IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/sustdv/v34y2026is2p1392-1413.html

Constraints and Frugal Innovation: Enabling Sustainable Production Through the New Product Development Process

Author

Listed:
  • Zulfiya Ukbaeva
  • Theresa Wöllner
  • Peter M. Bican

Abstract

This paper advances understanding of how constraint‐based thinking fosters sustainable innovation under resource limitations. Based on five case studies of small and medium‐sized enterprises and research groups developing frugal medical devices across diverse regions, it identifies how market, infrastructure, and user constraints shape design choices and innovation outcomes. Treating constraints as structured inputs rather than barriers, the study extends the constraint‐based thinking framework into an iterative, open innovation process for early‐stage product development. The findings refine theoretical understanding of how constraints foster sustainability‐oriented innovation and offer practical guidance for designing inclusive, affordable, and scalable solutions in underserved markets. By reframing scarcity as a creative driver, the study shows how constraints can catalyze frugal innovation and contribute to sustainable development.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:34:y:2026:i:s2:p:1392-1413
    DOI: 10.1002/sd.70399
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.70399
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/sd.70399?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. Halinen, Aino & Tornroos, Jan-Ake, 2005. "Using case methods in the study of contemporary business networks," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 58(9), pages 1285-1297, September.
    2. 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.
    3. Jun Wen & Mingbo Zheng & Gen-Fu Feng & Sunwu Winfred Chen & Chun-Ping Chang, 2020. "Corruption And Innovation: Linear And Nonlinear Investigations Of Oecd Countries," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 65(01), pages 103-129, March.
    4. Tobias Sturm & Peter M. Bican & Frederik J. Riar & Carsten C. Guderian & Tobias Welz, 2025. "Deal or no deal? Understanding entrepreneurs’ criteria and deal breaker in investor selection processes," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 95(1), pages 9-36, January.
    5. Lim, Chaisung & Fujimoto, Takahiro, 2019. "Frugal innovation and design changes expanding the cost-performance frontier: A Schumpeterian approach," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(4), pages 1016-1029.
    6. Stefanie Hain & Theresa Wöllner & Peter M. Bican, 2025. "Digital strategies for fostering workplace creativity," International Journal of Product Development, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 29(2), pages 216-246.
    7. Gautam Ahuja & Riitta Katila, 2004. "Where do resources come from? The role of idiosyncratic situations," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(8‐9), pages 887-907, August.
    8. Antonia Madrid‐guijarro & Domingo Garcia & Howard Van auken, 2009. "Barriers to Innovation among Spanish Manufacturing SMEs," Journal of Small Business Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(4), pages 465-488, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Bao, Yuting & Pan, Tianxing, 2025. "Close to star organizations promotes exploratory innovation for latecomers," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    2. André de Abreu Saraiva Monteiro Alves & Fernando Manuel Pereira de Oliveira Carvalho, 2022. "How Dynamic Managerial Capabilities, Entrepreneurial Orientation, and Operational Capabilities Impact Microenterprises’ Global Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-23, December.
    3. Zhou, Dan & Yan, Tingting & Zhao, Lilong & Guo, Jingjing, 2020. "Performance implications of servitization: Does a Manufacturer's service supply network matter?," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 219(C), pages 31-42.
    4. Best, Bernadette & Miller, Kristel & McAdam, Rodney & Maalaoui, Adnane, 2022. "Business model innovation within SPOs: Exploring the antecedents and mechanisms facilitating multi-level value co-creation within a value-network," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 475-494.
    5. Chang, Yuan-Chieh & Chen, Min-Nan, 2016. "Service regime and innovation clusters: An empirical study from service firms in Taiwan," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(9), pages 1845-1857.
    6. Schiuma, Giovanni & Santarsiero, Francesco, 2023. "Innovation labs as organisational catalysts for innovation capacity development: A systematic literature review," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    7. Malen, Joel, 2015. "Motivating And Enabling Firm Innovation Effort: Integrating Penrosian And Behavioral Theory Perspectives On Slack Resources," Hitotsubashi Journal of commerce and management, Hitotsubashi University, vol. 49(1), pages 37-54, October.
    8. Suomi, Kati & Luonila, Mervi & Tähtinen, Jaana, 2020. "Ironic festival brand co-creation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 211-220.
    9. Tanja Lepistö & Tiina Mäkitalo-Keinonen & Tiina Valjakka, 0. "Opportunity recognition in a hub-governed network – insights from garage services," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-24.
    10. Tammy L. Madsen & Michael J. Leiblein, 2015. "What Factors Affect the Persistence of an Innovation Advantage?," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(8), pages 1097-1127, December.
    11. Hazhir Rahmandad, 2012. "Impact of Growth Opportunities and Competition on Firm-Level Capability Development Trade-offs," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(1), pages 138-154, February.
    12. Frans Prenkert, 2012. "Business Network Simulation: Combining Research Cases and Agent-Based Models in a Robust Methodology," International Journal of Business Administration, International Journal of Business Administration, Sciedu Press, vol. 3(6), pages 82-92, November.
    13. Cristina Páez-Avilés & Esteve Juanola-Feliu & Islam Bogachan-Tahirbegi & Mónica Mir & Manel González-Piñero & Josep Samitier, 2015. "Innovation And Technology Transfer Of Medical Devices Fostered By Cross-Disciplinary Communities Of Practitioners," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 19(06), pages 1-27, December.
    14. Mariana G. Andrade-Rojas & Terence J. V. Saldanha & Abhishek Kathuria & Jiban Khuntia & Waifong Boh, 2024. "How Information Technology Overcomes Deficiencies for Innovation in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Closed Innovation vs. Open Innovation," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 35(4), pages 1981-2012, December.
    15. Tai-Young Kim & Jeroen G. Kuilman, 2013. "The Demography of Resources," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(7), pages 1155-1184, November.
    16. Rogbeer, Shalini & Almahendra, Rangga & Ambos, Björn, 2014. "Open-Innovation Effectiveness: When does the Macro Design of Alliance Portfolios Matter?," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 464-477.
    17. Miguel Afonso Sellitto & Guilherme Schreiber Pereira & Rafael Marques & Daniel Pacheco Lacerda, 2018. "Systemic Understanding of Coopetitive Behaviour in a Latin American Technological Park," Systemic Practice and Action Research, Springer, vol. 31(5), pages 479-494, October.
    18. Libaers, Dirk & Meyer, Martin, 2011. "Highly innovative small technology firms, industrial clusters and firm internationalization," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(10), pages 1426-1437.
    19. Bart Nooteboom, 2012. "Embodied Cognition, Organization and Innovation," Chapters, in: Richard Arena & Agnès Festré & Nathalie Lazaric (ed.), Handbook of Knowledge and Economics, chapter 15, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    20. Jeroen Content & Nicola Cortinovis & Koen Frenken & Jacob Jordaan, 2022. "The roles of KIBS and R&D in the industrial diversification of regions," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 68(1), pages 29-64, February.

    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:34:y:2026:i:s2:p:1392-1413. 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.