Jugaad-From 'Making Do' and 'Quick Fix' to an Innovative, Sustainable and Low-Cost Survival Strategy at the Bottom of the Pyramid

Abstract

Until recent times, Indian jugaad was commonly constructed to be a frugal form of innovation engendered from the lack of resources and unhealthy financial conditions, and has been recently imported in the management literature. In this exploratory article, we extend the concept of jugaad to highlight the various facets of jugaad, and illustrate how poor people are applying jugaad, despite their low-levels of literacy, and frugal resources, as a survival strategy. This study discusses Indian jugaad as not only a way of 'making do' but also a methodology that has emerged as a way of survival for consumers at the bottom of the pyramid (BOP). The article mainly focuses on jugaads at a BOP household-level to the level of BOP entrepreneurship. In this article, we cover major innovations that have uplifted the rural livelihood using a series of interviews with BOP consumers, producers, as well as distant observations. We conclude the article with a few key managerial implications and some directions for future research. © 2012 Institute of Rural Management.