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The learning outcomes are as follows: to design an appropriate strategy for firms to succeed in low-income, price-sensitive markets; to appreciate how business model innovation can help to overcome the obstacles faced by firms when serving rural and semi-urban markets in an emerging economy; to identify possible threats to the business model and evaluate strategies to sustain growth in a dynamic environment; and to allow students to consider sources for competitive advantage and how to build a sustainable business model in low-income markets.

The case details the growth story of Vakrangee Limited (Vakrangee) from a technology consultancy firm to a technology-driven firm focused on creating the largest last-mile retail network providing various services in underserved parts of India, mainly rural India. The firm launched retail outlets called Vakrangee Kendras (VKs) in 2011 that evolved from non-exclusive stores offering a single line of e-governance services into technology-enabled franchisee-based exclusive stores that offered a multiple line of services such as banking, finance, insurance, ATM, e-commerce and logistics. VK however is witnessing competition from different players in different segments. Additionally, the dynamic business environment such as the growing penetration of smartphones and internet usage, heterogeneous needs of customers and government policies pose further threat to the company’s growth in the future. In the wake of these challenges, what should Vakrangee do to sustain its growth? Should it focus on cost-leadership or differentiation for strategic positioning?

This case can be used in an MBA or an executive management program, in courses on strategic management, entrepreneurship, services marketing and rural marketing.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

The growing wine market in India presents a tremendous opportunity for marketers to formulate a strategy targeted at the Indian consumers. The purpose of this paper is to identify the attributes that are important for young wine drinkers in their selection of wine, the preferred option within the identified attributes and the relative importance consumers place on the identified attributes.

In-depth interviews were carried out to identify the attributes of primary importance in the wine selection process. Subsequently, conjoint analysis was conducted on the data collected through a survey of 252 respondents which ranked purchase intention of profiles derived from an orthogonal design.

In-depth interviews revealed five factors as important in the choice of wine, namely, price, brand, taste, origin and type of the wine. The results of conjoint analysis showed price as the most important factor, followed by the type of the wine. Red was the most preferred type. Brand, taste and origin follow up in that order of importance with millennials preferring to buy familiar brands, sweet wines and of Indian origin.

The study contributes to the wine consumer behaviour research by identifying the attributes that are important for marketing of wine to the large segment of Indian millennial consumers. The findings will help marketers to better position their wines in the Indian market. The study will also aid in the development of product, branding and pricing decisions.

The growing market for organic products presents a tremendous opportunity for marketers to extend their existing brands. However, there is hardly any research that investigates the factors extension from an organic parent brand is preferred over extension into same product category for success of such brand extensions. This paper investigates the role of two different bases consumers may use to evaluate the extension into organic product – organic status of the parent brand and its similarity to the extended product category.

The study involved a 2 × 2 (organic versus regular parent brand and same versus different product category) between-subjects factorial design. Data collected from 164 postgraduate students presented with one of the four scenarios were analysed using ANOVA.

The results reveal that extensions from organic parent brand versus regular brand, and in the same product category versus different category, are evaluated more favourably. Moreover, extension from an organic parent brand is preferred over extension into same product category.

The research contributes to the extant literature on branding and retailing by building on categorisation theory to explain consumer preference for brand extension when launching a new organic product. The findings provide valuable insights to practitioners to launch a new organic product using brand extension.

The purpose of this paper is to frame the guidelines for brand building for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and evaluate the role of the entrepreneur in the brand management process.

A qualitative study comprising in-depth interviews of 20 Indian MSME entrepreneurs who had experience with brand-building was conducted. The entrepreneurs were probed regarding the brand management process and their role in the brand-building efforts in their organization. The guidelines that emerged from the study were compared and contrasted with those proposed in Krake’s model, and a new model for brand-building is proposed.

The improvised new model highlights the importance of “name of the brand”, “managing finance simultaneously” and “exit strategy” as important factors for the creation of a successful brand, amongst other factors revealed in extant literature. The interviews also reveal that an MSME headed by a passionate entrepreneur who accommodates professional expertise witnesses a greater chance of success.

In spite of the growing importance of SMEs, scant attention has been paid to the issue of branding in SMEs. This study contributes to the literature on branding and small business research by examining and advancing the brand-building guidelines developed by Krake. It further looks at the role of the entrepreneur in the entire process of brand building in the increasingly evolving Indian market.

This paper develops a comprehensive marketing framework that firms could use as a foundation for developing a successful business model that ensures sustainability in BOP markets.

The study employs a qualitative research approach based on semi-structured in-depth interviews with founders or senior managers of Indian firms who have been successfully operating in the Indian BOP market. The data is then systematically coded and categorized with the help of software to get better insights.

