New Perspectives on Base of the Pyramid Strategies

Abstract

The early literature on base of the pyramid (BOP) strategies argued that multinational enterprises can contribute significantly to poverty alleviation of the poorest population in the world. An emergent perspective suggests that the solution to poverty lies within the BOP itself. Here, entrepreneurship within the BOP population is seen as the more credible solution to poverty. In this Special Issue introduction, we briefly present how the literature has further shifted the discussion of BOP strategies toward issues such as innovation, networks, business models, and sustainability at the BOP. This analysis signals a gap in our knowledge related to the success factors in business models of BOP entrepreneurs, with attention to economic, social, and environmental impacts. We present the five articles accepted for publication in this Special Issue, of which three contribute to our knowledge of BOP business models and two to our knowledge of sustainability at the BOP. In conclusion, we propose several avenues for future research.

Microfranchises as an innovative approach for empowerment of vulnerable entrepreneurs in post-conflict Colombia

“…The field of knowledge (FOK) on microfranchising, socio-economic inclusion of women victims of an armed conflict and FARC-ex-combatants is growing, and still needs more rigor in theorizing and usage of state-of-theart research methods (Dentchev et al, 2022). Previous work in field´s top journals has usually focused on the "top of the pyramid"/upper management, and the key matters for them are leadership, innovation, decision making, human resource management, or strategic planning.…”

“…In the same way, the literature shows the absence of longitudinal, multidisciplinary studies, of quantitative methods, as well as insufficient research to clarify the mechanisms that lead to the success of a microfranchising and the influence on the microfranchising of the cultural and social context (Awuh & Dekker, 2021;Dentchev et al, 2022).…”

“…BOP and inclusive business model research have evolved during time. Dentchev et al (2022) state that BOP 1.0 (where multinational companies could benefit due to the existing potential market in the BOP); BOP 2.0 (the co-creation of products and services was possible in the BOP) and BOP 3.0 (focuses on the entrepreneurial activity of businesses in the BOP), the microfranchising is aligned with BOP 2.0 and 3.0. A first generation research focused on the BOP as a market-niche only (Kuo et al, 2018;Leposky et al, 2020;Sengupta et al, 2020); a second one considered BOP as consumers (Borchardt et al, 2020;Decker & Obeng Dankwah, 2022;Ladd, 2017;Leposky et al, 2020), and a third BOP approach that integrates the principles of the bottom line (Geels, 2014;; focusing on mutual value creation (Dembek et al, 2018); investing requirements at the BOP (Dembek & York, 2022); and scaling strategies at the BOP (Derks et al, 2022).…”

Sustainability and women entrepreneurship through new business models: the case of microfranchises in post-peace agreement Colombia

“…BoP and SBM have evolved. Dentchev et al (2022) state that BoP 1.0 (where multinational companies could benefit due to the existing potential market in the BoP), BoP 2.0 (the co-creation of products and services was possible in the BOP) and BoP 3.0 (focuses…”

“…Sustainable business models (SBMs) thrive with women’s active involvement, catalyzing innovation and societal progress, thus enhancing economic resilience and fostering lasting environmental and social impact. Women are vulnerable before, during and after armed conflicts (Cohen, 2013; Hernandez et al , 2022; Molestina and Salcedo, 2022), which worsen gender inequality and forces women to live at the base of the pyramid (BoP; people who survive on less than $2.5 a day) (Dentchev et al , 2022). Nevertheless, women who are compelled to assume the role of family heads due to the loss of husbands or partners in conflicts have transitioned into necessity-based entrepreneurs, shifting from mere victims to proactive agents of societal change and generators of well-being (Barkema, Bindl and Tanveer, 2023), embodying the role of entrepreneurs-for-peace (E4P) (Joseph et al , 2023; Katsos and AlKafaji, 2019; Miklian and Medina Bickel, 2020; Mikliian and Kristian, 2018) and reconciliation agents for sustainable peace (Gallo, Sosa and Velez-calle, 2022; Pachano, Idrovo and Rodriguez, 2022) achieved through sustainable development (Joseph and Van Buren, 2022).…”