Crafting Alliances Between A Mexican Agribusiness And The Base Of The Pyramid: An Action Research Into Strategizing By Sergio Quinones-Romandia May 2016 Committee Chair: Lars Mathiassen Major Academic Unit: J. Mack Robinson College of Business More than 4 billion people in the world face hunger every day. In addition to this imperative shortcoming, the world’s poor confront other side effects of poverty as well, including violence, forced mobility, lack of access to education and early death. In a globalized world where capitalism has become the prevailing economic ideology, alleviating poverty can no longer be the exclusive responsibility of governments, richer nations, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Today, the private sector must also “take the torch” and contribute to easing the suffering of more than half the world’s population. The Base of the Pyramid (BOP) strategy is an important opportunity for the world’s private sector to create new business opportunities while at the same time helping address and alleviate poverty. However, while the literature describes several study cases, we still have limited knowledge about the process through which managers engage in BOP strategizing. Against this backdrop, this dissertation provides a detailed account of how a Mexican agribusiness: Agroservicios Nacionales, SAPI de CV (ANSA) developed and implemented a BOP strategy to co-create value with its distributors and poor corn farmers. Our Georgia State University (GSU) research team combined Dynamic Capability Theory (DCT) and Option-Driven Strategizing (ODS) and adopted action research to establish close collaboration among the firm’s top directors, a select group of its managers, designated local distributors, and our researcher team members. This dissertation presents a detailed account of the strategizing process, how AgroEstacion was conceived, how it was implemented, and the outcomes and experiences of the overall process. I also discuss the challenges our team faced, how they were resolved, and the opportunities that emerged from the strategizing process. Finally, I describe an Integrated Model that firms can use to strategize BOP opportunities in a way that benefits both their business and the surrounding society. This dissertation also represents the challenges of utilizing DCT in a practical case, following the suggestions of several authors as Teece, Pisano, Shuen, Zollo, Winters and others, from major works of writing that encourage researchers to take this theory into a more aggregate system and apply it in a practical case.

This thesis identifies the enabling factors that are relevant for a company’s BoP innovation process. It aims at visualizing differences and challenges of BoP innovation processes in contrast to generic innovation processes. A literature review which was conducted first identified seven enabling factors for generic innovation processes: customer orientation, rigorous planning & early specification, pre-development activities, formalized project selection, functional competence & cross-functional teams, strong project leader and top management support. These theoretical findings provided the necessary framework for the qualitative, semi-structured interviews that were conducted with two companies, GE Healthcare and Godrej & Boyce, which both recently implemented a BoP project. The empirical results visualized the companies’ BoP innovation processes and suggested the following findings. First, the focus on customer orientation was strengthened as a company’s unfamiliarity with the local context strengthens the importance of exactly understanding the consumers’ needs. Second, rigorous planning & early specification was found not as important as in generic innovation processes due to the novelty of the endeavor and the necessary adjustments in the course of the project. Third, predevelopment activities remain important. Fourth, formalized project selection is found to be one of the most influential factors for a BoP innovation project. Fifth, no difference in significance was found in functional competence & cross-functional team. However, the two dimensions of internationality of the team and proximity to respective decision makers were added. Sixth, the case studies showed that a strong project champion is decisive for a BoP project. Last, top management support was found to be one of the most important factors for a BoP innovation project as adjusting structural factors and strategic orientations is necessary for a BoP project to fully unfold. Furthermore, three additional factors (strategic (re-)orientation of a company, independent business unit and mindsets and work approach) were discussed.

The increasing mobile penetration rates in Africa provide an interesting opportunity to mitigate financial exclusion on the continent. Through mobile phone applications that provide an electronic store of value that sits on the mobile phone, the unbanked poor can now access accounts and initiate financial transactions on their mobile phone. The mobile phone presents a more affordable and accessible channel for transacting. The aim of the research was to determine the inclination for the unbanked at the base of the pyramid in South Africa to adopt mobile banking. In total, 100 individuals were interviewed to determine their propensity to adopt mobile banking if it were made available to them. The criteria for selection were residence in an informal settlement in Gauteng, being unbanked and having access to or ownership of a mobile phone. Graphical representations of the findings were analysed to determine the proportion of the sample that would adopt mobile banking under the various constructs. It was concluded that mobile banking had a high likelihood of being adopted by individuals at the base of the pyramid on the basis of its low cost, the convenience and security it offered, and the ease of its use. Additional factors in favour of adoption included observability and trialability. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Do companies that are involved in ventures at the bottom of the pyramid (BOP) achieve both profit and an increase in the welfare of the poor as proposed by Prahalad and Hart (2002), or is there is a trade-off between profit and welfare as argued by critics of this proposition such as Karnani (2005). Research is lacking in the field, something that this investigation seeks to fill through qualitative research thereon. A central finding of this research was that the paradigms that the companies followed, impacted their views on welfare, profit and the trade-off. The findings reflect that companies have poor indicators of welfare and that there is very little evidence of companies measuring welfare. The findings in respect of a trade-off between profit and welfare is inconclusive, indicating that for some companies there is a trade-off but for others not. The trade-off may be explained by the view that capital should be patient and that the required profit will be achieved in the future. An alternative model of social entrepreneurship is suggested as a bridge between profit and welfare. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

No description available.

