The healthcare conundrum at the bottom of the pyramid

[Extract] The need to examine health care issues have been continually emphasized in consumer research due to its signicant consumer welfare and public policy implications (Menon et al., 2006). Recent research on health care in the BOP context have focused on the legitimacy and sustainability of health care practices (Agarwal et al., 2017; Bucher et al., 2016), but there has been scant research addressing the healthcare-seeking behavior of BOP consumers. Our research aims to extend this body of work by examining 1) how financial deprivation levels lead BOP consumers to focus on different aspects of health care, which subsequently infuence their preferences toward different healthcare campaigns and 2) the mediational role of self-esteem

Scenarios Research and Cognitive Reframing: Implications for Strategy as Practice

This paper makes two contributions to strategic management research. It positions scenarios research as a way to connect micro, meso, and macro level cognitive framing (Cornelissen and Werner, 2014) regarding environmental uncertainties. This extends the boundaries of strategy as practice by involving extra organizational actors in strategy praxis to ascertain macro level uncertainties (Vaara and Whittington, 2012, Floyd, 2011) and by linking the complex connections between the micro, meso and macro praxis (Jarzabowski and Spee 2009). The paper considers the role of a scenarios methodology in strategic management with respect to two unrelated case studies – a real estate firm, and a trade association, with and about whom two of the researchers have a detailed knowledge since 2009. While the findings we report here must be treated as exploratory, they do conform to a pattern of findings that a broader six year old research effort has been producing (Ramirez et al, 2015). The findings also conform to the way sociology has been treating the ‘framing’ of issues since Goffman (1974) popularized the construct. As Cornelissen & Werner’s (2014) recent review of framing suggests, the field includes ‘micro’ (individual) level research concerning the cognitive frame, frame of reference, and the framing effects involved; ‘meso’ organizational) level research about what strategic frame, technological framing, and collective action framing take place; and ‘macro-level’ research at the field level including institutional frames as well as framing contexts. This paper establishes that scenarios research allows management to clearly connect what Pierre Wack (1985) famously called the 'microscope of the mind to the 'macroscope- of the world accessed with scenarios; it does so by respectively reframing roles and relationships at the micro and meso levels. This paper is also a response to the call made by Vaara and Whittington (2012) to broaden the analyses of strategy-making, moving away from a strong emphasis on the ability of individual managers or management teams to steer an organization to instead become more concerned with placing agency in a web of practices. Accordingly, Whittington et al (2003) proposed that strategy be investigated as a field or social system characterised by connections between corporate elites, strategy consultants, financial institutions, state agencies, the business media, and business schools with an emphasis on understanding how these interactions contribute to the production and consumption of particular kinds of strategy discourse. This paper establishes that taking a scenarios approach can help strategists in firms in turbulent environments (Emery and Trist, 1965) to host diverse views without having to reach agreement, and so more readily comprehend the relevance, complexity, and potential impacts of such a web of practices. By having a small set of scenarios that disagree with each other but do so within different futures, the views of “the other” (Habermas, 2000) and the connections between the web of practices can be safely explored within a “safe” transitional space (Amado and Ambrose, 2001)

Capturing the uncertainties of retail development: The case of emerging markets

This paper aims to better understand how retail development in emerging markets might occur by carrying out a detailed analysis of Indian retailing and then applying the results to a wider range of emerging markets. The goal is to identify potential patterns of future retail development in emerging economies. The scenarios approach was considered an appropriate methodology for investigating developing economies as it accepts structural uncertainty with multiple interpretations and multiple futures. In fact for retailing, there are countless ‘right’ answers, endless combinations of business models and infinite permutations of key themes and approaches. Conceptualising the evolution of different retail formats taking the scenarios approach is therefore a prudent choice of methodology, especially in wanting to avoid the dangers of over formalising the format development process within the retail context in emerging markets. Four possible visions for retail development in India, each with their own benefits and costs: a Kirana Kingdom, Sanskriti Planets, Sasta World or Mishrit Universe were developed from the primary research conducted and then tested in the context of other emerging markets. A combination of regulatory intervention and the changing cultural disposition of consumers on account of changing socio-economic conditions play a significant role in the development of retailing in emerging markets. The significant role of the politics of retailing in emerging markets has also been highlighted in this paper. Retail development in emerging markets can therefore be aligned more closely to combination theory where the consumer-regulation configuration plays a significant role in how retail evolves and develops in these markets

Scenarios as a scholarly methodology to produce “interesting research”

Recent debates identified the insufficient production of “interesting research”, namely research that is innovative and develops theory while being both usable and rigorous. We propose that scenarios methodology as a scholarly form of inquiry is one way in which we can generate “interesting research”. We present and compare how this methodology was used to investigate three research studies: (i) the unfolding of retailing formats in India; (ii) the evolution of migration patterns in Europe and the Mediterranean; and (iii) climate change and regional and urban planning in the Tulum region of the Peninsula of Yucatán. We found that when scenarios are used as a scholarly methodology involving iterations and Scenarios as scholarly inquiry revisions, they help to challenge existing assumptions, identify novel lines of inquiry, and enable new research opportunities to emerge,—thus opening up a research mode that helps engaged scholars to make sense of and address complex and uncertain contexts and produce interesting findings

Consolidating unorganised retail businesses through digital platforms: implications for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals

