Consumer well‐being and social responsibility of subsistence entrepreneurs in subsistence marketplace

Abstract

Business malpractices, such as the sale of overpriced, underweight and adulterated foodstuffs and essential commodities, can pose serious threats to subsistence consumers' wellbeing, given they are more vulnerable than their affluent counterparts. Drawing on 40 interviews with subsistence entrepreneurs in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, our findings provide insights into the interplay between religiosity and social responsibility of entrepreneurs. We further explore how socio‐economic conditions and local embeddedness—two important characteristics of individuals in subsistence marketplaces—moderate the relationship between religiosity and social responsibility of entrepreneurs, providing implications for consumer welfare at the macro‐level. Our research makes a distinctive contribution to three streams of literature relating to social responsibility, subsistence marketplaces, and consumer affairs, with specific policy implications.

Unequal but essential: How subsistence consumer–entrepreneurs negotiate unprecedented shock with extraordinary resilience during COVID‐19

“…People are caught between the immediate threats of the present, and some way of negotiating to a more bearable future. In response, subsistence consumers often display humanity within catastrophe, and when confronted with uncontrollable situations, seek solace and rationalization by reiterating a deference to a higher power (Azmat et al, 2020; Bentley et al, 2020; Koenig, 2020). As many of these consumers are necessity‐ driven entrepreneurs (Jayachandran, 2020), consumption is reduced to the very bare essentials and income generation involves walking the tightrope between staying the course with what sustained before and finding any viable alternative.…”

The impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on subsistence consumers' well‐being and coping strategies: Insights from India and Bangladesh

“…In addition, religiosity forms the consumption behavior at SMs through resistance and internalization (Yurdakul & Atik, 2015 ). Furthermore, these two things influence the daily activities of SCs and also shape their values (Azmat et al, 2021 ). Further, religious coping has beneficial effects by improving overall well‐being during uncontrollable situations (Dolcos et al, 2021 ) such as the ongoing COVID‐19 pandemic, as religious consumers may learn and apply emotion‐focused coping strategies to better manage everyday stress.…”

“…and What are the unique ways in which SCs cope with the stresses of COVID‐19? A total of 39 in‐depth semi‐structured interviews were conducted with SCs in Bangladesh and India with the purpose of exploring deeper perceptions of the consumers' well‐being (CWB) concerns and coping strategies. These countries were preferred as contexts because we had access to the field sites that have allowed us to generate good quality data from the SCs (Azmat et al, 2021; Viswanathan, Rosa, & Ruth, 2010a; Viswanathan, Sridharan, & Richie, 2010b) who have been affected by the pandemic (World Bank, 2020a). We also adopted an appraisal theory of stress (Lazarus, 2006) to interpret and investigate the CWB concerns and coping strategies of SCs.…”

“…A report from the World Bank estimated that due to COVID‐19, 35.5 million more people could fall into extreme poverty in 2020 across South Asian countries (World Bank, 2020a ). This new group has also been identified as SCs, which have further been added to the 4 billion poor, also known as the bottom‐ or base‐of‐the‐pyramid (BoP) consumers (Azmat et al, 2021 ; Viswanathan, Rosa, & Ruth, 2010a ; Viswanathan, Sridharan, & Richie, 2010b ). As per the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), there was a large drop in income of the BoP consumers (daily laborers' income fell by 75%) due to COVID‐19 (Kataria, 2021 ).…”

Análise dos benefícios X desempenho do programa microempreendedor individual no Nordeste do Brasil

“…Os estudos sobre o empreendedor na literatura acadêmica, tem atribuído ao empreendedorismo diferentes iniciativas sociais (ALIAGA-ISLA; HUYBRECHTS, 2018; WU; SI, 2018; GONZÁLEZ; HUSTED; AIGNER, 2017;YOO, 2015;YOON et al, 2015;AZMAT;FERDOUS;COUCHMAN, 2015;NEY et al, 2014;MUHAMAD;ADHAM, 2013). Nesse acervo, muito se discute sobre o papel do empreendedorismo na sociedade brasileira (ROSENFIELD, 2018; 2015; LEAL; FREITAS; FONTENELE, 2015; KUYUMJIAN; SOUZA; SANT'ANNA, 2014; CASAQUI, 2014), sobre o quanto é benéfico para o contexto social, seu protagonismo diante das crises econômicas e financeiras e sua responsabilidade na geração de riquezas para o país.…”