Integrating Producers at the Base of the Pyramid with Global Markets: A Market Learning Approach

Abstract

International marketing literature suggests that through market learning, businesses develop market-valued capabilities that are the basis of their performance. Therefore, market learning is also of importance to producers at the base of the pyramid (BoP), whose ability to climb out of poverty often depends on the purchasing power of those in export markets. However, the ways in which BoP-producer-based export chains learn from foreign users of their products and incorporate these insights into their decisions are not yet clear. Using case studies from Benin, the authors examine how market learning processes function in supply chains at the BoP. A cross-case comparison suggests that market connections are established when export market information is generated by formal-sector organizations and when such organizations establish formal ways of sharing information with BoP producers. The access to export markets becomes sustainable if formal institutions also support the use of information. The study has implications for procurement by exporters and for pro-poor development.