Around the turn of the millennium it had become painfully evident that development aid, charity or "global business-as-usual" were not going to be the mechanisms to alleviate global poverty. Today, there is little dispute that poverty remains the most pressing global problem calling for innovative solutions. One recent strategy is the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) concept developed by Prahalad and Hart, which relies on entrepreneurial activity tapping into the previously ignored markets of the economically most disadvantaged. It is a process requiring innovations in several disciplines: technological, social and business.This book covers a number of areas. First, much of the current BoP discussion emphasises targeting products to the needs of the poor. But do we actually know what the real needs of the poor are? This book takes a bottom-up human-centred approach and examines examples that truly engage the poor in BoP product and service development. What types of needs assessment methodologies are indicated considering the cultural differences in BoP countries? Are the existing methodologies adequate? Do they need to be redefined and redeveloped? Second, the book considers how we can balance poverty alleviation and stimulate economic growth without stressing the ecosystem. Tragically, the poor are hardest hit by the adverse effects of environmental deterioration such as water shortages, climate change or the destruction of habitats. While the economic welfare of the poor is critical, the BoP approach must balance its inherent paradox of encouraging greater consumption while avoiding further pressures on environmental sustainability. The link between the BoP approach and sustainable development is a key feature of this book. Third, it looks at innovation and asks what kinds of"bottom-up" innovation (open source, technological, social and business) support BoP initiatives (and sustainable development)?Fourth, the book deals with the relationship between development assistance and BoP. Is a BoP strategy the antithesis to development aid or can these two co-exist or even complement each other?Finally, the book raises questions about the relationship between corporate responsibility and BoP. Is BoP a new form of corporate neo-colonialism or a new form of corporate responsibility? Although the BoP concept has unleashed an extensive and generally enthusiastic response from academics, businesses, NGOs and governments, the knowledge domain around this concept is still in the early stages of development. This book addresses that need with a focus on the needs of the end-users – the poor – as a starting point for BoP products and innovations. With contributions from both supporters and critics, it provides a treasure trove of global knowledge on how the concept has developed, what its successes and failures have been and what promise it holds as a long-term strategy for alleviating poverty and tackling global sustainability.

BOP marketing practices are new and still evolving, despite the ground-level challenges, and several failures. This edited book extends the knowledge on bottom of pyramid (BOP) through contributions by leading scholars in this domain, and embodies the knowledge that would be useful for marketing practice coming from top BOP marketing scholars.

This Handbook gives a comprehensive, international and cutting-edge overview of Sustainable Development. It integrates the key imperatives of sustainable development, namely institutional, environmental, social and economic, and calls for greater participation, social cohesion, justice and democracy as well as limited throughput of materials and energy. The nature of sustainable development and the book’s theorization of the concept underline the need for interdisciplinarity in the discourse as exemplified in each chapter of this volume. The Handbook employs a critical framework that problematises the concept of sustainable development and the struggle between discursivity and control that has characterised the debate. It provides original contributions from international experts coming from a variety of disciplines and regions, including the Global South. Comprehensive in scope, it covers, amongst other areas: Sustainable architecture and design Biodiversity Sustainable business Climate change Conservation Sustainable consumption De-growth Disaster management Eco-system services Education Environmental justice Food and sustainable development Governance Gender Health Indicators for sustainable development Indigenous perspectives Urban transport The Handbook offers researchers and students in the field of sustainable development invaluable insights into a contested concept and the alternative worldviews that it has fostered.

This book represents one of the first attempts by a multidisciplinary research team, encompassing the social sciences, business, architecture and planning, engineering, and finance and economics, to help rural communities discover sustainable and self-reliant paths to development and transformation. The opening chapter outlines the background of the research, its importance in the context of China and other countries, the rationale for choosing the case study communities in rural China, and the composition of the research team. Chapter 2 explores key issues in the role of social entrepreneurship and leadership in rural community development. Chapter 3 analyses a green platform for a pilot transaction of China forest carbon sinks led by the Huadong Forestry Exchange. The fourth chapter examines carbon trade, forestry land rights, and the livelihoods of farmers in rural Chinese communities. Chapter 5 explores alternative energy development in rural Chinese communities, where the poor are often disproportionately dependent on fuel wood and solid biomass, causing environmental degradation, reduced productivity and the decline of income generating opportunities. Chapter 6 examines and tests the proposition that stronger communities will result from ‘connected up’, holistic, synergistic and inclusive planning of services and supporting infrastructure. Chapter 7 analyzes information and communications technology (ICT) based service innovations for supporting rural community enterprises. Chapter 8 highlights key elements of stronger rural communities, drawing together the themes and proposals of preceding chapters and constructing an integrated model. The authors demonstrate that interconnected community enterprises based on clean forest products, forest carbon and ecotourism can be underpinned by local infrastructure enterprises such as renewable energy, water, waste management, ICT and transport, and financial mechanisms like carbon finance, all involving skills development, leadership and social entrepreneurship coupled with corporate and investment partnerships. Such interconnected approaches are expected to generate increased employment and prosperity, improve social livelihoods, and benefit the environment.

Interdisciplinary approaches are critical to solve the interesting problems of the day. This volume seeks to capture and synthesize the knowledge in the area of branding, product design, innovation, and strategic thought in international marketing.

Expansive and engaging, the Research Handbook on Innovation in International Business takes a deep dive into technological, organisational, firm, and industry-level innovation. Contributions from leading experts in international business cover large multinational firms to SMEs and emerging markets, providing industry-specific insights into innovative solutions from across the globe.

When this classic text was first published in 1992, it provided a unique focus for the burgeoning concern for sustainability and sustainable organizational practices. The book's impact continues to be felt today as large multinational corporations such as Wal-Mart and GE are making substantial commitments to the "triple bottom line" of economic success, social responsibility, and environmental protection, and sustainability has become a part of curricula in business schools around the globe. Featuring extensive new material throughout, this new edition of Management for a Small Planet is now widely available outside of North America for the first time. The book maintains the same unique vision and approach that made the original so influential. Unlike other texts on the topic, it employs a strategic, general management perspective within theoretical frameworks on how organizations can be instrumental in moving humankind toward a more sustainable world. Part I includes chapters dedicated to each dimension of sustainability: biophysical, economic, and social. Part II contains the specifics on the formulation and implementation of sustainable management practices, all grounded in the principles of organizational behavior, leadership, and business strategy. The book is an ideal text for any course concerned with environmental management and sustainable management practices.

There currently exists an abundance of materials selection advice for designers suited to solving technical product requirements. In contrast, a stark gap can be found in current literature that articulates the very real personal, social, cultural and economic connections between materials and the design of the material world. In Materials Experience: Fundamentals of Materials and Design, thirty-four of the leading academicians and experts, alongside 8 professional designers, have come together for the first time to offer their expertise and insights on a number of topics common to materials and product design. The result is a very readable and varied panorama on the world of materials and product design as it currently stands. - Contributions by many of the most prominent materials experts and designers in the field today, with a foreword by Mike Ashby - The book is organized into 4 main themes: sustainability, user interaction, technology and selection - Between chapters, you will find the results of interviews conducted with internationally known designers - These 'designer perspectives' will provide a 'time out' from the academic articles, with emphasis placed on fascinating insights, product examples and visuals

Based on literature in corporate responsibility and formal leadership systems Erik G. Hansen develops a conceptual “Responsible Leadership Systems Framework” structuring leadership instruments and tools into seven interconnected key areas. The framework is applied in qualitative multi-case studies in seven of the largest German stock corporations.