EXPLAINING INEQUALITY WITHIN THE BOP: URBAN VS. RURAL

René Díaz-Pichardo, Patricia S. Sánchez-Medina and Consuelo García de La Torre
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René Díaz-Pichardo: Groupe ESC Troyes, 217 Avenue Pierre Brossolette, CS 20710-10002, Troyes Cedex, France2Université de Technologie de Troyes, ICD-CREIDD, UMR, CNRS, 6281, 12 rue Marie Curie, CS 42060-10004, Troyes Cedex, France
Patricia S. Sánchez-Medina: Instituto Politécnico Nacional-CIIDIR, Unidad Oaxaca, Calle Hornos No. 1003, Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán 71230, Oaxaca, Mexico
Consuelo García de La Torre: EGADE Business School — Tecnológico de Monterrey, Av. Eugenio Garza Lagüera, Esq. Zona Valle Oriente, Monterrey 64100, NL, Mexico

Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), 2017, vol. 22, issue 03, 1-17

Abstract: Little has been written about inequality within the base of the pyramid (BOP) and how this inequality offers different opportunities and challenges to detonate inclusive business innovation processes. This research contributes to the BOP literature by offering evidence of structural differences between urban and rural BOP based on unmet needs expressed by members of the BOP in both contexts. It can also be seen as a first approximation of the knowledge that multinational corporations, social entrepreneurs and policy makers need to detonate inclusive business innovation processes at the Mexican BOP. In-depth interviews were conducted with families, owners/people in charge of small businesses and government officials in ten different BOP communities randomly selected from each of the country’s five regions. The results provide relevant insights about unattended needs, consumption habits, and differences and similarities between urban and rural BOP communities, from which business opportunities might be discovered.

Keywords: Base of the pyramid; inequality; low-income segments; poverty; urban vs. rural (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1142/S1084946717500169

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