This study explores whether digitalisation of unorganised retail (UR) businesses in emerging markets have a positive socio-economic impact on the lives of the subsistence consumer–merchants who perform the dual role of being, not only consumers providing for themselves and their families, but also the managers of micro-UR businesses. We develop a framework for sustainable business model innovation at the base of the pyramid by undertaking content analysis of 65 newspaper articles (interviews with senior executives and founders of digital app-based platforms, expert analysis) as well as social media and YouTube testimonials of UR business users of these platforms in Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Using the Gioian coding structure of open and second order comparative coding, we develop a framework for sustainable business model innovation from the base of the pyramid perspective. The framework captures how digitalisation enables the UR businesses to circumvent resource shortages, consolidate procurement and inventory management and diversify product and service offerings, which leads to significant economic and social transformation for both the micro enterprises and their owners. Our framework contributes to the emergent literature on sustainable business model innovation and inclusive innovation in resource-constrained contexts. We conclude that sustainable business model innovations enable socio-economic transformations similar to those experienced by UR businesses in emerging Asian markets. Such developments can create local level pathways for local tropical countries seeking to achieve UN social development goals

Strategic reframing for retailing in a post-covid world: a sceanrio planning approach

COVID-19 is the classic example of a ‘Wicked Problem’ that has no immediate solution, is unique, and one that conventional processes fail to tackle. The retail industry worldwide has succumbed to the unprecedented challenges posed by COVID-19. Robinsons in Singapore and Debenhams in the United Kingdom are just two examples of iconic stores that have joined the long list of well-known retailers called into administration due the sever impact of the pandemic. So what lessons can future leaders learn from this turn of events? In this chapter, the author proposes the foremost lesson for retail leaders will be to revisit existing approaches on risk assessment and consider alternative approaches to develop resiliency from future shocks. An approach worth considering is that of scenario planning which offers a step-by-step framework to engage with wicked problems, raise plausible, counterintuitive questions about the future from the vantage point of the present and challenge a retail executive's fundamental assumption about their businesses. In this chapter, the author proposes three plausible, challenging and relevant retail scenarios for a Post-COVID world using the steps of the scenario planning process. The three scenarios pertain to a hyper-tech world, a green world and an insular world. Each scenario raises some fundamental “what-if” questions about how the retail industry would evolve in those future scenarios with new rules of the game. Insights on the new rules of the game in each future scenario create a “future safe space” within which retail leaders can rethink the role of their organisation and revisit, question and challenge their current business assumptions

Could scenario planning have saved Robinsons?

[Excerpt] The current pandemic is a classic example of a wicked problem that has no immediate solution, is unique, and one which conventional processes fail to tackle. Considering Singapore's proud history as a trading nation it is perhaps sad, and a little ominous, that Robinsons is shuttering its stores forever. Set up in 1858, Robinsons is an iconic department store intimately tied to Singapore's history. But the business world does not dwell on sentimentality and Robinsons joins a long list of well-known retailers that have succumbed to the pressures of Covid-19 worldwide - Debenhams in the UK being another one of them

Applying the scenarios method to capture uncertainties of retail development in emerging markets

Retail development in emerging markets has been the result of key driving forces operating in a variety of ways leading to unpredictable and complex patterns of retail change. Existing theories of retail change remain inadequate for capturing the complexities inherent in emerging markets. In order to capture the impact of the complex interplay of driving forces on retail change in emerging markets, the authors adopted the scenario method which accepts structural uncertainty and allows for multiple interpretations of multiple futures for the phenomenon under study. An example case study is presented, where four possible visions for retail development in emerging markets in Asia are identified. The four scenarios are firstly, a scenario where Traditional Retailers dominate through mom and pop stores, a second one where Regional Retailers dominate, a third one where Discounted Retailers dominate and a fourth where Mixed Retailers gain predominance. The scenarios highlight that the politics of retailing give rise to new conventions of competition in emerging markets, which sustain the coexistence of a variety of retail formats in these markets. The scenarios approach demonstrates that the nature of consumer behaviour rooted in traditions and customs alongside rising aspirations sustains a dual model of retailing in emerging markets. The paper concludes with reflections for retail development theory and implications for practitioners and policy-makers

A bottom of pyramid perspective on quality education in the tropics

[Extract] An initial look at progress in quality education, the fourth goal in the United Nation’s Sustainability agenda (2019), shows that despite the 91% enrolment in primary education in developing countries, more than 50% of the young people in 58 out of 133 countries had not completed upper secondary school. Access to quality education for all people is central to achieving the SGDs. According to the latest State of the Tropics (2020) reports published by James Cook University, the tropics lag behind the rest of the world in education outcomes and this is the key focus for the region especially to reduce inequalities in society. Education is essential for economic growth, health and well-being, gender inequality, and almost all aspects of sustainable development (State of the Tropics, 2020). In all societies, education and income are correlated, yet a number of regions in the tropics have lower than average educational attainment. As per the United Nation’s Sustainability agenda (2019), one in ten young people (out of just under one billion global youth) lacked basic reading, writing, and numeracy skills. Youth literacy remained a significant problem in many nations, particularly among the poorest youth in some regions of the tropics which are also home to 85% of the world’s poorest people (State of the Tropics, 2020). UNESCO (2019) reports highlight an average of 92% of the poorest youth (aged 20–29) across sub-Saharan Africa, Central and Southern Asia had not completed upper secondary school, compared to 22% in Oceania. To examine the reasons behind these low completion rates, the authors conducted a study that uncovered the psychological mechanisms that drive education goals for the Bottom of Pyramid (BoP)1 population in Tropical Eastern India2 where only 50% of the urban/rural poorest young adults had completed their upper secondary education (UNESCO 2019). We chose the state of West Bengal because the upper secondary school completion rates were below the national average of 43% for those with a middle and low income (UNESCO 2019), suggesting the dropout rates from school were quite high

Retail reform is in the doing

Regulations to achieve specific objectives can allow both domestic and foreign retailers to thriv