Strategic Challenges for the Base of the Pyramid

What I like most about Strategic Challenges for the Base of the Pyramid is the authors' clear understanding of what we have already learned about the BoP domain and their subsequent focus on creating new knowledge. The chapters in this book provide important insights into several important topics in the BoP domain, including trust, innovation, and scale. Congratulations to Patrick Vermeulen, Edgar Hütte and their colleagues in putting together this book.'

- Ted London, William Davidson Institute and Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, USThis pioneering book addresses some of the key challenges that firms encounter when they enter low-income markets and offers solutions - based on empirical evidence - for those firms already operating in such a difficult arena.

The Base of the Pyramid (BoP) has become a popular area for firms to search for new business potential. However, serving the BoP requires a fundamentally different approach to doing business and presents a new and unique set of organizational challenges. In this book, Patrick Vermeulen and Edgar Hütte discuss some of the key challenges firms are confronted with when operating in BoP markets. Based on empirical evidence from various companies across the globe, the authors provide valuable insights into how firms can deal with these challenges. With the rapid growth of developing countries, Western firms should be more aware of the potential problems when entering these markets; this book will help those making the crucial choices necessary to resolve these issues.

This book will appeal to academics and students in international business or business administration. It will also prove an essential resource for practitioners that are active in, or are considering moving into, low-income markets.

Contents: 1. Introduction 2. The Base of the Pyramid 3. Cross-sector Collaborations at the Base of the Pyramid 4. Building Trust at the Base of the Pyramid 5. Innovation at the Base of the Pyramid 6. Scaling Challenges at the Base of the Pyramid 7. Next steps in Base-of-the Pyramid Research and Practice Index