The findings of the paper indicate that although the traditional 4As of marketing are important, they do not explain the success of firms adequately. Based on the findings of the interviews, we propose an 8A model that comprises the original 4As along with adaptability, assistance, action innovation and accelerating scale.

The proposed 8A framework would be useful for domestic and multi-national firms aiming to make a foray into the Indian BOP market.

The paper contributes to the literature on the BOP market by identifying the factors important for succeeding in the BOP market. It builds on the 4A model to propose 8As marketing framework in the context of BOP markets.

Admittedly, in the happening world of today, the woman has become concertedly visible. She is treading every domain of activities with self‐belief and proven competence. Her forays into the male monopoly of executive role in management affairs have registered a significant success in spite of so many constraints in her march to hierarchical positions. The present paper investigates the challenges preventing women from reaching the top management positions especially in the service sector. A sample of 271 women executives has been drawn from the selected organisations of the service sector from a progressive state of India – Pubjab. The results of the study reveal that lack of network access; gender discrimination; and gender stereotypes are the three major factors which inhibit women from advancing to top corporate positions. The findings depict an overall negative picture of the women executives’ advancement in the service sector. Women still face subtle discrimination and evaluation of their performance tends to be prejudiced against them. The results would help alleviate the challenges that women executives face by enhancing the awareness of the factors that inhibit their advancement in the corporate world.

The purpose of the current study is to identify the factors affecting work‐family conflict among women executives. The relationship of personal and organizational characteristics to work‐family conflict has also been studied. The study is based on the responses of 271 women executives working in selected organizations of service sector in Punjab. Various statistical tests, namely, reliability analysis, factor analysis, and analysis of variance have been carried out. Results indicate that women perceive gender role attitude and spillover between work and family roles as the most important factors affecting their career followed by other four factors namely: (i) harmony in home and office; (ii) organisational support; (iii) family expectations; and (iv) parenting effect and professional skills. It is also revealed that the nature of organization and education have a significant impact on work‐family conflict but material status does not have any influence on work‐family conflict. The findings of the paper confirm that by and large women executives are able to maintain a proper balance between work and family roles.

The ‘Bottom of the Pyramid’ or BoP represents the population living at the lowest level of the economic or income pyramid across the world (Prahalad, 2002). The BoP approach undoubtedly provides a market-based solution for poverty reduction and facilitates inclusive economic growth. This segment can be classified into two parts, namely, rural BoP and urban BoP. The urban BoP is a more sustainable and viable option for companies to operate in, since it strategically avoids the numerous challenges faced by the rural BoP. Rural BoP is relatively more distant, dispersed, desperately poor, largely illiterate and heterogeneous market (Ireland, 2008). This chapter aims at understanding and characterising the urban BoP market. Further it shares some interesting results of an empirical study conducted to understand the urban BoP consumers of Mumbai city. The study assumes importance as it focusses on the urban BoP as a realistic option to operate in the BoP by removing the dynamic barriers of the rural BoP. Additionally, it provides insight into the urban BoP market and its consumer behaviour.

Hypermarket is the most successful amongst organised retail formats in India. The purpose of this paper is to identify segments of hypermarket shoppers based on shopping motivation. The study profiles the identified segments on demographic characteristics and shopping outcomes, and compares the shopping motivation of hypermarket consumers with that of traditional store shoppers.

The study involved a survey of 201 actual shoppers in a hypermarket and that of 117 actual shoppers in 20 traditional stores. Principal components analysis of the motives for shopping at hypermarket and traditional store identified the respective dimensions of shopping motivation. Cluster analysis of the factor scores obtained on shopping motivation at hypermarket revealed the typology of hypermarket shoppers. Chi-square test and MANOVA were used to profile the identified segments of hypermarket shoppers on demographic characteristics and shopping outcomes respectively.

Results revealed different dimensions of motivation to shop at the hypermarket and traditional store and four types of hypermarket shoppers were identified: utilitarians, maximisers, browsers and enthusiasts. The utilitarians are motivated by functional benefits such as the price and variety of products; the maximisers seek functional as well as recreational benefits; the browsers are high on social motivation; and the enthusiasts are high on all dimensions of shopping motivation. These segments showed overall significant differences on demographic characteristics and shopping outcomes.

The proposal for allowing FDI in multi-brand retail in India, a rapidly emerging market for global retail players, is at an advanced stage of policy making. Many national and multi-national retailers are in the process of expansion in India. This study adds to their understanding of Indian consumers. Based on the identified typology, the study suggests different strategies to target different segments of hypermarket shoppers.

The study contributes to the growing field of cross-cultural research on shopping motivation by highlighting the typology of Indian hypermarket shoppers.