Amit Kapoor

Enabling healthcare services for the rural and semi‐urban segments in India: when shared value meets the bottom of the pyramid

Purpose – The access to high quality, a reliable and affordable basic healthcare service is one of the key challenges facing the rural and semi‐urban population lying at base of the pyramid (BoP) in India. Realizing this as a social challenge and an economic opportunity (shared value), there has been an emergence of healthcare service providers who have bundled entrepreneurial attitude and passion with available scarce resources to design and implement cost‐effective, reliable and scalable market solutions for the BoP. The purpose of this research paper is to understand the underlying operating principles of these self‐sustainable business models aimed at providing healthcare services to the BoP segment in India.Design/methodology/approach – The empirical context involves the use of case study research methodology, where the source of data is published case studies and the company websites of four healthcare organizations who have made a socio‐economic difference in the lives of the rural and semi‐urban p...

UNDERSTANDING THE KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EMBEDDED BUSINESS MODEL FOR THE BASE OF THE PYRAMID MARKETS

The objective of this article is to understand the significance and key characteristics of the socially embedded business model to achieve the socio-economic success at the base of the pyramid (BoP). The qualitative multi-case based analysis is applied for data collection and analysis. The sampling involves the field interaction with the four social enterprises targeting the energy and healthcare needs of the BoP segment in India. The findings involve conceptualizing the framework comprising the key focus areas and the underlying strategic actions required for an embedded business model across the BoP markets. The key focus areas include the focus on local capacity building, non-traditional partnerships and grass-root learning based ecosystem for business model innovation. The positive socio-economic impact of these focus areas require the understanding, evaluation and fitment of the corresponding strategic actions. The strategic actions linked to the local capacity building involve designing the social marketing campaigns, enabling the brick-n-mortar presence and engaging the local individuals for last-mile connectivity and reach. The strategic actions linked to the non-traditional partnerships involve collaborating with knowledge institutions, government institutions and social enterprises operating at the grassroot level. Finally, the key strategic actions linked to the grassroot learning ecosystem involve building the community level engagement, conducting field-pilots and prototyping.

Inclusive healthcare at base of the pyramid (BoP) in India

The need for inclusive healthcare is one of the key areas, where the lack of accessible, affordable and reliable product and service offerings has created a big barrier in the social and economic development of the economically weaker segment living predominantly in rural areas across the world. Realising this as a challenge as well as an opportunity, many entrepreneurs have made an entry in this socio-economic landscape with self- sustainable business ventures. The purpose of this research study is to undertake an in-depth analysis of three such social business ventures in healthcare in India, which are making a difference in the lives of the poor with their self-sustainable and innovative business models. The empirical context (research approach) involves the use of case study research methodology, where the source of data is the published case studies of healthcare business ventures at the base of the pyramid.

Emerging role of for-profit social enterprises at the base of the pyramid: the case of Selco

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze and understand the business logic of the for-profit social enterprises targeting the basic needs of the base of the pyramid (BoP) segment. A case study of an organization offering clean energy solutions to the BoP segment has been used to illustrate the socio-economic business model of the for-profit social enterprises, which can serve the underserved needs of the BoP segment using an inclusive approach. Design/methodology/approach This paper analyses Selco, a social enterprise offering energy solutions to the low-income population in rural India. The qualitative case-based research involves the secondary data inputs from the online sources and primary data inputs from the field interviews with the different stakeholders at Selco. Findings The research findings recommend the following strategic choices for the social enterprises – focus on segmentation; field-based experimentation, innovation and prototyping; local skill-building and engagement; hybrid organizational setup; systemic behavior change orientation; customized value offerings; last-mile delivery and support; and collaboration with non-traditional stakeholders. Practical implications The lessons learnt through the analysis of Selco provide tools and strategies to enable the social enterprises to better understand their business model and make informed decisions resulting in the effective social interventions while remaining sustainable. The paper offers an actionable framework for creating an inclusive formal market ecosystem that is sustainable, scalable and socially relevant. Originality/value This study is an original contribution to the field of social entrepreneurship. It undertakes a field study of the social enterprise delivering inclusive energy solutions to the BoP segment in India. The study of Selco brings out the learnings regarding the key strategic actions, which can lead to sustainable business models for targeting the BoP segment in developing countries like India

Understanding business model - literature review of concept and trends

This article undertakes the literature review to understand the emerging trends on the conceptualisation of business model theme. The purpose of this article is to stimulate the reflective introspection towards the feasibility of theoretical grounding of business model concept based upon the comprehensive review of the existing academic literature around business model theme. Since 1990s, business model theme has received increasing attention as a recipe for competitive advantage among the academic and practitioner communities. However, despite the attention, business model theme still lacks consensus on different attributes like definition, components, theoretical baseline, configuration and applicability for the emerging economies. The purpose of this article is to synthesise the research literature on business model theme and provide the diagnostic outcome of the same in terms of future scope and trends.

Halonix Limited – the product portfolio dilemma

Title – Halonix Limited – the product portfolio dilemma.Subject area – Strategy, strategic management, market and product analysis.Study level/applicability – The case is intended for a business strategy course in management. The target participants are MBA students specializing in strategy area as well as middle level and senior level managers from the industry, who come for an executive programme in management science.Case overview – Year 2009, Mr Pawan Kumar (General Manager, Halonix Limited) was facing a decision‐making situation in the organization. Being one of the most experienced and oldest employees of Halonix (incorporated as Phoenix Lamps Ltd in 1991), he had witnessed the tremendous growth of the company since its inception in 1991. The company was having a global brand image in automotive halogen lamps and became a dominant player in compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) market in India by 2007. With the increasing competition and change in market dynamics, the company needed to decide upon the futu...