Educational Innovations Incorporating Subsistence and Sustainability

Viswanathan, Madhu (2011), “Conducting Transformative Consumer Research Lessons Learned in Moving From Basic Research to Transformative Impact in Subsistence Marketplaces,” Transformative Consumer Research for Personal and Collective Well-Being, Editors, David Glen Mick, Simone Pettigrew, Cornelia Pechmann, and Julie Ozanne, Routledge/Taylor & Francis, Forthcoming.

Abstract: Using synergies between research, teaching, and social initiatives, the author designed and offered a number of courses in the arena of sustainability: a first-year MBA course on sustainability for all contexts, a module required for all first semester business undergraduates on sustainable businesses for subsistence marketplaces as part of a broader course on professional responsibility, and a year-long interdisciplinary graduate course on sustainable product and market development for subsistence marketplaces. The author describes the approach in terms of its philosophical orientation of envisioning a better world as well as associated challenges, its substantive focus on subsistence marketplaces, and its methodological orientation of employing bottom-up teaching approaches. A concluding discussion places the author's educational endeavors in perspective in light of the literature and existing learning frameworks as well as the principles of responsible management education. Read more. 

Abstract: Extension materials for low-literate learners are often developed as part of specialized projects for specific regions or groups. In some cases these materials are inaccessible to other development organizations during the project’s life or are lost at the end of the project. More recently, such development materials are typically placed on individual websites for the purpose of preserving the content beyond the scope of any given project. However, such materials are (i) often challenging to find and (ii) those individuals that are able to find and adapt these materials for local use cannot return these local adaptations to the world-wide-web without creating new, often separate, websites.

We propose an Internet-based virtual knowledge sharing system for development materials for low-literate learners that allows users to easily access the materials and to contribute their local adaptations and local solutions. The site we envision is similar to a "wikipedia" in terms of ease of use but contains materials that will be peer-reviewed before publication. The site also will allow for post-publication online reviews and updates as mechanisms to assist in the improvement of content and to the localized adaptation of content. Read more. 

Abstract: In recent years, market-based approaches have been proposed for the base of the pyramid (BoP). However, the literature offers little theoretical or practical guidelines for innovative product development for what are radically new market contexts for most businesses in advanced economies. Considering that product development is a fundamental activity in a market economy, and that much BoP consumer welfare potentially arises from innovative and affordable goods and services that can solve critical life needs, this is a substantial gap in knowledge. This paper attempts to address this gap by using an analysis of 13 year-long university projects on BoP-focused concept and prototype development conducted between 2006 and 2010. An inventory of research propositions is developed that identifies factors necessary for effective product development for BoP markets. Implications for new product development research and practice are discussed. Read more.