Rajnish Tiwari Knihy

Through extensive research and collaboration with scholars across disciplines, this work offers a unique perspective on frugal innovations, integrating insights from business management, sociology, psychology, philosophy, culture, and engineering. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach that includes literature reviews, bibliometrics, interviews, focus groups, and case studies, it provides comprehensive insights in a multinational context, filling a gap in existing literature on the subject.

Focusing on India's small car segment, the book examines the concept of lead markets and their role in global product diffusion. It challenges existing theories by exploring how globalization influences business practices and whether sustainable lead markets can arise in developing economies. The authors propose new frameworks to better align lead market theory with contemporary realities, questioning traditional assumptions and investigating the conditions necessary for these markets to thrive in emerging contexts.

Mobile Commerce has gained increasing acceptance amongst various sections of the society in previous years. The reasons for its growth can be traced back to technological and demographical developments that have influenced many aspects of the socio-cultural behaviour in today’s world. The need (and/or wish) for mobility seems to be the driving force behind Mobile Commerce. The launch of UMTS technology has provided Mobile Commerce with the necessary verve. Mobile Banking presents an opportunity for banks to retain their existing, technology-savvy customer base by offering value-added, innovative services and to attract new customers from corresponding sections of the society. The customer survey provides evidence that such sections in the meanwhile include the affluent and financially relevant groups of the society in Germany. The time seems to be ripe to convert this non-negligible customer interest into business-driving customer demand. A proactive attitude on the part of the banks seems to be therefore recommendable. Many banks in Germany have come to regard Mobile Banking as a necessary tool for thwarting negative differentiation vis-à-vis rivals and to foster/retain an innovative image. This self-reinforcing dynamism is expected to gain currency in near-future so that Mobile Banking services could soon advance to a standard product – on the lines of Online Banking – offered by more or less each and every bank.