International Inclusive Innovation of Entrepreneurial Firms

Leven Zheng, Xiao Wang, Peter Li, Jianing Dong

OAI: oai:igi-global.com:299321 • DOI: 10.4018/JGIM.299321

Although inclusive innovation has been regarded as a process according to prior studies, this complex process remains relatively under-researched, particularly when the process is successfully completed by entrepreneurial firms from emerging economies. This paper therefore seeks to explore, from a holistically dynamic view, how inclusive innovation process of entrepreneurial firms evolves in the “Bottom of the Pyramid” (BOP) markets. Based on the multi-dimensional details of a Chinese entrepreneurial firms conducting inclusive innovation in African BOP market, this exploratory case study suggests that inclusive innovation information management consists of three important consecutive stages: BOP market gap identification, market cultivation, and intensive market developing. We also unexpectedly reveal that the key capabilities in these three stages are distinctive.

Global Information Technology Computer Science and Information Technology IT Research and Theory