Para atuar nos mercados da Base da Pirâmide - BOP (Bottom of Pyramid) estratégias customizadas são requeridas dadas as especificidades do consumidor alvo, em que não apenas a restrição à renda se configura, mas também, o acesso ao produto e as necessidades de especificações relacionadas ao seu uso e local. Assim, as organizações precisam atuar com produtos de baixos preços e crédito, devido à restrição de renda do consumidor, obrigatoriamente trabalhando com eficiência, baixos custos de produção, maiores volumes de produção e investimentos em canais de distribuição. As principais publicações não chegaram a um acordo sobre se a atuação na BOP é produtiva ou ilusória, em que se pesem os vários estudos de caso e os vários estudos específicos de estratégias para a BOP. Recentes estudos sobre eficiência indicaram não haver diferença entre elas no mercado, no entanto, importantes autores a veem, mesmo que com grandes vieses. Até mesmo a caracterização da BOP no Brasil foi colocada em discussão. Esta pesquisa utilizou abordagem quantitativa e qualitativa na análise dos dados feitas através de survey eletrônica e questionário, que foram trabalhados por meio de metodologia multicritério e utilizando como base conceitual a Teoria dos Grupos Estratégicos. Assim, o estudo apresenta quais diferenças existem entre as eficiências financeiras das indústrias que atuam ou não na BOP e apresenta um modelo de dimensões estratégicas que estão mais associadas à alta eficiência financeira dos Grupos Estratégicos (GEs) das indústrias de móveis, de confecções, de alimentos, de bebidas, de higiene que ofertam produtos para a BOP estendida, renomeada dessa maneira por incluir a classe C no estudo, diferentemente ao conceito inicial da BOP. Adjacentes a esse objetivo principal, esta tese avaliou a correlação de eficiências com as principais variáveis econômicas e identificou quais dimensões estratégicas estão associadas aos mercados BOP-e, Não-BOP e Misto, dos GEs. A expectativa é de que a pesquisa possa ser mais um dos poucos estudos significativos que inter-relacionam estratégia e eficiência financeira no país, portanto, busca avançar no campo teórico das estratégias relacionadas à BOP, bem como, apresentar dados empíricos sobre Grupos Estratégicos e BOP, contribuindo gerencialmente com a exposição das dimensões estratégicas e estrutura financeira dos GEs que apresentam melhor eficiência financeira dentro da BOP-e, de forma a serem ponderadas pelos executivos em suas tomadas de decisões. / To operate in the Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) markets, customized strategies are required given the specificities of the target consumer, where not only the income restriction is configured, but also the access to the product and related specifications needs to its use and location. Thus, organizations need to work with products of low prices and credit due to consumer income restriction necessarily working efficiently, lower production costs, higher production volumes and investments in distribution channels. The main publications did not reach an agreement on whether the performance in the BOP is productive or illusory, considering the various case studies and the several specific studies of strategies for BOP. Recent studies on efficiency indicated that there is no difference between them in the market, however, important authors see it, even if with great bias. Even the characterization of BOP in Brazil was placed under discussion. This research used a quantitative and qualitative approach in the analysis of the data made through electronic survey and questionnaire, which were worked through a multicriteria methodology and using as conceptual basis the Theory of Strategic Groups. Thus, the study shows that differences exist between the financial efficiencies of industries that operate or not in the BOP and presents a model of strategic dimensions that are more associated with high financial efficiency of Strategic Groups (SGs) of the furniture industry, of the clothing industry, of the food industry, of the beverage industry and of the hygiene that offer products for the extended BOP, renamed in this way by including class C in the study, unlike the initial concept of BOP. Adjacent to this main objective, this thesis evaluated the correlation of efficiencies with the main economic variables and identified which strategic dimensions are associated with the BOP-e, Non-BOP and Mixed markets of the SGs. The expectation is that the research may be one of the few significant studies that interrelate strategy and financial efficiency in the country, therefore, it seeks to advance in the theoretical field of strategies related to the BOP, as well as to present empirical data on Strategic Groups and BOP , contributing managerially with the exposure of the strategic dimensions and financial structure of the GEs that present better financial efficiency within the BOP-e, in order to be considered by the executives in their decision-making.

