Dear Colleagues,
Join us at the Academy of Management's Annual Meeting in Boston on Friday, August 4th for an exchange on how enterprise and markets can address poverty and human development in Base of the Pyramid (BoP) contexts.
Call for Participation in PDW:
What is the Future of Business, Poverty and the Base of the Pyramid?
Friday, August 04, 1:00 pm – 3:30 pm
Location: Boston Park Plaza, White Hill Room, 4th Floor
Informal networking to follow (4:00 pm - 5:30 pm, Boston Park Plaza)
Panelists:
Ted London, University of Michigan
Stuart Hart, Emeritus, Cornell University
Minna Halme, Aalto University
Harry Barkema, London School of Economics
Jay Barney, University of Utah
The phenomenon of using businesses and markets to address complex social issues such as poverty in Base of the Pyramid (BoP) contexts continues to expand. In addition to pioneering work in this area to shape the foundations for a cohesive research agenda (London & Hart 2004; 2010; London, Sheth & Hart 2014), the current state of academic literature is comprised of a multitude of concepts (e.g. corporate social innovation, informal economies), theoretical frameworks (institutional theory, strategy, entrepreneurship, marketing) and terminology (subsistence marketplaces, social business, informal economy, social entrepreneurship), each with different antecedents, conceptual boundaries and empirical focuses (Webb, Bruton, Tihanyi & Ireland, 2013; Kolk, Rivera-Santos & Rufín, 2014; Dembek, Sivasubramaniam & Chmielewski, 2020).
The surge of interest among scholars in studying how enterprise and markets can address poverty and human development has expanded our understanding of the value proposition for businesses and for people living in BoP contexts. However, the continued expansion and diversity of scholarly work over the last 25 years has led to the increased value for PhD students, junior scholars and other scholars of a robust review of where the field has been, where it is now, and the directions in which it is headed. This has important implications for scholars in both their research agendas and their field-based interactions with BoP entrepreneurs and enterprise leaders.
The purpose of this PDW is to address this gap and to ground PhD students, junior scholars and other researchers in past contributions, current knowledge and future directions of the field by convening pioneering scholars who have made important contributions to the evolution of the field and have insights into where the leading work in the field is going. This PDW will help further build the community of scholars in this area by making connections between more established and newer scholars and identifying key issues, themes and opportunities for future research at the intersection of business, poverty, and people in BoP contexts.
PDW Format
The PDW begins with an introduction to the workshop's purpose, followed by participant introductions. We will then invite panelists to share their reflections on where we've been, where we are, and the directions we need to go as scholars in the BoP domain.
The second section of the PDW is dedicated to roundtable discussions and engagement with panelists.
The Workshop will be followed by an informal networking event (4:00 pm – 5:30 pm)
Organizers: Kevin McKague, Lisa Jones Christensen, and Heather Hachigian
If you have any questions about the PDW, please contact Heather Hachigian at heather.hachigian@royalroads.ca
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Heather Hachigian
Assistant Professor
Royal Roads University
Victoria BC
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