@article {1151, title = {Overcoming Barriers to Frugal Innovation: Emerging Opportunities for Finnish SMEs in Brazilian Markets}, journal = {Technology Innovation Management Review}, volume = {8}, year = {2018}, month = {04/2018}, pages = {38-48}, publisher = {Talent First Network}, address = {Ottawa}, abstract = {Frugal innovation has become a popular concept, in academia but also in industry at large. Although there has been a great deal of discussion about the relevance of frugal innovation to the developed world, the notion{\textquoteright}s full acceptance within small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) still seems far in the distance. The opportunities and barriers seen with practical implementation of frugal innovation during the development processes have received little attention. This article considers these opportunities and barriers in the context of Finnish SMEs, providing insight specifically into the approaches these companies take in Brazilian markets. Qualitative data were drawn from a case study forming part of an extensive action research-based development project called SCALA, aimed at creating suitable and scalable mobile learning services for global markets. The concepts of frugal innovation and proceeding from user needs {\textendash} essential parts of the development processes {\textendash} are examined by observing three Finnish SMEs and their top managers, with particular focus on their interaction with Brazilian partners. Development sessions and meetings shed light on how the companies perceived and responded to testing their products/services with six individual schools in Brazil. Although frugal innovation is seen as essential for guaranteeing long-term competitiveness of Finnish SMEs {\textendash} and access to rapidly growing, unsaturated emerging markets such as Brazil can be a step in the right direction {\textendash} our study highlights numerous barriers and ways to overcome them in the real-world implementation of frugality in SMEs{\textquoteright} development processes. }, keywords = {barriers, Brazilian markets, Finnish SMEs, frugal innovation, opportunities}, issn = {1927-0321}, doi = {http://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/1151}, url = {http://timreview.ca/article/1151}, author = {Mirva Hyypi{\"a} and Rakhshanda Khan} }