EXPLORING INNOVATIONS SHAPED FOR NON-AFFLUENT CUSTOMERS: A PERSPECTIVE OF ENTREPRENEURS WORKING IN INCUBATION CENTERS OF PAKISTAN

Authors

  • NIGHAT NAEEM PhD Scholar; Hailey College of Commerce, University of the Punjab, Pakistan Author
  • MUQQADAS REHMAN Professor and Director; Institute of Business and Administration (IBA), University of the Punjab, Pakistan Author
  • AISHA ISMAIL Lecturer; Virtual University of Pakistan Author

Keywords:

Entrepreneurs, Smart Innovation, Non-Affluent Customers, Innovations

Abstract

The underprivileged class of society faces challenges like health, energy issues, poor sanitation and water resources, education, lack of employment, and many more.  There is a need to know the prevailing or pitching new innovative ideas are designed to address these issues of the penurious sector of society. For this purpose, the current study aims to explore the entrepreneurs' innovative ideas and motivation behind these ideas in the context of non-affluent customers. Their smarter innovations can be a way to address some of these issues that can satisfy the immediate needs through sustainable practices. Entrepreneurs can provide low-cost, sustainable solutions without compromising the quality of products or services. Considering this, the present study contributes to the literature by analyzing main smarter innovation features, i.e. affordable innovation, core functionalities, less technological complexity, and sustainable solutions. An extensive literature review is conducted to explore and define the characteristics of these innovations shaped for the impoverished class of economy. A qualitative research approach explores these innovations' characteristics and entrepreneurs' motivation to design such products and services. Through snow-ball non-probability sampling technique, 10 entrepreneurs affiliated with different incubation centers of Pakistan have been selected to conduct semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis showed that most entrepreneurs consider that innovation as a solution to the problem either a new or existing one. The findings also revealed that most entrepreneurs reported cost efficiency, user-friendliness, and core functionalities as central innovation features for non-affluent customers. In contrast, very few entrepreneurs included time efficiency and quality as the features of innovation designed for middle and lower-middle class.

References

Agafonow, A. (2014). Toward a positive theory of social entrepreneurship on maximizing versus satisfying value capture. Journal of Business Ethics, 125(4), 709–713.

André, K., &Pache, A. C. (2016). From caring entrepreneur to caring enterprise: Addressing the ethical challenges of scaling up social enterprises. Journal of Business Ethics, 133(4), 659–675.

Audi, M., Ali, A., & Roussel, Y. (2021). The Advancement in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Economic Development: A Panel Analysis. International Journal of Innovation, Creativity and Change, 15(4), 1013-1039.

Bacq, S., & Alt, E. (2018). Feeling capable and valued: A pro-social perspective on the link between empathy and social entrepreneurial intentions. Journal of Business Venturing, 33(3), 333–350.

Baker, T., Nelson, R.E, (2005).Creating something from nothing: Resource construction through entrepreneurial Bricolage. Adm. Sci. Q, 50 (3), 329-366.

Basu, R. R., Banerjee, P. M., & Sweeny, E. G. (2013). Frugal Innovation –Core Competencies to Address Global Sustainability. Journal of Management for Global Sustainability, 1(2), 63–82.

Basu, R. R., Banerjee, P. M., & Sweeny, E. G. (2013). FRUGAL INNOVATION. Journal of Management for Global sustainability, 1(2).

Bhatti, Y. A. (2012). What is Frugal, What is Innovation? Towards a Theory of Frugal Innovation (February 1, 2012). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2005910 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2005910

Bhatti, Y. A., & Ventresca, M. (2013). How can 'frugal innovation'be conceptualized? Available at SSRN 2203552.

Burton-jones, A. (1999).Knowledge Capitalism – Business, Work, and Learning in the New Economy. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

De Dreu, C. K., Weingart, L. R., & Kwon, S. (2000). Influence of social motives on integrative negotiation: A meta-analytic review and test of two theories. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 889–905.

Dey, B. L., Binsardi, B., Prendergast, R., & Saren, M. (2013). A qualitative enquiry into the appropriation of mobile telephony at the bottom of the pyramid. International Marketing Review.

Dey, P., &Lehner, O. (2017). Registering ideology in the creation of social entrepreneurs: Intermediary organizations, 'ideal subject' and the promise of enjoyment. Journal of Business Ethics, 142(4), 753–767.

Ernst & Young. (2013). Hitting the Sweet Spot – The Growth of the Middle Class in Emerging Countries. London: Ernst & YoungCredit Suisse. 2010. Megatrends – Multipolar World. Frankfurt amMain: Credit Suisse AG.

Ernst & Young.(2011). Growing Beyond: Innovating for the Next Three Billions – The Rise of the Global Middle Class and How to Capitalize On It. London: Ernst & Young.

Haider, A., & Ali, A. (2015). Socio-economic determinants of crimes: a cross-sectional study of Punjab districts. International Journal of Economics and Empirical Research, 3(11), 550-560.

Hechavarria, D. M., Renko, M., & Matthews, C. H. (2012). The nascent entrepreneurship hub: Goals, entrepreneurial self-efficacy and start-up outcomes. Small Business Economics, 39(3), 685–701.

Hennink, M., Hutter, I., & Bailey, A. (2020). Qualitative Research Methods. London, England: SAGE Publications.

