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This paper aims to highlight differences between business and non-business literature regarding base of the pyramid (BoP) and subsistence contexts and reveal discourse’s powerful role in influencing goals, solutions and outcomes.

This paper uses critical discourse analysis to review a convenience sample of business versus non-business literature on the BoP and subsistence contexts.

Discourse used in business literature on the BoP is oriented toward hegemonic Western capitalist approaches that result in the depletion of resources, resource inequalities, poverty and increased consumption, dependence and environmental degradation and, therefore, cannot alleviate poverty.

There are two primary limitations: the study relied on a convenience sample that was not random and comparatively, the business BoP literature is not as mature as the non-business subsistence literature and, therefore, the BoP field of study is not yet fully developed.

Discourse has a powerful role in revealing assumptions and guiding actions. A change in BoP discourse toward a strength-based approach can serve as a model of sustainability and can help powerful entities enact structural and systemic change.

This paper reveals the role of discourse in business BoP literature and how it perpetuates and even exacerbates the problems they were designed to alleviate: depletion of resources, resource inequalities, poverty and increased consumption, dependence and environmental degradation. The paper challenges researchers, economists and powerful guiding entities to reorient their discourse of the BoP to be more aligned with those of non-business researchers of subsistence markets.

This paper aims to investigate the factors a multinational corporation should adapt when doing business at the bottom of the pyramid (BoP) markets.

Based on a systematic literature review on BoP, value chain and innovation, an integrative framework is introduced for analysing business readiness in BoP: organisation, value chain and strategy. Four diverse cases were analysed: GE's reverse innovation project, GrameenPhone, Essilor, and P&G's PuR.

BoP project should be a top‐down supported separate entity with its own strategic processes and financial measurements. Working in the value chain requires diverse thinking in terms of interactivity, partners, setup, and governance. Involving customers and consumers in the innovation process is crucial. The venture also needs to make its offerings accessible, affordable, acceptable, available, and valuable to the customers. A step‐by‐step scale‐up must be followed.

The BoP framework can be used as a practical roadmap for companies to analyse the readiness of the business venture and strategy development.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of customer relationship management (CRM) at the bottom of the pyramid (BOP).

Qualitative interaction research methodology using case studies was used to conduct the research on the application of CRM at the BOP.

The key findings show that at the BOP, CRM is a key strategic tool that can be used by firms and can be facilitated by firms' relationships and connections to consumers' social networks.

Replication of the study might be required in other BOP markets, to improve generalizability using larger samples.

The study provides managers with insights into the importance of CRM at the BOP and the need for proper planning and management in order for the concept to be effective.

This research expands knowledge in the area by extending the research context of the BOP to include Africa, and it proposes a framework that can be used for implementing CRM at the BOP.

The purpose of this paper is to argue that firms need to reconsider application of the conventional marketing mix at the bottom of pyramid (BOP) because variables exist that impact differently on the interaction between firms and consumers at the BOP.

A mixture of qualitative data collection methods was used comprising multiple case studies using in‐depth, one‐to‐one interviews and ethnographic observations.

Key findings include the identification of social networks as an intervening variable for firms to consider when implementing the marketing mix at the BOP and the need for continuous consultative interaction between firms and customers which is facilitated by social networks.

Firms in the sample used for research were confined to those in the fast‐moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector. The research was also restricted to Zimbabwe. Generalisation could be enhanced by using a larger sample of firms drawn from different product and service categories that catered for the BOP in a number of different countries.

Findings from the study provide practical insights for marketing managers to consider when developing a marketing mix to serve the BOP. Primarily, managers could implement a variety of strategies to enhance the way they engage with customers in the BOP market.

The study provides insights into how firms can improve livelihoods of those at the BOP by providing employment and business opportunities through their partnerships with social networks.

The paper expands research agenda of the relatively new area of the BOP. By focusing on a BOP market in Africa, the research expands existing knowledge beyond previous areas of focus in Asia and Latin America.

Addressing potential markets in emerging countries is an important development in international marketing, and over the last decade research has been energized by the model of the Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP). More recently the focus has shifted away from defining the BOP potential in terms of identifying the market at the BOP, and toward creating a market at the BOP, concurrent with the rephrasing of the potential as the Base of the Pyramid. The Value Flame at the Base of the Pyramid (VFBOP) model discussed here stresses not only that a leap in mindset and analysis is necessary to operate in the BOP, but that principles of mutual value and co-venturing are necessary, that is, not only enter into the BOP but collaborate within the BOP. Twenty-one VFBOP characteristics are summarized into four categories: (1) change the mindset; (2) don’t compete; (3) align all organization activities in pursuit of differentiation; and (4) create and capture new market demand. These characteristics can be a template of considerations for a company when designing and marketing a product or service to profitably meet the demands of the BOP market. To illustrate the VFBOP model and characteristics a case study is presented. Through the VFBOP model it can be seen that enormous opportunities may be available in these emerging economies.

Malnutrition remains a big public health issue especially in developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to analyze factors that influence consumption of nutrient-rich foods among children aged 6–59 months and women of reproductive age (15–49 years) in the urban informal settlements of Nairobi, Kenya, and Kampala, Uganda. This study uses multicomposite soft porridge as an example of a nutritious product.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 574 households from urban informal settlements in Kampala and Nairobi. A systematic random sampling approach was used to select respondents, and interviews were conducted on their sociodemographics, porridge consumption and purchase behavior. Probit regression models were used for the analysis.

Results indicate that households with access to nutrition information are more likely to consume porridge with diversified ingredients, compared to households without nutrition information. Additionally, consumption of fortified porridge flour has a lower probability of consuming porridge flour with diversified ingredients.

