CEFAGE-UE and Department of Management, University of Évora, Palácio do Vimioso (Gab. 224), Largo Marquês de Marialva, 8, 7000-809 Évora, Portugal.
Alentejo Science and Technology Park (PACT), Herdade da Barba Rala, Rua Luís Adelino Fonseca, 1A, 7005-345 Évora, Portugal.
Soc Sci Med. 2022 Aug;306:115127. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115127. Epub 2022 Jun 14.
The dominance of an innovation discourse laden with cutting edge and expensive technologies, may be preventing us from recognizing alternative and complementary perspectives, which could help cut healthcare costs while improving worldwide access to health services. One such complementary approach is that of frugal innovation. Frugal innovation, as a way to produce efficacious and affordable products using fewer resources to reach the underserved customers, has received increasing attention in the social sciences literature. Although frugal innovation is commonly associated with emerging economies, there is now a rising interest from healthcare providers in developed countries, to find and apply effective, and lower-cost solutions. Nonetheless, knowledge on frugal innovation and its role in healthcare is dispersed across different literatures which hampers researchers and practitioners to access a fuller, and integrated picture of the phenomenon. In this study, by synthesizing extant knowledge, we tackle the fragmentation of the phenomenon. We elucidate on who the actors are, what is being done, how are such innovations being developed, and what the outcomes are, providing a framework that lays out the underlying mechanisms of frugal innovation in healthcare (FIH). The midrange theory that we develop, provides a conceptual framework for researchers to undertake empirical observation and models to guide managerial practices. Furthermore, by providing a more unified perspective of frugal innovation in healthcare, we hope to initiate conversations on the development, adequacy and adoption of these innovations in healthcare services, which could increase affordability and access for the population while maintaining quality.
创新话语的主导地位充满了前沿和昂贵的技术，这可能使我们无法认识到替代和互补的观点，而这些观点可以帮助降低医疗保健成本，同时改善全球获得卫生服务的机会。一种这样的互补方法是节俭创新。节俭创新作为一种使用较少资源生产有效且负担得起的产品的方法，以接触服务不足的客户，在社会科学文献中受到越来越多的关注。尽管节俭创新通常与新兴经济体相关联，但现在发达国家的医疗保健提供者越来越有兴趣寻找和应用有效且成本更低的解决方案。尽管如此，关于节俭创新及其在医疗保健中的作用的知识分散在不同的文献中，这使得研究人员和从业者难以全面、综合地了解这一现象。在这项研究中，我们通过综合现有知识来解决这一现象的碎片化问题。我们阐明了谁是参与者，正在做什么，这些创新是如何开发的，以及结果是什么，提供了一个框架，阐明了医疗保健中节俭创新（FIH）的基本机制。我们开发的中层理论为研究人员提供了一个进行实证观察和指导管理实践的模型的概念框架。此外，通过提供更统一的医疗保健节俭创新视角，我们希望就这些创新在医疗服务中的开发、充分性和采用展开对话，这可以在保持质量的同时提高人口的可负担性和可及性。
