Transaction Cost and Consumer Decision Making Process at Bottom of Pyramid

摘要

Through this study, we have tried to understand the consumer decision-making process at BOP level. The sheer volume of BOP with its consumption potential can be a determining factor for the global economy. The macroeco-nomic factors affecting BOP consumption can be manipulated with intervention from different stakeholders (Varman et al, 2012). This research undertakes an empirical study to investigate (1) the factors affecting decision making at Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) level (2) the sources of these intervening factors, and (3) propose a conceptual model of consumer decision-making at the BOP. This study.for the first time, tried to investigate the decision-making process for subsistence consumers in detail. It sheds light on different moderating factors such as consumer vulnerability and transaction cost which are affecting the process. By doing so it bridged the micro-economic concepts of individual consumption with a broader macro-economic concept of wellbeing.