Some Recent Cases in the Bottom of the Pyramid Concept: Lessons from India

Abstract

Ethical concerns, challenges and problems are an integral part of every business endeavour because at the core of all business activity, there is the fundamental and natural tension between buyer and seller. Regardless of country, culture, income level, market served, product or service category, high or low tech, this tension is there, raising ethical questions that must be addressed. As has been emphasized above, engaging in business with the world’s poorest consumers towards the goal of eradicating global poverty creates its own unique set of ethical problems.

Engagement with the base of the pyramid (BOP) markets can be successful only if the core elements of CSR are understood and incorporated into the BOP strategy. Satisfactory profits are essential, and the financial interest of shareholders can never be forgotten or neglected, but there are other stakeholders who must be considered as well. Indeed, engaging with the BOP creates an especially sensitive and complex stakeholder map. The ‘inclusive growth’ as a strategy of economic development received attention owing to growing concern that the benefits of economic growth have not been equitably shared. Growth is inclusive when it creates economic opportunities along with ensuring equal access to them.