Nowadays about 1.2 billion people in world lack modern access to electricity, with the majority of them living in rural areas in low-income and developing contexts. This research addresses the issue of energy access by investigating the design of sustainable business models, and in particular by exploring the combination of Product-Service Systems (PSS) with Distributed Renewable Energy systems (DRE). The combination of PSS and DRE represents a new design approach to explore promising business models for energy access and to deliver clean and affordable solutions in low-income contexts. The overall aim of this research is to explore the applications of PSS and DRE in low-income and developing contexts, thus defining characteristics of these models, their variables and critical factors. Additionally, this research aims at developing a support for companies, practitioners and other stakeholders for designing sustainable PSS applied to DRE, with a specific focus on the idea generation phase of new solutions. The first part of this PhD resulted in the development of a classification system for PSS applied to DRE, in the identification of 15 Archetypal Models and in the collection of critical factors to successfully implement these models. Then, these findings have been translated into three tools for designing PSSs applied to DRE: the Innovation Map, the Design Framework and Cards, the Energy System Map. These tools have been tested, refined and evaluated through a series of iterative applications in South Africa, Botswana, Kenya and the UK. Through the testing activities, which involved a wide range of companies, NGOs, practitioners and experts, the usefulness, usability and completeness of the tools were demonstrated. This research concludes with reflections on the design process for different scenarios of applications and by highlighting further research activities for the field of PSS applied to DRE in low-income and developing contexts.

Submitted by Maike Costa (maiksebas@gmail.com) on 2016-03-01T12:07:07Z No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1517470 bytes, checksum: 82c51113e78f5a6951f3489d5194e699 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Clebson Anjos (clebson.leandro54@gmail.com) on 2016-03-09T22:45:10Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1517470 bytes, checksum: 82c51113e78f5a6951f3489d5194e699 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Clebson Anjos (clebson.leandro54@gmail.com) on 2016-03-09T22:53:47Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1517470 bytes, checksum: 82c51113e78f5a6951f3489d5194e699 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-09T22:54:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1517470 bytes, checksum: 82c51113e78f5a6951f3489d5194e699 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-02-26 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Due to environmental degradation, stemming mainly from increased consumption and industrial activities, since the 1960s, organizations are aiming for a narrowing between technological progress and the promotion of social and environmental well-being. With the growing concern for the environment, sustainable management has become a key differentiator and thus organizations seek, through innovation in products and services, meet the new market demands. However, efforts directed towards efficient environmental management are typically driven by the demands of established markets. Nevertheless, Hart and Christensen (2002) argue that emerging markets, also known as "base of the pyramid", represent great business opportunities, as they are considered ideal for welcome new environmentally friendly technologies and high impact. In this sense, the purpose of this dissertation was to analyze the sustainable innovations developed by Brazilian organizations to the base of the pyramid. Specifically, by characterizing the sustainable innovations aimed at the base of the pyramid developed by Brazilian organizations; identifying the determinants of sustainable innovations to the base of the pyramid markets; justifying the reasons for the adoption of sustainable innovations aimed at the base of the pyramid considering the perspective of the Institutional Theory. The analysis of data was through descriptive analysis of multiple case study, which is commonly suggested by authors to fill gaps in empirical contribution. Data analysis was carried out individually and cross-case. Based on the characterization found, the results show that at the national level, sustainable innovations developed for the bottom of the pyramid are still in an incipient moment, because although they provide small benefits under social and environmental point of view, they do not produce large impacts on society as a whole. It was also verified the existence of determinants that stimulated the development of these innovations in the cases studied such as regulations, incentives, base of pyramid market, specific firm factors and sustainable technology. These findings served to delineate the mechanisms of institutional isomorphism present in the analyzed cases. It