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From jugaad to jugalbandi: Understanding the changing nature of Indian innovation

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Abstract

In this perspectives paper, I employ the term jugalbandi to describe the ways in which many contemporary Indian organizations engage in innovation. Through a description of three Indian organizations – ISRO, Amul and Aadhaar – I illustrate how this distinctive approach draws both on jugaad – and its emphasis on being frugal, flexible and inclusive – as well as systematic innovation, with its focus on building capabilities, relying on process and advancing technological frontiers. As a homegrown approach, jugalbandi builds on an “Indian” way of doing things while imbibing influences from other modes, and is enabling organizations build their innovation capacities even as they remain relevant to their contexts. In developing this conceptualization, I highlight the need to appreciate the contextual and institutional roots of innovation, suggest that trajectories of development within emerging economies will remain distinctive and provide both practical and policy advice on how actors should pursue innovation in these scenarios.

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Notes

  1. Indeed, while many of the examples that Krishnan (2010) provides are of Indian firms, there has not been a deeper theoretical analysis of the kind of innovation that these organizations engage in.

  2. The closest equivalent to jugalbandi in the Western world would be the various forms of fusion music, as exemplified by jazz fusion, a genre that combines jazz with rock, funk and rhythm & blues.

  3. In fact, I began with a sample of nine firms (Aravind Eye Hospitals, Bharti Airtel, Biocon, FabIndia, PayTM and Selco were the others) but describe only three of these in this article for smoother narrative exposition.

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Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank Tulasi Srinivas and the anonymous reviewers for their supportive feedback and senior editor David Ahlstrom for his developmental guidance on this manuscript.

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  1. BB 4202, Department of Management, Nazarian College of Business and Economics, California State University – Northridge, 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA, 91330, USA

    Sanjay Jain

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Jain, S. From jugaad to jugalbandi: Understanding the changing nature of Indian innovation. Asia Pac J Manag 39, 1–26 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-020-09728-8

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