Abstract
The research aims to identify key success criteria for innovations by enterprises targeting the bottom of the pyramid. Innovation, social entrepreneurship and the bottom of the economic pyramid are defined in the light of academic literature and their varied criteria are explored. The two different academic opinions on fortune or opportunity existing in the BOP markets are also contrasted. The research philosophy is based on realism and the research methodology selected is inductive. The data have been collected through secondary sources using case study strategy to present four cases of innovations by social or corporate enterprises at the BOP. The case studies have been chosen from a variable range in terms of BOP countries, social enterprises and multinational companies, for-profit or not-for-profit organisations, and product or business model innovations. Success criteria identified from case studies in the light of academic literature include going beyond selling to the poor, considering BOP groups as producers and BOP engagement. A conceptual framework has been developed from identified criteria and further recommendations for empirically testing the framework to turn it into a model have been provided.
Highlights
While poverty remains one of the key problems of the world, all other key issues in the developing world, such as malnutrition, health care and sanitation, seem to be interlinked with poverty and alleviating the economic misery of the poor continues to be one of the biggest challenges facing society at large (London & Anupindi, 2012)
The key research question to be addressed is: “What are the major factors for success or failure of innovations and social enterprises at the bottom of the pyramid?” To answer that question, this research paper aims to study cases where innovations were introduced at the BOP, looking for similar or varying patterns, with the aim of formulating a conceptual implementation framework for the potential success of such ventures
We identified nine organisations for the case studies, and after an initial prescreening by colleagues in the social innovation and entrepreneurship disciplines, three were chosen
Summary
While poverty remains one of the key problems of the world, all other key issues in the developing world, such as malnutrition, health care and sanitation, seem to be interlinked with poverty and alleviating the economic misery of the poor continues to be one of the biggest challenges facing society at large (London & Anupindi, 2012). An unsolved problem in these emerging markets presents a massive opportunity for the developed markets (Chakravarthy & Coughlan, 2012) and a successful venture would produce enormous economic gains, and solve the long-standing issue of poverty by responsibly using social inclusion to uplift millions out of poverty (Hall, Matos, Sheehan, & Silvestre, 2012). The solution for such multifaceted success lies predominantly in innovation and entrepreneurship at BOP
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