was found that the coercive isomorphism is still very dominant, being the predominant reason for the adoption of sustainable innovations in the bottom of the pyramid, followed by mimetic isomorphism. / Devido ao processo de degradação do meio ambiente, decorrente sobretudo da intensificação do consumo e atividades industriais, desde os anos 60 procura-se um estreitamento entre o progresso tecnológico e a promoção do bem estar socioambiental. Com a crescente preocupação com o meio ambiente, a gestão sustentável tornou-se um diferencial importante e com isso as organizações procuram, através das inovações de produtos e serviços, atender as novas demandas do mercado. Os esforços dirigidos para gestão socioambiental eficiente são normalmente impulsionadas pelas demandas de mercados estabelecidos. Contudo, Hart e Christensen (2002) afirmam que os mercados emergentes denominados de “base da pirâmide” representam ótimas oportunidades de negócios, uma vez que são considerados ideais para recepcionar novas tecnologias ambientalmente amigáveis e de alto impacto. Neste sentido, o objetivo desta pesquisa foi analisar as inovações sustentáveis desenvolvidas por organizações brasileiras para a base da pirâmide. Especificamente, caracterizar as inovações sustentáveis voltadas para a base da pirâmide desenvolvidas por organizações brasileiras; identificar os determinantes das inovações sustentáveis para os mercados da base da pirâmide; justificar as razões da adoção das inovações sustentáveis voltadas para a base da pirâmide sob ótica da Teoria Institucional. A análise dos dados ocorreu de forma descritiva. Dentre as estratégias de pesquisas, optou-se pelo estudo de casos múltiplos, a qual é comumente sugerida por autores da temática como forma de preencher lacunas da contribuição empírica. A análise dos dados foi feita de forma individual e cruzada dos casos. Os resultados apontam que no âmbito nacional, as inovações sustentáveis desenvolvidas para a base da pirâmide estão ainda em um momento incipiente, visto que embora proporcione pequenos benefícios sob ponto de vista socioambiental, não produzem grandes impactos na sociedade como um todo. Foi possível verificar também a existência de determinantes que estimularam o desenvolvimento dessas inovações nos casos estudados, sendo eles fatores como regulamentações, incentivos, mercado na base da pirâmide, fatores específicos a firma e tecnologia sustentável. Esses achado serviram para delinear os mecanismos de isomorfismo institucionais presentes nas organizações. Dessa forma, constatou-se que o isomorfismo coercitivo ainda é muito dominante, sendo o motivo predominante para adoção das inovações sustentáveis na base da pirâmide, seguido pelo isomorfismo mimético.

Para atuar nos mercados da Base da Pirâmide - BOP (Bottom of Pyramid) estratégias customizadas são requeridas dadas as especificidades do consumidor alvo, em que não apenas a restrição à renda se configura, mas também, o acesso ao produto e as necessidades de especificações relacionadas ao seu uso e local. Assim, as organizações precisam atuar com produtos de baixos preços e crédito, devido à restrição de renda do consumidor, obrigatoriamente trabalhando com eficiência, baixos custos de produção, maiores volumes de produção e investimentos em canais de distribuição. As principais publicações não chegaram a um acordo sobre se a atuação na BOP é produtiva ou ilusória, em que se pesem os vários estudos de caso e os vários estudos específicos de estratégias para a BOP. Recentes estudos sobre eficiência indicaram não haver diferença entre elas no mercado, no entanto, importantes autores a veem, mesmo que com grandes vieses. Até mesmo a caracterização da BOP no Brasil foi colocada em discussão. Esta pesquisa utilizou abordagem quantitativa e qualitativa na análise dos dados feitas através de survey eletrônica e questionário, que foram trabalhados por meio de metodologia multicritério e utilizando como base conceitual a Teoria dos Grupos Estratégicos. Assim, o estudo apresenta quais diferenças existem entre as eficiências financeiras das indústrias que atuam ou não na BOP e apresenta um modelo de dimensões estratégicas que estão mais associadas à alta eficiência financeira dos Grupos Estratégicos (GEs) das indústrias de móveis, de confecções, de alimentos, de bebidas, de higiene que ofertam produtos para a BOP estendida, renomeada dessa maneira por incluir a classe C no estudo, diferentemente ao conceito inicial da BOP. Adjacentes a esse objetivo principal, esta tese avaliou a correlação de eficiências com as principais variáveis econômicas e identificou quais dimensões estratégicas estão associadas aos mercados BOP-e, Não-BOP e Misto, dos GEs. A expectativa é de que a pesquisa possa ser mais um dos poucos estudos significativos que inter-relacionam estratégia e eficiência financeira no país, portanto, busca avançar no campo teórico das estratégias relacionadas à BOP, bem como, apresentar dados empíricos sobre Grupos Estratégicos e BOP, contribuindo gerencialmente com a exposição das dimensões estratégicas e estrutura financeira dos GEs que apresentam melhor eficiência financeira