Grassroots Innovation: A Systematic Review of Two Decades of Research

Abstract

Grassroots innovation (GI) is an important strand for cleaner production and sustainable development. Studies have explored various facets of grassroots innovation. Despite two decades of research, however, there is no systematic review of the GI literature. The objective of this study is to synthesize the existing literature on GI. It identifies the main theories, characteristics, stakeholders, challenges, diffusion, and potential of GI, among others. The study points out how GI contributes to sustainability. It shows that only a few scholars have a significant contribution, which limits the broad expansion of the GI discipline. Moreover, GI literature has not been linked with the mainstream innovation literature. Even though GI is significant for sustainable development, its impact is limited in reality.

Keywords: Grassroots innovation; cleaner production; community; diffusion; niche; sustainable development