Hossain, M. (2016). Frugal Innovation: a systematic literature review. Available at SSRN 2768254.

Hossain, M., Simula, H., &Halme, M. (2015). Can frugal go global? Diffusion patterns of frugal innovations. SSRN (November 9, 2015).

https://ideagist.com/list-of-startup-accelerators-and-incubators-in-pakistan/updated: 28-06-2021

Kassem, M. Ali, A. & Audi, M. (2019). Unemployment Rate, Population Density and Crime Rate in Punjab (Pakistan): An Empirical Analysis. Bulletin of Business and Economics (BBE), 8(2), 92-104.

Locke, E. A. (2000). Motivation, cognition, and action: An analysisof studies of task goals and knowledge. Applied Psychology: Aninternational Review, 49(3), 408–429.

Meglino, B. M., & Korsgaard, M. A. (2006). Considering situational and dispositional approaches to rational self-interest: An extension and response to De Dreu (2006). Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 1253–1259.

Neuman, W. L. (2013). Social Research Methods: Pearson New International Edition: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches.London, England: Pearson Education Limited.

OECD. (2010). The Emerging Middle Class in Developing Countries. Working Paper No. 285. Paris: OECD Development Centre.

Oksanen, K., & Hautamäki, A. (2015). Sustainable Innovation: A competitive advantage for innovation ecosystems. Technology Innovation Management Review, 5.

Pan, N. D., Gruber, M., & Binder, J. (2019). Painting with all the colors: The value of social identity theory for understanding social entrepreneurship. Academy of Management Review, 44(1), 213–215.

Pansera, M., & Owen, R. (2015). Framing resource-constrained innovation at the 'bottom of the pyramid': Insights from an ethnographic case study in rural Bangladesh. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 92, 300-311.

Pansera, M., & Sarkar, S. (2016). Crafting sustainable development solutions: Frugal innovations of grassroots entrepreneurs. Sustainability, 8(1), 51.

Pansera, M.; Owen, R. (2015).Framing Resource-Constrained Innovation at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Insights from an ethnographic case study in rural Bangladesh. Technol. Forecast. Soc. Chang. 92, 300–311.

Radjou, N. and Prabhu, J. (2014). Frugal Innovation: How to do More with Less. London: Profile Books.

Radjou, N., &Prabhu, J. 2015. Frugal Innovation: How to do more with less. Public Affairs.

Ramachandran, J., Pant, A., & Pani, S. K. (2012). Building the BoP Producer Ecosystem: The Evolving Engagement of F abindia with I ndian Handloom Artisans. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 29(1), 33-51.

Rao, B. C. (2013). How disruptive is frugal? Technology in Society, 35(1), 65-73. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2013.03.003

Ravishankar, M. N., & Gurca, A. (2015).A bricolage perspective on technological innovation in emerging markets. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 63(1), 53-66.

Rodriguez, H., Trainor, J., & Quarantelli, E. L. (2006). Rising to the challenges of a catastrophe: The emergent and pro-social behavior following Hurricane Katrina.The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 604(1), 82–101.

Roussel, Y., Ali, A., & Audi, M. (2021). Measuring the Money Demand in Pakistan: A Time Series Analysis. Bulletin of Business and Economics (BBE), 10(1), 27-41.

Saebi, T., Foss, N. J., & Linder, S. (2019). Social entrepreneurship research: Past achievements and future promises. Journal of Management, 45(1), 70–95.

Sajid, A. & Ali, A. (2018). Inclusive Growth and Macroeconomic Situations in South Asia: An Empirical Analysis. Bulletin of Business and Economics (BBE), 7(3), 97-109.

Santos, F. M. (2012). A positive theory of social entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Ethics, 111(3), 335–351.

Schumpeter, J.A. (1912). The Theory of Economic Development, tenth printing 2004, Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick, New Jersey

Şenturk, I., & Ali, A. (2021). Socioeconomic Determinants of Gender Specific Life Expectancy in Turkey: A Time Series Analysis. Sosyoekonomi, 29(49), 85-111.

Sutter, C., Bruton, G. D., & Chen, J. (2019). Entrepreneurship as a solution to extreme poverty: A review and future research directions. Journal of Business Venturing, 34(1), 197–214.

The Economist. 2010. First Break All the Rules – The Charms of Frugal Innovation. The Economist, April 15, 2010. Accessed March 1, 2016:http://www.economist.com/node/15879359

UNDP, HDRO. (2020). The Human Development Report: The next frontier-Human development and the Anthropocene(Report No. 21.III.B.1). The United Nations Development Programme. http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/hdr2020.pdf

Williams, T. A., & Shepherd, D. A. (2016). Building resilience or providing sustenance: Different paths of emergent ventures in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake. Academy of Management Journal, 59(6), 2069–2102.

Zahra, S. A., & Wright, M. (2016). Understanding the social role of entrepreneurship. Journal of Management Studies, 53(4), 610–629.

Downloads

Published

2021-06-30

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

NAEEM, N. ., REHMAN, M. ., & ISMAIL, A. . (2021). EXPLORING INNOVATIONS SHAPED FOR NON-AFFLUENT CUSTOMERS: A PERSPECTIVE OF ENTREPRENEURS WORKING IN INCUBATION CENTERS OF PAKISTAN. Bulletin of Business and Economics (BBE), 10(2), 147-156. https://bbejournal.com/BBE/article/view/106