dentro da BOP-e, de forma a serem ponderadas pelos executivos em suas tomadas de decisões. / To operate in the Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) markets, customized strategies are required given the specificities of the target consumer, where not only the income restriction is configured, but also the access to the product and related specifications needs to its use and location. Thus, organizations need to work with products of low prices and credit due to consumer income restriction necessarily working efficiently, lower production costs, higher production volumes and investments in distribution channels. The main publications did not reach an agreement on whether the performance in the BOP is productive or illusory, considering the various case studies and the several specific studies of strategies for BOP. Recent studies on efficiency indicated that there is no difference between them in the market, however, important authors see it, even if with great bias. Even the characterization of BOP in Brazil was placed under discussion. This research used a quantitative and qualitative approach in the analysis of the data made through electronic survey and questionnaire, which were worked through a multicriteria methodology and using as conceptual basis the Theory of Strategic Groups. Thus, the study shows that differences exist between the financial efficiencies of industries that operate or not in the BOP and presents a model of strategic dimensions that are more associated with high financial efficiency of Strategic Groups (SGs) of the furniture industry, of the clothing industry, of the food industry, of the beverage industry and of the hygiene that offer products for the extended BOP, renamed in this way by including class C in the study, unlike the initial concept of BOP. Adjacent to this main objective, this thesis evaluated the correlation of efficiencies with the main economic variables and identified which strategic dimensions are associated with the BOP-e, Non-BOP and Mixed markets of the SGs. The expectation is that the research may be one of the few significant studies that interrelate strategy and financial efficiency in the country, therefore, it seeks to advance in the theoretical field of strategies related to the BOP, as well as to present empirical data on Strategic Groups and BOP , contributing managerially with the exposure of the strategic dimensions and financial structure of the GEs that present better financial efficiency within the BOP-e, in order to be considered by the executives in their decision-making.

Submitted by Luigi Testa (luigi_testa@hotmail.it) on 2012-11-19T15:23:26Z No. of bitstreams: 1 THESIS Luigi Testa.pdf: 3189549 bytes, checksum: 17aed70d896baeab5cc4eed6e10a3856 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Eliene Soares da Silva (eliene.silva@fgv.br) on 2012-11-21T15:33:37Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 THESIS Luigi Testa.pdf: 3189549 bytes, checksum: 17aed70d896baeab5cc4eed6e10a3856 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2012-11-21T17:22:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 THESIS Luigi Testa.pdf: 3189549 bytes, checksum: 17aed70d896baeab5cc4eed6e10a3856 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-11-07 / O ambiente econômico global tem registrado um conjunto de mutações poderosos durante a última década. A liderança dos países ocidentais tem sido contestada pelo crescimento de novos atores no interior da arena global, determinando uma mudança dos interesses das nações bem estabelecidas, para realidades que antes eram considerados subdesenvolvidos ou incapaz de desempenhar um papel de liderança dentro do contexto da economia global. Assim, os países emergentes ganharam a atenção dos teóricos e gerentes internacionais, que começaram a olhar para estes assuntos, não só pelo seu potencial econômico, mas também para a identificação de novas soluções para a criação de um mundo mais sustentável. A tese em questão, estruturada como um case study, precisamente tenta compreender e retratar os dois temas mencionados acima. Por um lado, a pesquisa irá investigar as dimensões do mercado da BoP, com um foco no mercado brasileiro, pelo outro lado, o trabalho irá descrever uma soluções possíveis para explorar os mercados em desenvolvimento por grandes empresas privadas: o modelo de negócio social. Este novo paradigma, que combina o desempenho financeiro com a realização de impactos sociais entre a comunidade selecionada, será aprofundar através de um caso concreto implementado pela Coca-Cola Company no Brasil, o Projeto Coletivo. De acordo com as observações preliminares, o estudo de caso terá como objetivo compreender os desafios, as oportunidades, os obstáculos organizacionais e os métodos que podem subir a partir da implementação de um negócio social em um país em desenvolvimento seguindo a perspectiva anteriormente. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que, embora o paradigma pode representam uma solução viável, muitas questões organizacionais e culturais precisam ser levados em consideração para a sua implementação bem sucedida.