Our professor, the Ph.D. Andrea M. Prado, along with professors Jeffrey A. Robinson of Rutgers Business School and Zur Shapira of New York University, published their most recent article Serving Rural Low-income Markets through a Social Entrepreneurship Approach: Venture Creation and Growth in the prestigious academic journal Strategic EntrepreneurshipJournal.
The article explores how social entrepreneurs focused on bringing products or services to low-income rural communities (CRBI), create and scale their initiatives. Social entrepreneurship—initiatives that intentionally seek to generate economic and social value simultaneously—is an alternative to philanthropy and the efforts of multinational companies to bring products and services to this segment of the population. Rural areas tend to have a higher percentage of poverty around the world, in addition to limitations in access to education, health, public services and infrastructure.
Based on the experience of three Latin American social enterprises, with a history of more than 12 years serving CRBI and financially sustainable, the authors propose a three-level conceptual framework for the process of creation and growth of these initiatives. At an individual level, entrepreneurs tend to know the reality of these communities and bring their technical knowledge to the creation of the initiative. However, to make it grow over time, it usually needs new skills, often in the field of administrative management. At an organizational level, the business model is forced to innovate in different components given the limitations and challenges presented by the context. Finally, at the community level, these enterprises tend to anchor different aspects of their operation (eg, distribution) in the community, which helps them grow sustainably and provides them with legitimacy and information about the target population.
"This research contributes to the knowledge of how social enterprises are created and scaled, since much of what we know so far focuses on the profile of the founder and the incubation stage of the initiatives. It also helps us understand the operation of organizations in a little studied context such as the rural areas of developing countries, which also present a large number of social challenges. In addition, I think it is valuable that the study is based on social entrepreneurs from Latin American countries, such as Argentina and Nicaragua, "said Professor Meadow.
Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal is one of the most prestigious academic publications specialized in entrepreneurship in the world and is on the list of Financial Times of the best 50 magazines in the field of business administration.
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About Professor Prado
Andrea M. Prado is an associate professor of management and organizations at INCAE Business School. She is director of the Strachan Chair in Philanthropy and Social Investment. Professor Prado's research explores the role of business in promoting sustainable development in the countries where it operates, particularly through its corporate social responsibility strategies and the delivery of products and services to low-income populations. She also studies the impact and dynamics of industry self-regulation (ie, the adoption of voluntary certification programs) to promote environmental and labor practices in emerging economies. Additionally, Ella Prado directs initiatives at INCAE in the field of health administration and has developed a line of research in this area. The professor has published her research in prestigious academic journals, books and book chapters and has received multiple international awards.
To learn more about Professor Prado's work, you can enter here
