Consumer Vulnerability at the Bottom of the Pyramid: The Role of Social Relationships and Religiosity as Coping Mechanisms

摘要

Over a decade now, empowering individuals at the bottom-of-the-pyramid (BOP), the untapped segment of 4-5 billion people earning less than $2 a day, has been a focus for policy makers and corporations alike. Several companies have made this BOP segment a central part of their business models because they provide the dual benefits of (1) representing a viable and potentially profitable segment and (2) the innovations designed to cater to this segment serve as a competitive advantage (Prahalad, 2004). Despite the significance of this segment, examining how their poverty can be alleviated by addressing consumption and well-being issues has received little attention. Specifically, there has been limited academic research (e.g., exchange relationships: Viswanathan, Rosa, and Ruth, 2010; life satisfaction: Martin and Hill, 2012) that has dwelled on such issues. The objective of this research is to advance this body of work by examining the notion of "consumer vulnerability" (the state of powerlessness as a result of the lack of vital resources and capabilities) as perceived by BOP consumers and the role of dependencies on social relationships and religiosity beliefs of BOP consumers.