Product Innovation in Resource-Poor Environments: Three Research Streams†

We explore the role and relevance of resource scarcity in product innovation. The literature tends to assume that the development of new products requires resource sufficiency for the process to be conducted systematically. But we are also taught that necessity is the mother of invention and that resource scarcity may be a trigger of innovation in adverse contexts. In this discussion, we organize the literature on product innovation in resource-poor contexts in three streams. The paper contributes to a finer-grained understanding of the role of scarcity in product innovation and suggests that creative approaches to scarcity may contribute to knowledge enrichment of product innovation theory and practice.

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