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Bottom of the Pyramid as a Source of Breakthrough Innovations
Author(s) -
Prahalad C. K.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of product innovation management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.646
H-Index - 144
eISSN - 1540-5885
pISSN - 0737-6782
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-5885.2011.00874.x
Subject(s) - bottom of the pyramid , business , pyramid (geometry) , industrial organization , stove , process (computing) , marketing , top down and bottom up design , computer science , engineering , mechanical engineering , physics , optics , operating system , software engineering
In this paper, I identify the bottom of the pyramid ( BOP ) markets as a new source of radical innovation. By focusing managerial attention on creating awareness, access, affordability, and availability (4 As ), managers can create an exciting environment for innovation. I suggest that external constraints can be utilized to build an innovation sandbox within which new products and business models can be created. Using a live example of such an innovation—the development of the biomass stove for the rural poor in I ndia—I illustrate the process and the usefulness of the approach. Increasingly, global firms are recognizing the implications of innovations at the BOP for developed markets as well.