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Technical Note | HBS Case Collection | January 2018

Business at the Base of the Pyramid: Understanding Impact and Impact Evaluations

by V. Kasturi Rangan and Tricia Gregg

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Abstract

Unlike financial success, there is no clear consensus regarding how best to define and measure social impact. This HBS note written for students of the HBS, MBA, class – Business at the Base of the Pyramid, offers readers pragmatic perspectives on how the framework of the Logic Model (Theory-of-Change) may be used by businesses, nonprofits, and impact investors to assess the social value they create for their customers/beneficiaries and society. The note concludes with a brief tour of a few impact evaluation methodologies and their applications in areas such as hunger, healthcare, education, and microfinance.

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Social Issues; Value Creation; Human Needs; Performance Evaluation;

Language: English Format: Print 20 pages Educators

Citation:

Rangan, V. Kasturi, and Tricia Gregg. "Business at the Base of the Pyramid: Understanding Impact and Impact Evaluations." Harvard Business School Technical Note 518-057, January 2018.

About the Author

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V. Kasturi Rangan
Malcolm P. McNair Professor of Marketing
Marketing

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More from the Author

  • Case | HBS Case Collection | March 2019 (Revised November 2019)

    Gilead: Hepatitis C Access Strategy (A) (Abridged)

    V. Kasturi Rangan, Vikram Rangan and David E. Bloom

    Gilead had come up with an innovative drug for Hepatitis C, which affected 180 million people worldwide. The drug was priced at $1,000 a pill for the US market. Gilead had to decide how to price and market the pill in developing countries that bore the brunt of the disease. The company had earned accolades for its work in HIV/AIDS, where its innovative medicines now accounted for 60% of all patients on Anti-Retroviral (ARV) medicines. Much of this was accomplished through generic licensing, which brought a $10,000/year treatment regimen down to $100! Should the company replicate that strategy for Hepatitis C? If so, how would its US Healthcare customers, who were paying $84,000 per patient, react? On the other hand, Gilead had to balance the interests of its shareholders, who paid $11 billion for an acquisition that led to the new Hepatitis C drug.

    Keywords: healthcare; Pharmaceuticals; pricing; Access to care;

    Citation:

    Rangan, V. Kasturi, Vikram Rangan, and David E. Bloom. "Gilead: Hepatitis C Access Strategy (A) (Abridged)." Harvard Business School Case 519-077, March 2019. (Revised November 2019.)  View Details
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  • Supplement | HBS Case Collection | October 2019

    Gupta Media: Governors Ball Ad Spending and Ticket Sales Data

    V. Kasturi Rangan and Courtney Han

    Citation:

    Rangan, V. Kasturi, and Courtney Han. "Gupta Media: Governors Ball Ad Spending and Ticket Sales Data." Harvard Business School Spreadsheet Supplement 520-706, October 2019.  View Details
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  • Supplement | HBS Case Collection | October 2019

    Gupta Media (B) Supplement: Governors Ball Overview and Promotional Materials

    V. Kasturi Rangan and Courtney Han

    Citation:

    Rangan, V. Kasturi, and Courtney Han. "Gupta Media (B) Supplement: Governors Ball Overview and Promotional Materials." Harvard Business School Supplement 520-039, October 2019.  View Details
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