Technological Intervention in Frugal Innovation among Ethnic Entrepreneurs in Emerging Markets: A Study of Fashion Industry in Mexico

Entrepreneurial creativity transcends family businesses by converging the cross-generational experience and efficiency in doing business. The artisanal entrepreneurs derive creativity from the family experience, self-efficacy, consumer desire, and collective intelligence contextually aimed at enhancing business performance. The principal objective of the study is to analyze the artisanal ethnic creativity, which is influenced by technological interventions such as direct-to-garment printing, computer-aided-designing, and adhesive dyes in innovation and marketing of artisanal fashion products in Mexico. This study is based on the qualitative data gathered by conducting 2 workshops during May–July 2023 and a sample size of 36 respondents including consumers and entrepreneurs, purposively selected using semi-structured research instrument. The study indicates that heritage designs on fashion apparels brought to the market by ethnic entrepreneurs could transform consumer preferences and inculcate social values for ethnic products. Artisanal ethnic fashion products have gained the attention of upstream markets due to the underlying patriotic sentiment of ‘Made in Mexico’.