The Technological Exploration Through Alternative Innovation Approaches: An Agent-Based Model

Non-conventional approaches to innovation are spreading among firm’s innovation strategy. They arise from innovation for low-income environments and are typically defined with various titles (Frugal Innovation, Low-end Innovation, Bricolage Innovation and others), and all of them share the same goal: re-engineering an existing product through the simplification of existing design or reducing non-essential features in order to deliver the same value. We demonstrate through a model tested with a computer simulation that those innovation approaches lead to an overall final improvement of the product even though the removal of non-essential product features.