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*** Apologies for cross-postings ***

Dear colleagues,

You are invited to attend the Academy of Management 2009's Professional Development Workshop:

Myth or Reality? The impact of Base-of-the-Pyramid initiatives on poverty alleviation

Saturday, August 08, 2009

5:20:00 PM - 7:50:00 PM

Hyatt Regency Chicago, Acapulco

The idea that businesses can have a positive social and environmental impact in local communities, and be profitable at the same time, has sparked considerable interest among managers, NGOs and international organizations. Scholars in a variety of disciplines, however, have started to question not only the validity of these two claims, but also the overall conceptual rigor of the Base of the Pyramid (BOP) approach.

In this PDW, we bring together some of the major scholars in this literature, combining proponents and critics of the BOP approach, to discuss whether and under what conditions BOP initiatives can be expected to have a positive social and environmental impact, and set a research agenda leading to a more systematic and theory-driven exploration of the BOP's approach. Panelists include:

-          Aneel Karnani (U. of Michigan)

-          Ans Kolk (U. of Amsterdam)

-          Ted London (U. of Michigan)

-          Patricia Márquez (U. of San Diego)

-          Miguel Rivera-Santos (Babson College)

-          Carlos Rufín (Suffolk U.)

-          Sushil Vachani (Boston U.)

This PDW will provide a highly interactive forum using roundtable discussions to facilitate interactions and debates between panelists and participants. Pre-registration is not required. Feel free to contact us if you have any question regarding this PDW.

Best regards,

Miguel Rivera-Santos, PhD

Assistant Professor of Strategy and International Business

Babson College - Management Division

Tomasso 321

231 Forest Street

Babson Park MA 02457

Phone: +1-781-239-5325

Fax: +1-781-239-5272

mrivera@babson.edu