Diffusion of Efficient Biomass Cookstoves in India: A Case Study in Socio-Technical Transitions
Recently, incomes in rural India have been increasing due to strong manufacturing growth. As a result, the consumption pattern of rural India has begun to emulate that of urban India, with increased spending overall. However, despite expanding consumption, rural households surprisingly still persi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Idioma: | anglès |
| Publicat: |
Rural growth, Rogers‟ framework, Greenway Smart Stove, Socio-technical transition
2025
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| Accés en línia: | https://repository.auw.edu.bd/handle/123456789/1058 |
| _version_ | 1857448969447145472 |
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| author | Gupta, Mukesh Kumar |
| author_facet | Gupta, Mukesh Kumar |
| author_sort | Gupta, Mukesh Kumar |
| collection | institutional Repository |
| description | Recently, incomes in rural India have been increasing due to strong manufacturing growth. As a result,
the consumption pattern of rural India has begun to emulate that of urban India, with increased spending overall.
However, despite expanding consumption, rural households surprisingly still persist in using inefficient traditional
biomass cookstoves. These traditional stoves remain in use despite growth in income because of their strong ties
with social and cultural practices. Thus, an efficient cookstove that requires minimal changes in social and cultural
practices would bring about the socio-technical transition needed for a widespread shift to cleaner cookstoves. This
shift would impact some vital aspects of sustainability, especially across environmental and social
domains. Previous attempts to promote efficient biomass cookstoves in rural India required significant behavioral
changes and, as a result, could not induce such a socio-technical transition, leading to an ultimate failure to gain
traction in the rural market. However, Greenway Grameen Infra (GGI), a new collaborative effort in design &
distribution of efficient cookstoves, has been successful in promoting its flagship product, the “Greenway Smart
Stove,” to the rural consumers. The paper takes a case study approach, conducting an investigation into the relative
success of the “Greenway Smart Stove” in rural India. This success is analyzed in the context of socio-technical
transitions, providing insight into the manner in which the product and its marketing efforts were able to trigger this
transition and induce widespread adoption of efficient cookstoves in target regions. The Greenway Smart Stove is
evaluated in terms of five criteria: i) Its relative advantage compared to the traditional stoves and other similar
stoves; ii) Compatibility with existing values, needs and past experiences of potential adopters; iii) Simplicity - in
terms of ease of use; iv) Trialability - experiment with the product on a limited basis; and v) Observability - In terms
of ease to see the results of an innovation. |
| format | Article |
| id | 123456789-1058 |
| institution | Asian University for Women |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publisher | Rural growth, Rogers‟ framework, Greenway Smart Stove, Socio-technical transition |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | 123456789-10582026-02-18T06:15:24Z Diffusion of Efficient Biomass Cookstoves in India: A Case Study in Socio-Technical Transitions Gupta, Mukesh Kumar Recently, incomes in rural India have been increasing due to strong manufacturing growth. As a result, the consumption pattern of rural India has begun to emulate that of urban India, with increased spending overall. However, despite expanding consumption, rural households surprisingly still persist in using inefficient traditional biomass cookstoves. These traditional stoves remain in use despite growth in income because of their strong ties with social and cultural practices. Thus, an efficient cookstove that requires minimal changes in social and cultural practices would bring about the socio-technical transition needed for a widespread shift to cleaner cookstoves. This shift would impact some vital aspects of sustainability, especially across environmental and social domains. Previous attempts to promote efficient biomass cookstoves in rural India required significant behavioral changes and, as a result, could not induce such a socio-technical transition, leading to an ultimate failure to gain traction in the rural market. However, Greenway Grameen Infra (GGI), a new collaborative effort in design & distribution of efficient cookstoves, has been successful in promoting its flagship product, the “Greenway Smart Stove,” to the rural consumers. The paper takes a case study approach, conducting an investigation into the relative success of the “Greenway Smart Stove” in rural India. This success is analyzed in the context of socio-technical transitions, providing insight into the manner in which the product and its marketing efforts were able to trigger this transition and induce widespread adoption of efficient cookstoves in target regions. The Greenway Smart Stove is evaluated in terms of five criteria: i) Its relative advantage compared to the traditional stoves and other similar stoves; ii) Compatibility with existing values, needs and past experiences of potential adopters; iii) Simplicity - in terms of ease of use; iv) Trialability - experiment with the product on a limited basis; and v) Observability - In terms of ease to see the results of an innovation. 2025-08-10T11:35:38Z 2025-08-10T11:35:38Z 2014 Article https://repository.auw.edu.bd/handle/123456789/1058 en application/pdf Rural growth, Rogers‟ framework, Greenway Smart Stove, Socio-technical transition |
| spellingShingle | Gupta, Mukesh Kumar Diffusion of Efficient Biomass Cookstoves in India: A Case Study in Socio-Technical Transitions |
| title | Diffusion of Efficient Biomass Cookstoves in India: A Case Study in Socio-Technical Transitions |
| title_full | Diffusion of Efficient Biomass Cookstoves in India: A Case Study in Socio-Technical Transitions |
| title_fullStr | Diffusion of Efficient Biomass Cookstoves in India: A Case Study in Socio-Technical Transitions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Diffusion of Efficient Biomass Cookstoves in India: A Case Study in Socio-Technical Transitions |
| title_short | Diffusion of Efficient Biomass Cookstoves in India: A Case Study in Socio-Technical Transitions |
| title_sort | diffusion of efficient biomass cookstoves in india a case study in socio technical transitions |
| url | https://repository.auw.edu.bd/handle/123456789/1058 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT guptamukeshkumar diffusionofefficientbiomasscookstovesinindiaacasestudyinsociotechnicaltransitions |