Scholars have debated the nature of the market at the bottom of the pyramid (BOP). Challenging assumptions about these customers, C. K. Prahalad has described numerous success stories of multinational companies who targeted low-income people as their customers. However, other scholars have raised questions about Prahalad’s propositions and the economic and ethical realities facing firms doing business at the BOP. Interestingly, though many projects have failed with the BOP market, firms operating in emerging markets have successfully implemented these programs in the mass market. Thus, many products and services, such as automobiles and hotels, have now become an affordable possibility for the mass segment. This commentary summarizes the debate over Prahalad’s propositions and explains their current status.
BowmanCliffFaulknerDavid (1996), Competitve and Corporate Strategy. London, England: Irwin.
3.
ByronEllen (2007), “P & G’s Global Target: Shelves of Tiny Stores,”The Wall Street Journal, July 16, A1.
4.
ChatterjeeSudeep (2007), “Do Successful Companies’ Value Social Responsibility and Ethics in Marketing in India,”paper presented at the International Marketing Conference on Marketing & Society, IIM Kanpur, India (April 8–10).
5.
CherrierPatrickJayanthBhuvaraghan (2009), “Making Eyeglasses Accessible to the Very Poor: Creating a Market in Rural India,”Field Actions Science Reports, (accessed March 3, 2012), [available athttp://factsreports.revues.org/355].
6.
CrabtreeAndrew (2007), “Evaluating the BOP” from a Fundamental Capabilities Perspective,” (accessed February 16, 2012), [available athttp://openarchive.cbs.dk/handle/10398/6755].
7.
DavidsonKirk (2009) “Ethical Concerns at the BOP. Where CSR meets BOP,”Journal of International Business Ethics, 2 (1), 22–32.
8.
GarretteBernardKarnaniAneel (2010), “Challenges in Marketing Socially Useful Goods to the Poor,”California Management Review, 52 (4), 29–47.
9.
JaiswalA. K (2009), “Fortune at the BOP: An Alternative Perspective.”working paper No. 7, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmadabad.
10.
KarnaniAneel (2007), “The Mirage at the Bottom of Pyramid,”California Management Review, 49 (4), 90–111.
11.
KarnaniAneel (2008), “Romanticizing the Poor Harms the Poor,”The Whitehead Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations9 (2), 57–70.
12.
KasturiRangan V.KatharineL. Lee (2012), “Mobile Banking for the Unbanked,”Marketing unit case number 511-049, Harvard Business School.
13.
OkegwaleEmmanuel (2011), “Safaricom’s M-Pesa outstrip Western Union globally,”(accessed February, 8, 2012), [available athttp://mobilemoneyafrica.com].
14.
PrahaladC. K. (2005). The Fortune at the BOP: Eradicating Poverty through Profits. Philadelphia, PA: Wharton School.
15.
PrahaladC. K.StartL. Hart (2002), “The Fortune at the bottom of the pyramid,”Strategy+Business, Vol. 26 (1).
16.
RamaswamyVenkatGouillartFrancis (2010), The Power of Co-Creation: Build It with them to Boost Growth, Productivity, and Profits. New York, NY: The Free Press.
17.
RamkeJ.du ToilR.PalagyiA. (2007), “Correction of refractive error and presbyopia in Timor-Leste,”British Journal of Ophtalmology, 91 (7), 848–850.
SimanisErikHartStuart (2008), “The Base of the Pyramid Protocol: Toward Next Generation BoP Strategy,”(accessed February 10, 2012), [available athttp://www.bopprotocol.org].
20.
SinghNamrataZachariahReebaNair-GhaswallaAmrita (2010), “Bottom of Pyramid Changed Business Models in India”(accessed February 12, 2012), [available at http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com].
21.
ThekkudanJulieTandonRajesh (2009), “Women’s Livelihood Global markets and citizenship,”working paper number 336, Institute of Development Studies, Brighton, UK.
22.
XavierM. JRajaJ.NandiniU. (2006), “Entrepreneurship Development through Corporate Intervention among Self Help Groups in India—The case of HLL’s Project Shakti,”research report, Institute of Financial Management and Research, Tiruchirappalli, India.
