Building Partnerships to Create Social and Economic Value at the Base of the Global Development Pyramid

Abstract

This paper builds on London and Hart's critique that Prahalad's best-selling book prompted a unilateral effort to find a fortune at the bottom of the pyramid (BoP). Prahalad's instrumental, firm-centered construction suggests, perhaps unintentionally, a buccaneering style of business enterprise devoted to capturing markets rather than enabling new socially entrepreneurial ventures for those otherwise trapped in conditions of extreme poverty. London and Hart reframe Prahalad's insight into direct global business enterprise toward ''creating a fortune with the base of the pyramid'' (p. xi) rather than at the BoP. This shift in language requires a recalibration of strategic focus, we argue, and will necessitate implementation of ''moral imagination'' to formulate new mental models that can frame the possibility of local entrepreneurs working collaboratively and discursively with development partners drawn from civil society, corporate, and government sectors. Successful partnerships will arise from interactive processes of emergent, co-creative learning within a shared problem domain or ''community of practice''. We call attention to three related pluralist framings of situated learning within such communities of practice: (1) decentered stakeholder networks; (2) global action networks; and (3) a focus on ''faces and places'' as a cognitive lens to humanize and locally situate diverse inhabitants within base of the pyramid partnership projects.

Differential Social Performance of Religiously-Affiliated Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Base of Pyramid (BoP) Markets

“…Similar approaches that are fully collaborative, engaging the borrowers in fashioning their own solutions, go beyond the deontological duty perspective we follow in carving our first research question. As detailed in a paper by Calton et al (2013), partnering across sectors and within ''communities of practice'' permits innovative, sustainable solutions to the problems that plague the poor, and can translate into higher levels of trust between the MFI and the borrower as well as higher success rates for both borrowers and the MFI. We believe the results of this study can point to the investment in longer-term relationships that the FBO is inclined to make, driven by adherence to mission, reflected in practice, and demonstrated in outcomes.…”

Multinational Corporations’ Strategies at the Base of the Pyramid: An Action Research Inquiry

“…On a larger scale, the creation of dense relationships between corporations and stakeholders such as governments, local communities, or NGO is said to be critical to the success of firms in developing BOP ventures (London et al 2005;London et al 2010). Calton et al (2013) advance the debate by applying the conceptual framework of global action networks to the BOP. The GAN concept was initially introduced by Waddell (2011) to describe partnerships between business, civil society, and governments to address a shared problem.…”

“…To understand the triggering factors of this change, the paper uses the notion of global action networks (GANs), which refers to groups of stakeholders which can include NGOs, the civil society, and also private companies, who agree to work together to address global issues such as poverty (Waddell 2011). Building on Calton et al (2013) which show how GANs are essential in creating value at the BOP, the paper analyzes the role of these networks in triggering change in the mindset of the firm vis-à-vis the BOP segment.…”

Identity Rights: A Structural Void in Inclusive Growth

“…This approach builds on a recent call for new mental models that create partnerships between local entrepreneurs and firms, civil society, and even the government (Calton et al 2013). We illustrate with an example.…”