pages 9379-9396, November.
    7. Yu Zhang & Lang Wu & Heqi Zhang, 2026. "Revisiting the relationship between industrial policy and firm innovation: a quasi-natural experiment from China," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 13(1), pages 1-14, December.
    8. Son Thi Kim Le & Laurent Scaringella, 2025. "Scarcity, absorptive capacity, and social networking — Antecedents of self-constructed innovation in Vietnamese SMEs?," Post-Print hal-05411228, HAL.
    9. repec:hal:journl:hal-03650216 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Petteri Repo & Kaisa Matschoss, 2019. "Social Innovation for Sustainability Challenges," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-12, December.
    11. Haoying Wang & Guohui Wu, 2022. "Modeling discrete choices with large fine-scale spatial data: opportunities and challenges," Journal of Geographical Systems, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 325-351, July.
    12. Shekhar Rathor & Mingyu Zhang & Taehoon Im, 2023. "Web 3.0 and Sustainability: Challenges and Research Opportunities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-17, October.
    13. Wang, Kailai & De Vos, Jonas & Smart, Michael & Wang, Sicheng, 2025. "Explaining Youth Driver Licensing Determinants Using XGBoost and SHAP," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 87-100.
    14. Fairouz Mustafa & Jan Smolarski & Ahmed A. Elamer, 2025. "The Convergence of Artificial Intelligence and Sustainability Reporting: A Systematic Review of Applications, Challenges and Future Directions," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(8), pages 9761-9784, December.
    15. Ester Vasta & Tommaso Scimone & Giovanni Nobile & Otto Eberhardt & Daniele Dugo & Massimiliano Maurizio De Benedetti & Luigi Lanuzza & Giuseppe Scarcella & Luca Patanè & Paolo Arena & Mario Cacciato, 2023. "Models for Battery Health Assessment: A Comparative Evaluation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-34, January.
    16. Inma Rodríguez-Ardura & Antoni Meseguer-Artola & María-Ángeles García-Haro, 2025. "How hedonic strategies bring about customer engagement and value for e-retailers—A blended PLS-ANN analysis of the mediating effect of experiential value-in-use," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 35(1), pages 1-19, December.
    17. Najmeh Samadiani & Amanda S. Barnard & Dayalan Gunasegaram & Najmeh Fayyazifar, 2025. "Best practices for machine learning strategies aimed at process parameter development in powder bed fusion additive manufacturing," Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, Springer, vol. 36(7), pages 4477-4517, October.
    18. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Qin, Shuai & Li, Yaya, 2022. "Does industrial robot application promote green technology innovation in the manufacturing industry?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    19. Manuel Sánchez-Pérez & Nuria Rueda-López & María Belén Marín-Carrillo & Eduardo Terán-Yépez, 2021. "Theoretical dilemmas, conceptual review and perspectives disclosure of the sharing economy: a qualitative analysis," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(7), pages 1849-1883, October.
    20. David Bruce Audretsch & Maksim Belitski & Georg Maximilian Eichler & Erich Schwarz, 2024. "Entrepreneurial ecosystems, institutional quality, and the unexpected role of the sustainability orientation of entrepreneurs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 62(2), pages 503-522, February.
    21. Dai, Jiapeng & Mehmood, Usman & Nassani, Abdelmohsen A., 2025. "Empowering sustainability through energy efficiency, green innovations, and the sharing economy: Insights from G7 economies," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 318(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:33:y:2025:i:s1:p:740-756. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-1719 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.