The purpose of this research is to investigate the concept of discretionary thrift amongst low income consumers. Flatters and Willmott (2009) identified discretionary thrift as an advancing trend amongst affluent developed nation consumers. These consumers temper their spending habits depending on product or occasion; there are certain products for which consumers are willing to pay a premium (behaviour associated with materialism) and there are others that consumers are looking to save money on (behaviour associated with frugality). Thrift for low income consumers, especially in emerging market settings, is not considered discretionary; rather, it is portrayed as ‘necessary’ to ensure survival. This study followed a descriptive, quantitative design and surveyed 154 individuals considered to be at the bottom of South Africa’s income pyramid. There is sufficient evidence from this research to support the proposition of discretionary thrift amongst low income consumers. Low income consumers were found to save money by paying as little as possible (behaviour associated with frugality) for fast moving consumer goods with low functional and status risk and were found to willingly pay the required premium (behaviour associated with materialism) for socially visible aspirational brands of clothing and fast moving consumer goods. The level of frugality and materialism expressed with respect to these products was not influenced by age or level of education. However, the level of frugality expressed with respect to these products was affected by an individual’s gross and disposable income. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Prahalad has started a debate in the last decade regarding the opportunities of doing business towards the low-income consumers of emerging markets, which he called Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) markets. The purpose of this study is to investigate how companies adapt their marketing mix strategies in order to target this type of market. The research is developed as case studies within the Brazilian telecom market in order to offer a new BOP setting as previous research has been focusing on Asia and Africa. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews are conducted with managers of the prepaid segment of three telecom companies. The study shows that price strategies are most important to adapt towards affordability in order to target BOP markets because of consumers’ limited budget. While adaptation in product and place are also seen, they are not as substantial as in price. The strategy that was not adapted was promotion as traditional channels are most common within the Brazilian BOP market. Moreover, companies with a strategy that traditionally have been upper-segment-centric do have to make larger and more innovative adaptations in order to market this segment.

A majority of the world’s population can be classified as Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP), which means that they earn less than USD 3,000 per year. In addition, it is estimated that 12 % of the worlds BoP population live in Africa. Due to the vast economic growth in Africa - which will boost the African consumers income level -we have decided to write a dissertation that regards the African BoP consumers.The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate iffive BoP market barriers exist in the African countries Tanzania and Kenya. In order to answer the research question, we conducted interviews with two different companies established in the Tanzanian respectively Kenyan BoP market. It was possible to answer the research question through the primary data collected during these interviews.Our main findings from the empirical analysis indicated that four out of five market barriers in the Tanzanian and Kenyan BoP markets are accepted, and that both of the companies had to adapt to the different barriers. In addition, Company A and Company B also find solutions to these accepted market barriers in their respective BoP markets.This dissertation will be of value since Africa’s economy is steadily growing, which will attract more companies in the near future. Furthermore, research in how toovercome market barriers in order to establish successful business in low-income markets will also be valuable.

Background: Events happening in the 21st century- global economic crisis, naturaldisasters, extreme poverty, struggles and conflicts have led to a realization that we areliving in a troubled world where we are interdependent in one way or the other. These issues tend to be complex and intertwined such that delegating them to a single sectoris too huge of a task to bear, thus the need for social innovation through cross sector collaboration. The case of the Refugee Housing Unit is being studied- a collaboration between the IKEA Foundation, UNHCR and the Swedish Industrial Design Foundation led to the creation of a more sustainable environmental friendly shelter for refugees.Since social innovation is a green field especially in a BOP context, the research is aimed at understanding how the RHU case can provide important insight in which collaboration theory can be applied between sectors to shape future social innovation endeavors. Aim: The aim of this thesis is to study the collaboration of organizations belonging to different sectors to create social innovations. This research will examine how collaboration between sectors takes place, and through the empirical case of theRefugee Housing Unit, derive key learning points that could shape future social innovation projects. A framework will be developed that could provide important insightsfor future socially oriented collaborations. Methodology: The proposed framework was developed through a study of socialinnovation theory in terms how it can be accelerated through cross sector collaborationiitheory. A case study that entailed these two theories was chosen to enable the development of a suggested framework. The study involved collection of primary data inform of interviews with Johan Karlsson and Chris Earney, RHU project leader and UNHCR Innovation co-leader, respectively. Additionally, secondary data was used tohelp understand the case further. Results: Examining the core elements of cross-sectoral collaboration for social innovation showed imperative social aspects as well as key dimensions that are pillars for the process of collaboration. The RHU case revealed critical factors for collaboration between sectors that are well stipulated in the framework. The framework can act as a guide for organizations wishing to collaborate for social innovation as well as provide abasis for future research in this young field.

