Sustainability value creation in frugal contexts to foster Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) stress unsolved global topics such as mitigating poverty and exclusion. Inclusive approaches often highlight frugal innovations for the Base of the Pyramid and low income markets, mainly offered by private sector. In the contexts of sustainability, the private sector is both, a major driver of exclusionary processes as well as for enforcing new inclusive solutions enhancing quality of life, participation, and incomes. So it is of interest if and how the business sector contributes to enforcing SDGs. Therefore, 50 frugal innovations were analyzed for their contribution to the SDGs and their sustainability value creation patterns by content analysis. Main insights stress that social engagement is mainly value driven by small and medium enterprises and non‐governmental organizations. Institutional voids can function as drivers for multinational corporations to develop new and inclusive business models. An enforcement of the SDGs is primarily given on indirect and low level.