Consumer Evaluation of Target Marketing to the Bottom of the Pyramid

ABSTRACT

Bottom of Pyramid (BOP) research has emphasized how marketing to the world's poor is profitable for companies and can generate significant revenue growth. But marketing targeting BOP consumers can also do harm, creating ethical concerns over exploitative marketing practices. This article measures the ethical evaluation by the average (non-BOP) consumer of target marketing to the BOP, and measures the consumer's willingness to take action against the company when it is marketing unethically. Findings show that non-BOP consumers do not consider companies to be ethically wrong in marketing to the BOP, provided marketing practices are evaluated as fair for BOP consumers. However, non-BOP consumers will take action against companies perceived to be marketing unethically to BOP consumers.

KEYWORDS:

• Bottom of pyramid
• consumer vulnerability
• target marketing
• marketing ethics