William J. Kramer

Bio: William J. Kramer is an academic researcher. The author has contributed to research in topics: Market analysis & Purchasing power parity. The author has an hindex of 3, co-authored 5 publications receiving 710 citations.

The next 4 billion : market size and business strategy at the base of the pyramid

Abstract: Four billion low-income people, a majority of the world's population, constitute the base of the economic pyramid. New empirical measures of their behavior as consumers and their aggregate purchasing power suggest significant opportunities for market-based approaches to better meet their needs, increase their productivity and incomes, and empower their entry into the formal economy. The 4 billion people at the base of the economic pyramid-all those with incomes below $3,000 in local purchasing power-live in relative poverty. Their incomes in current U.S. dollars are less than $3.35 a day in Brazil, $2.11 in China, $1.89 in Ghana, and $1.56 in India.1 Yet together they have substantial purchasing power: the BOP constitutes a $5 trillion global consumer market.

The Next 4 Billion

Abstract: expand its small house. Help arrives from a major industrial company in the form of construction designs, credit, and as-needed delivery of materials, enabling rapid completion of the project at less overall cost. In rural Madhya Pradesh, an Indian farmer gains access to soil testing services, to market price trends that help him decide what to grow and when to sell, and to higher prices for his crop than he can obtain in the local auction market. The new system is an innovation of a large grain-buying corporation, which also benefits from cost saving and more direct market access. A South African who lives in an impoverished, crime-ridden neighborhood of Johannesburg has no bank account, cannot order items from a distant store, and is sometimes robbed of her pay packet. She finds that a new financial service offered by a local start-up company allows her mobile phone to become a solution—her pay is deposited directly to her phone-based account, she can make purchases via an associated debit card, and she carries no cash to steal. In a small community outside Tianjin, China, a small merchant whose children have been repeatedly sickened by drinking water from a heavily-polluted river is distraught. He finds help not from the overwhelmed municipal government but from a new, low-cost filtering system, developed by an entrepreneurial company, which enables his family to treat its water at the point of use. Allen L. Hammond, William J. Kramer, Robert S. Katz, Julia T. Tran, and Courtland Walker

The next 4 billion : characterizing BoP markets

Abstract: This study uses empirical measures to describe the behavior of low-income populations as consumers and producers. In aggregate, their purchasing power suggests significant market opportunities. By quantifying this market and describing its characteristics, the author hopes to stimulate business development and investment that can better meet the needs of these populations, as well as increase their productivity and incomes and empower their entry into the formal economy. The four billion people at the base of the economic pyramid Balance of Payment (BoP) all those with incomes below $3,000 in local purchasing power live in relative poverty. Their incomes in current U.S. dollars are less than $3.35 a day in Brazil, $2.11 in China, $1.89 in Ghana, and $1.56 in India. Yet together they have substantial purchasing power: the BoP constitutes a $5 trillion global consumer market.

Development Outreach 10 (2) : business and poverty - opening markets to the poor

Abstract: Contents of the development outreach newsletter are as follows: business and poverty: opening markets to the poor by Petkoski, Djordjija B.; Rangan, Kasturi; and Laufer, William S.; the next four billion: characterizing BoP markets by Hammond, Allen L. Kramer, William J.; Katz, Robert S.; Julia T. Tran; and Walker, Courtland; creating shared value through basic business strategy by Christiansen, Niels; the shakti revolution by Neath, Gavin; Sharma, Vijay; social issue-oriented BoP business and Japanese companies by Kogiso, Mari; Matsuo, Mia; and Hiramoto, Tokutaro; lighting Africa by Theriault, Katia; Madeira, Lindsay; and Avato, Patrick; developing local supply chain for the contract of the century by Ismayilov, Ibrahim; Taghiyev, Samir; Godunova, Olga; and Farzin, Mirmotahari; patrimonio hoy by Barcelo, Israel Morend; ZMQ enabling bottom-up development by Quraishi, Subhi; business and malnutrition by Ameringen, Marc Van; Magarinos, Berangere; and Jarvis, Michael; bridging gaps in reproductive health care in Egypt through private sector involvement by Cole, Andy; Afifi, Mohamed; and Salah, Reem; improving health improves economic well-being by Wistar, Christy L.; access to finance and markets as a strategy to address poverty by Mor, Nachiket; Ananth, Bindu; bringing Bangladesh into the digital age; knowledge resourcesl; bookshelf; and calendar of events.

