Enterprises operating in the bottom of the pyramid and their contributions to sustainability: framework of analysis and empirical evidences

Abstract

Discussions on the theoretical perspective of the Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP) are gaining space in research on Administration. However, an insufficient number of studies have been conducted from a more pragmatic point of view of the link between business activities in low-income markets and aspects related to sustainability. Given the identified theoretical gap, this article aims to analyze the performance of companies in the BoP and their contributions to the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainability. Therefore, we developed an integrative analysis of 100 publications on BoP listed in the Web of Science database. From this we built an analytical framework, which consists of 21 criteria grouped into five categories of analysis, which indicates the existence of six typologies of enterprises, these being: traditional, appropriate, innovative, focused on mutual benefits, appropriate to the environmental dimension and directed to sustainability. For empirical verification, we developed a study of multiple cases involving five cases of companies operating in the Brazilian economic BoP and their contributions to sustainability. The empirical results show greater concern for the economic and social dimensions, reaffirming the central argument of the perspective, and less concern to environmental, highlighting the recent emphasis on this aspect. As for the main theoretical contribution, there is a proposal for a more pragmatic and unified view of these discussions, involving the categories, criteria and typologies analyzed. This may assist in the development of new researches in the area.

Keywords:
Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP); Sustainability; Poverty; Analysis framework