NGOs as BOP market entry partners in state-corporatist China

摘要

The study evaluates NGOs' suitability as base of the pyramid (BOP) market entry partners in a country-specific context. The current emerging BOP partnerships literature does little to address NGOs and BOP markets heterogeneity in company-NGO partnerships in a BOP market entry. Furthermore, virtually no studies on company-NGO partnerships in entering the Chinese BOP have been conducted. This study therefore contributes to the BOP partnerships literature and to understanding company-NGO partnership opportunities in China by evaluating the suitability of NGOs in China as partners in a BOP market entry, and by evaluating the relevancy of the NGO partners' supporting roles suggested in the BOP literature, in the Chinese context. Furthermore, the study explores how the Chinese state-corporatist system influences NGOs' operating conditions and the BOP partnership opportunities in China. The study followed a descriptive qualitative methodology. Data was collected primarily through face-to-face interviews with grassroots NGOs and international NGOs in Yunnan province, China. A total 9 interviews were conducted, which constitute the core data in the study. Furthermore, data from background interviews and secondary sources was used. The results indicate partner suitability among Chinese grassroots NGOs, but the regulatory environment and international NGOs' (INGO) shifting scope of interest may limit INGOs from partnering in an intermediary role against BOP literature suggestions. Therefore, large domestic NGOs could be better suited as the intermediary key partner than INGOs. The study also revealed that the NGO partner's supporting roles suggested in BOP literature could be partially irrelevant in China, and also new supporting roles specific to the Chinese context were discovered. Furthermore, the Chinese state-penetrated corporatist system was found to influence NGOs' operating environment significantly, but yet the NGOs appear to be somewhat independent in their agenda design and activities. Nevertheless, the government plays an important role in China in general, and government collaboration should be taken into account in BOP market entry and in the partnerships.