Large Companies, ICTs, and Economic Opportunity

Abstract: The past 50 years have, in many ways, been a revolution in global economic growth. Yet not everyone has participated in this revolution. More than 65 percent of the world’s population, over four billion people, still lives on the equivalent of less than $4 per person per day. Even worse, the world’s poor are severely constrained—and often completely lacking—in opportunity to do better for themselves. The business community has both the capabilities and the strategic, business reasons to play a major role in creating these opportunities. For the poor, livelihood choices—in employment and entrepreneurship—are constrained by a wide range of interdependent obstacles, ranging from geographic isolation to market failures to political exclusion. This suggests that when we think about eradicating poverty, we should think broadly about creating economic opportunity. Economic opportunity is not, in itself, a solution; instead, it is a context in which individuals can create their own solutions. It is a combination of factors that enables the poor to manage their assets in ways that generate incomes and options. Creating or expanding economic opportunity could rightly be considered a responsibility of governments toward their citizens. But in today’s global market environment, various risks and opportunities provide reason for business to engage. One key reason, across industries, is for business to leverage its own comparative advantage in society. Business activity creates jobs, cultivates inter-firm linkages, enables technology transfer, builds human capital and physical infrastructure, generates tax revenues for governments, and, of course, offers a variety of products and services to consumers and other businesses. Each of these contribu

The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity: Recent Instances for Debate

Abstract: After 1992 many conservation biologists thought that the use of economic instruments would be more effective to halt biodiversity loss than policies based on setting apart some natural spaces outside the market. At the same time there was a new elaboration of the concept of ecosystem services and, since 1997, there have been attempts at costing in money terms the loss of ecosystem services and biodiversity, including the high profile TEEB (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) project (2008-2011). Our discussion rests on instances showing the analytical implications of three main socio-economic meanings of biodiversity loss: 1) the loss of natural capital; 2) the loss of ecosystem functions; and 3) the loss of cultural values and human rights to livelihood. We review several approaches to include economic considerations in biodiversity conservation. We show cases where monetary valuation is relevant and other cases where it is controversial and even counterproductive, as it undermines the objectives of conservation.

Green Consumption: Behavior and Norms

Abstract: Developing more environmentally sustainable consumption and production systems depends upon consumers' willingness to engage in “greener” consumption behaviors. Research efforts have sought to identify, analyze, and understand the “green consumer.” Initial marketing and economics research, focusing on purchasing activities, has been complemented by research from fields such as industrial ecology and sociology, providing a more holistic picture of green consumption as a process. Much of the research has focused on areas with the greatest environmental impacts, namely peoples' homes and household management, their food choices and behaviors, and their transport behaviors for work, leisure, and travel. The emerging picture of green consumption is of a process that is strongly influenced by consumer values, norms, and habits, yet is highly complex, diverse, and context dependent. There are opportunities for future research that provides greater interdisciplinarity and challenges our assumptions and expectations about consumption and the nature of the consumer society.

Collaborative Value Creation: A Review of Partnering Between Nonprofits and Businesses: Part I. Value Creation Spectrum and Collaboration Stages

Abstract: This focused review of the nonprofitbusiness collaboration and related corporate social responsibility literature identifies problematic aspects of the treatment of value creation and, therefore, develops a conceptual and analytical framework to address them and the following research question: How can collaboration between nonprofits and businesses most effectively co-create significant economic, social, and environmental value for society, organizations, and individuals? The first two components of the Collaborative Value Creation framework are presented in this first of two articles The Value Creation Spectrum provides new reference terms for defining and analyzing value creation, and Collaboration Stages reveals how value creation varies across different types of collaborative relationships. The framework's next two components, which are elaborated in the sequential article, are Partnering Processes, which reveals the value creation dynamics in the formation and implementation stages, and Collaboration Outcomes, which examines impact at the micro, meso, and macro levels.

The Entrepreneurship Process in Base of the Pyramid Markets: The Case of Multinational Enterprise/Nongovernment Organization Alliances

Abstract: Although base of the pyramid markets are significant sources of entrepreneurial opportunities, the nature of entrepreneurship in these markets is not well understood. Additionally, these markets remain largely underserved by multinational enterprises (MNEs). Given theoretical and practical gaps associated with these issues, we integrate entrepreneurship, institutional, and network theories to discuss how the entrepreneurship process of MNEs is negatively affected in base of the pyramid markets. We then explain how partnerships with nongovernment organizations (NGOs) can offset such negative effects due to NGOs' high degree of localized knowledge, social embeddedness within multiple informal networks, and ambidexterity in dealing with diverse stakeholder groups. Both economic and social benefits can result from such partnerships.