How to unleash frugal innovation through internet of things and artificial intelligence: Moderating role of entrepreneurial knowledge and future challenges

Frugal innovation, also known as frugal engineering or innovation, is an approach to product development and problem-solving that focuses on creating simple, affordable, and effective solutions. The research on frugal innovation is evolving which is mainly rooted in the challenges faced by people living in developing countries, where resource constraints and limited access to technology, infrastructure, and capital make it difficult to adopt traditional expensive and complex solutions. This study attempts to explore the impact of the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) tools on frugal innovation from the perspective of China, a developing nation. Moreover, how entrepreneurial knowledge can play a moderating role among the nexus of frugal innovation, IoT, and AI is a key question of this study. This study spotlights the proposed inquiry based on seven hundred and seventy-nine responses as analyzed using SEM approach by SmartPLS. This study affirmed that IoT and AI both are valid predictors of frugal innovation therefore management should incorporate both capabilities to achieve frugal innovation and to win over competitors in today's technological-oriented era. This study highlights that acceptance of technology is imperative where entrepreneurial skills can play a significant role in incorporating innovative technologies like IoT and AI models into practices. This study also enlists several managerial implications along with limitations and future research possibilities for worldly scholars.