This research project investigates the requirements or factors that will influence mcommerce adoption in low-income markets. The framework incorporated awareness, availability, convenience, affordability and acceptability as variables for m-commerce adoption in low-income markets. Mobile commerce is the next step in the evolution of networked computing and is the utilisation of mobile communication for financial gain. In South Africa, the fast rate of mobile technology adoption has created an access footprint for mcommerce across the country. Businesses are adopting m-commerce into their business strategies to tap into these new markets. Recently the potential commercial benefit in low-income markets is being explored by business. In South Africa the low-income market has been characterised by the foundation tier of the economic pyramid. Although this market is seen as extremely price sensitive and has little to no disposable income, the collective potential of it is considerable. The research found that certain aspects of the framework were applicable. Awareness, knowledge and acceptability were seen to have the highest association with m-commerce adoption in the low-income market. / 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

Investment in low income markets is increasing so too is a sense of controversy regarding poor markets. With BOP investment becoming many a firms’ strategy towards achieving growth, it is not clear to what extent managers’ attitudes to poor customers differ towards their attitudes towards middle-class customers. It is, however, well described that attitudes to poor people in a social context is negative and in some cases less favourable. It is postulated that business' mindset may be a barrier towards engaging with BOP markets despite the incentives and benefits that literature puts forward for marketing to the poor. Whether this attitude is negative, neutral, less favourable or similar is not well understood. The findings of this research project, can with a high level of confidence, report that the attitudes of a sample of managers do display a less favourable attitude towards a poor customer than is the case with a similar sample that is exposed to a wealthier customer. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Small businesses are significant contributors to a nation’s job creation and employment. These enterprises face many challenges that often lead to failure within 5 years. Some small business owners fail because they lack the necessary strategies for maintaining a sustainable business operation. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive phenomenological study was to analyze how to overcome the high failure rate of small businesses in Accra, Ghana. The conceptual framework for this study was institutional and planned behavior theories. The research questions sought participant’s experiences with small business survival that may have led to sustainable businesses. Data were collected from 20 participants using semistructured telephone interviews in Accra, Ghana. Participants were small business owners in the consumer products industry. Eligibility required full-time self-employed persons aged 26-65 years who must have been in business beyond 5 years. Thematic analysis was used to analyze data. After data analysis, member checking was used to establish the trustworthiness of the outcomes. The main result of the study was that small businesses that had identified viable business opportunities in sustaining the needs and challenges of potential customers reported gains in sales and customer retention. The findings were significant for improving sustainable small business efforts, improving self-employment, reducing poverty through inclusive business models, and creating positive social change. Small business owners and policymakers might benefit from this research by reducing redundancies in their operations. This effort should promote an environment that enhances wealth creation and the quality of life of small business owners in Accra, Ghana.

The research project investigated the trade-off between profit and social welfare objectives and whether metrics existed to measure the social welfare objectives set and the impact made. The study was conducted with leading brands within their respective categories and that are currently active in the South African BoP consumer market. The BoP market is widely recognised as an opportunity for business in developing markets to gain penetration of their brands and grow profits. How much of this ambition is married with social welfare objectives that aim to give back rather than just take out of the communities that they operate in? The challenge has been on what social impact to target and how to measure this. The research project was done using a quantitative research method, sampling brands that are within the top three sellers of their respective categories for LSM 1-4 consumers as measured by AMPS. This was supported by a thorough literature review to highlight the gaps that exist in the current way of interacting with BoP markets. The main finding is that profit is still the primary objective for most brands operating within this space and goals and associated social welfare metrics are still a distant third to marketing and business metrics measured within a business. The study ends with some recommendations for brand and business leaders to consider as they continue their incursions into BoP markets. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / lmgibs2015 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / Unrestricted

This study describes a sustainable empowerment process used to mobilise, capacitate and sustainably empower communities.An approach to unlock the potential of the high number of unemployed youth within the emerging markets was investigated. These unemployed youth do not have the correct skills, experience and opportunities to become productive citizens of a country. This research looked at methods used to enable the youth to contribute sustainably to the formal economy as a key to empowering the community.The success factors for community empowerment and the contributions made by stakeholders were explored.The research was based on exploratory research of a South African company, Next S and their operations within local communities. Next S was used because of their innovative and dynamic operations and long history with community projects. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted