An Empirical Investigation of Innovation and Community Development through Information and Communication Technology

Recently, discussion has begun to consider serving the base of the economic pyramid for business and societal benefit. Suggestions for so doing have focused on business model innovation, improving internal capabilities, promoting stronger governance, and providing leapfrog technologies (such as ICT) to promote effective change. We consider the questions of what types of innovation are occurring when businesses and other organizations enter the base of the pyramid and what types of social, economic, and consumer benefits they bring to local communities. We base our findings on an analysis of more than 1,000 cases describing base of the pyramid activities