Business Commons^™

Learning From Subsistence Marketplaces And Beyond: A Cross-Sectoral Comparison In Benin, Paul Ingenbleek, Souleimane A. Adekambi, Hans C.M. Van Trijp

Subsistence Marketplaces

Subsistence Marketplaces publishes studies that study consumers, entrepreneurs, and marketplaces from a broad range of low income contexts in their own right, transcending the boundaries between sectors and disciplines to derive practically meaningful implications. This paper contributes to accomplishing the mission of the new journal by contextualizing market learning theory to subsistence marketplaces. More specifically, the study links two modes of market learning (exploration and exploitation) with producers’ livelihood performance. It hypothesizes that within subsistence marketplaces, producers benefit the most from exploration but to seize a market opportunity beyond the subsistence context, BoP producers should strengthen their exploitative learning processes. …

Invited Case Study - Shreni: A Digital Platform For Business Resilience During The Pandemic, Rajashri Sai, Vanita Viswanath

Subsistence Marketplaces

We describe how community weavers and artisans who operated various Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Karnataka, India, during the pandemic, and how they were able to sustain and grow their business despite the challenges brought on by the pandemic. We used data from two rounds of surveys conducted by Shreni Samudaya[1], along with Impactree Data Technologies Private Limited. The textile industry recorded negative growth during the pandemic, with the smaller MSMEs experiencing the biggest losses. Despite numerous enterprises shutting down and facing heavy losses, weavers and artisans were able to sustain and upscale their business, reach …

Refereed Research - Impact Of Covid-19 On Subsistence Consumer-Merchants: A Study Of Tourism In The Himalayan Region, Sheetal Kapoor, Jigmet Wangdus, Shikha Upadhyaya

Subsistence Marketplaces

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global production and consumption patterns, affecting all anthropogenic activities. Findings from in-depth interviews with subsistence entrepreneurs in the Himalayan region highlight how the pandemic exacerbated the day-to-day challenges of the locals and the strategies they utilized to tackle uncertainties. Implications are derived for research and practice.

Key Words: Pandemic, tourism, subsistence consumer merchants (SCM), subsistence entrepreneurs

Invited Perspective - Nutritional Needs And Implications For Children In Subsistence Marketplaces, Nagendra Rangavajla

Subsistence Marketplaces

Today, while the number of stunted children is decreasing in all geographies, the progress is not consistent. Moreover, there is an increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescent. Globally, about half of all children under five do not receive essential nutrients, often unnoticed until too late. On the other end of the spectrum, the incidence of overweight and obesity in 5-19 year old has increased from 4% in 1975 to 18% in 2016 ¹. These trends reflect a ‘triple burden of malnutrition’, a burden that impacts the survival, growth, and development of children, and in turn, …

Invited Perspective - Engaging Aspirations To Nurture Communities, Kentaro Toyama

Subsistence Marketplaces

For subsistence communities, the question is whether aspirations can be applied to motivate behavior that is, on the one hand consistent with people’s aspirations, but which might otherwise be difficult to elicit. Could poorer households be encouraged to save, to spend more on their children’s education, or to act against unhealthy social norms? A couple of examples suggest this is not only possible, but highly successful in contexts where other appeals fail.

Subsistence Marketplaces: Journal, Knowledge-Practice Portal, And Organization, Madhu Viswanathan

Subsistence Marketplaces

Subsistence Marketplaces: Journal, Knowledge-Practice Portal and Organization