Chapter | Negocios inclusivos y empleo en la base de la piramide | 2011

El Sector Privado y las Responsabilidades Públicas: El Rol de las Soluciones Comerciales en la Temática Social

by Michael Chu

Abstract

In today's world, certain goods and services are considered so basic that, regardless of culture, they are accepted as public responsibilities. However, for the low-income populations in developing countries, which constitute the majority of the world, access to these takes place through cash markets, which often overwhelm the supply from public sources. Recently, the insertion into this world of business models incorporating advanced management expertise have demonstrated that commercial success is possible while significantly improving access to these basic services for the base of the pyramid. This is illustrated through examples in water, healthcare, and microfinance. In the process, a case is made that these disruptive commercial models are a key component in the response to poverty, and that there is a social role for financial returns. Accordingly, the basic goods and services of society must be defined both as public and private, each complementing the other.

Keywords: Business Model; Developing Countries and Economies; Private Sector; Public Sector; Management Practices and Processes; Human Needs; Poverty; Commercialization;

Format: Print

Citation:

Chu, Michael. "El Sector Privado y las Responsabilidades Públicas: El Rol de las Soluciones Comerciales en la Temática Social." Chap. 1 in Negocios inclusivos y empleo en la base de la piramide. Estudios Internacionales. Madrid: Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 2011, Spanish ed.

About the Author

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Michael Chu
Senior Lecturer of Business Administration
General Management

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