The evidence echoes the need for increased dissemination of nutrition information, which will trigger willingness to pay and consumption of nutritious foods. Further, it underpins the need for processor-level interventions to avail these foods at affordable prices for the benefit of low-income consumers.

This is among the first papers assessing factors that influence consumption of nutritious and diversified soft porridge by children aged 6–59 months and women aged 15–49 in the informal settlements of East Africa.

Dubious investment schemes by unlisted companies are alluring individual investors at the base of the pyramid to invest money and lose them. The purpose of the abstract is to identify the factors that induce the people at base-of-pyramid (BoP) to invest in fraudulent schemes.

Open-ended interviews of people at the BoP from areas in and around Kharagpur town in West Bengal were conducted. Through open coding, codes, categories and themes were generated.

Interpersonal trusts form the central feature of investment fraud. The personal relationship among the community members helps these schemes thrive. False hopes of higher returns within a short span combined with constraints of accessing banking services is another motivation for the people at the base of the pyramid to fall prey to these schemes. With limited education, they find these investment avenues convenient providing scope to the perpetrators of fraud to exploit them. To curb these dubious schemes to flourish and exploit the people at the BoP, financial inclusion on a large scale is required. Moreover, the government should take steps to educate the mass at the base of the pyramid.

This study offers new insights on the victims of investment fraud in India those belonging to the economically weak groups and lower income groups comprising together as the BoP) of the society.

This paper aims to propose a framework for evaluating the performance of reverse value chain activities in the clothing industry operating at base of the pyramid. Specifically, the research explores firm and supply chain factors influencing clothing reverse value chain activities with a focus on developing economies.

The study adopted an explorative technique using direct observations and semi-structured interviews to collect information from eight companies and two traders. Internal resources and value chain capabilities were examined using theoretical underpinnings of resource-based view, transaction cost economics and base of the pyramid.

The paper identified multiple benefits of offshoring reverse value chain activities to the developing countries (at the base of the pyramid). Low operation cost, skilled manpower, business knowledge and location are found to be internal success factors. While favourable government legislation and domestic recycling markets are important external factors contributing to the success. Developing economies such as India contribute to firm performance by integrating, transforming, acquiring and co-creating the resources at base of the pyramid. Further, it was found that to achieve higher assets specificity, a few companies have opened their own shops in African countries, while others have opened sourcing branches in Canada or the USA to ensure good quality of raw materials. Collaboration and coordination among different value chain partners minimise cost and increases profitability. Innovation in the process such as clothes mutilation for recycling has created new business opportunities.

Information was collected from only eight organisations and two traders from India. Future scholars may extend the research to generalise the findings by documenting similar phenomena.

The proposed framework can serve a basis for the practitioners to evaluate firm performance, and the insights can be used to achieve sustainability by engaging producers, employees, consumers and community using base of the pyramid approach.

The study provides unique insights into the prevalent export and re-exports phenomena of used clothing. The resource-based view, transaction cost economics and base of the pyramid strategy underpinned together to develop a framework for understanding reverse value chain activities of clothing.

Recent development and democratization of digital technologies call for studying base-of-the-pyramid (BOP) consumers’ interactions with these technologies. This study aims to explore how BOP consumers interact with mobile information and communication technology (mICT) and improve their welfare.

Following an extensive literature review, content analysis of the reviewed articles and reports was conducted to build this article’s conceptual foundation.

This study has conceptualized five mechanisms in which mICT improves the lives of BOP customers through enhanced access and control of resources. In particular, the authors characterize a converging nature of mICT and related applications (social media, internet of things, artificial intelligence and sharing economy) as resources for social change. The authors find a striking contrast between BOP and affluent consumers regarding their motivations and barriers to adopting mICT-based applications. Implications to research, technology design and policymaking are discussed.

The intersection of mICT and BOP is under-researched. With this paper, we tried to address this research gap. Further, this study has brought out several important research questions in each application, serving as a springboard for future researchers.

The purpose of this paper is to compile a set of articles tackling supply chain issues in BOP contexts that address both demand and supply. Solutions are needed for global sustainability problems from medical aid and food availability to the ability to participate in supply chains for the global poor.

The accepted articles in the special issue used a range of qualitative and quantitative methodologies to answer research questions in a variety of base of the pyramid (BOP) contexts. These approaches and results distinguish between demand (BOP market) and supply, or base of the chain (BOC), perspectives.

The findings in the eight accepted marticles are interesting and applicable across different BOP contexts. Compilation of the articles into the special issue and the accompanying editorial led to a comprehensive future research agenda that addresses demand-side issues by investigating the customers in BOP markets, and supply-side issues focusing on the suppliers and intermediaries (BOC) who supply BOP markets. Future research ideas include a focus on supply chain design issues situated at the intersection of the demand (BOP) and the supply (BOC) concerns that address the needs of the world’s poorest populations.

All of the selected articleshave societal implications related to addressing the needs of BOP populations. Many of these articles also have economic and environmental implications, the other two pillars of the triple bottom line. The detailed future research agenda developed in this editorial presents implications for researchers working in emerging and BOP communities to push research forward and further develop the foundational literature in the BOP context.

From a practical standpoint, each of the eight articles presents ideas for businesses that help address the needs of the global poor while enhancing global sustainability performance. The editorial summarizes these implications and provides new directions and examples of success in the BOP context. Managers are provided with techniques to address the supply and demand side of these growing markets.

The overall conceptual framework and positioning of the final papers into the BOP market, BOC suppliers and a combination of the two is novel and helps provide guidance to both scholars and managers.