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

V. Kasturi  Rangan; Tricia  Gregg

Technical Note | HBS Case Collection | January 2018

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

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.

With the collapse of the dot-com market and related shrinkage in the high-tech industry, Cisco took a dip in its sales and profits in 2001. Coming back from the recession, Cisco had to manage and evolve its go-to-market strategy and design in keeping with its new business strategy. Describes those changes and poses new channel management challenges in light of Cisco's entry into new markets and technologies.

The case asks students to formulate a strategy to respond to various competitive threats to its Pureit Water purifier, launched in 2008, targeted at millions of low-income Indian consumers who did not have access to safe drinking water. The case describes in detail the product development and launch process that required HUL, the $3.5 billion Indian subsidiary, to innovate on many different fronts. It details competitive actions since the launch to set the stage for what the company should do next.

Jai Vakeel, a nonprofit organization in India, serves individuals with Intellectual Disability (IQ below 70). The organization was founded by the parents of a child with Down Syndrome, and they (and their next generation) steadily built the organization over 60 years to the become the largest such organization in India. Yet the organization served only some 1000 children annually when there were millions more needing the healthcare, education and skills to lead a decent life with ID. This case describes the evolution of the organization from the founder’s family (six decades) to the first CEO from outside. As Archana Chandra appointed in 2013 brings about several changes to the organization she wonders how to scale the organization from the current 1,000 people it serves annually to at least 10,000 and then to the many millions who are in need.

Faculty & Research

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

Abstract

Citation:

About the Author

More from the Author