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Corporate Social Responsibility: Linking Bottom of the Pyramid to Market Development?

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Abstract

In this article, we develop theoretical and empirical linkages between corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives of business organizations and their market development efforts at the bottom of the pyramid (BOP). We use qualitative in-depth interviews of 21 CSR heads of business organizations and its CSR partner organizations in India (an emerging market) to explore, develop, and explain plausible theoretical linkages between CSR initiatives of the organizations and its market development efforts at BOP using theory of market separations. Using theoretical frameworks from CSR literature and sub-theory of market separations from marketing literature, the study suggests that market development at BOP is enhanced using the CSR route in several ways. These are, (1) making the BOP market development less risky, (2) mask the CSR initiative as a BOP pilot project to generate internal traction within the organization, (3) integrating the BOP communities with the last mile of the supply chain of the organization, (4) bringing government intervention to accelerate scale-up, and (5) developing BOP as future markets for consumers and supply chain partners to make business more sustainable. Our study has several theoretical as well as managerial implications linking organizations’ market development efforts at BOP with its CSR initiatives.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to IIM Calcutta for funding the study that forms the basis of this research article. They are also thankful to Dinesh Kumar for his help as research assistant in the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Joka, Kolkata, 700104, India

    Ramendra Singh & Prashant Mishra

  2. Marketing Communications, NSHM Group of Institutions (Affiliated to West Bengal University of Technology), B.L.Saha Road, Kolkata, 700053, India

    Madhupa Bakshi

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  1. Ramendra Singh
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Correspondence to Ramendra Singh.

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Singh, R., Bakshi, M. & Mishra, P. Corporate Social Responsibility: Linking Bottom of the Pyramid to Market Development?. J Bus Ethics 131, 361–373 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2283-8

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