Leaders of large multinational companies must be prepared to design a plan for different sets of challenges before entering BOP markets. Participant 2 highlighted the importance of having a corporate vision and structure that allows for “a good working relationship between the corporate team and the local team,” a strength evidenced in the case under study. Participant 1 added that you “have to have very strong stakeholder management relationship.” All participants agreed that the mindset of multinational
business leaders should be to make a modest profit while improving lives in the BOP markets. Participants expressed that business leaders should prepare for differences in culture, business practice, field challenges, BOP opportunities, and threats. They should be ready to implement corporate social responsibility, change management, and morality.
Participant 7 commented that “entrepreneurs—whether they are small or large
organizations—need to have certain moral convictions and certain determination beyond merely trying to make a profit.” Participant 1 added that “some companies are in and out and earn money and get out. I don’t think that was the way the company approached it.”
The company leaders under study maintained a very high corporate social responsibility model as they do business in BOP markets. However, while practitioners can replicate such a model around BOP markets, business operations and strategy models may not be successful if applied across the entire BOP market.
A dedicated internal corporate BOP department should fine-tune models to specific BOP scenarios. The idea of replicating a particular model from one BOP market in another BOP market might not always succeed. Participant 7 asserted the following:
AES was drawing upon their experiences they’ve had in Brazil, in Chile, in Panama, and Argentina, and other parts of the world; and basically attempting to replicate to a degree the electricity-generation practices in business in Cameroon that they were doing elsewhere.
Participant 6 added that “they probably took one of the models in India and probably parts of China, as a role model for the business to manage the company in Cameroon.”
Participant 1 said “it is not a one-size-fits-all,” and Participant 5 expressed the following
Some strategies from other countries may be a weakness because some of these assumptions we hear about different countries are almost like treating those countries with a one size-fit-all approach. So you may think to yourself that because we did this in Nigeria, we can do the same in Cameroon. So what we seem to have understood about how they do business elsewhere is to try to replicate at 100%. Whatever they did in Latin America and it worked so
perfectly, when they came into Cameroon with that system, there were all kinds of problems.
Based on these assertions, business leaders should consider reevaluating one-size-fits-all business models for entrepreneurship with BOP countries as part of their BOP readiness stage.
Business leaders should clearly consider the company culture when drafting a BOP business model. Any failure to do so may result in financial failure among other consequences. Strategic leadership and innovation management can be used to support and grow the existing business portfolio, create and grow new opportunities, and improve a company’s technological expertise (Epstein & Buhovac, 2014; Willard, 2012).
Referring to corporate culture, Participant 5 responded as follows:
Having worked for AES, I can’t tell you that I will fit with AES corp. There is nothing about AES Cameroon that resembles AES Corp because there is hardly any level of interaction where staff from AES had to come and do stuff in Cameroon and build in a way that even when it came to training that was compatible with headquarters.
While it is challenging to find quality employees for BOP operations, business leaders should have policies in place to promote the company’s mission, values, and culture.
Participant 5 expressed the following:
The company hired consultants who had never worked for the company or understand its culture, then bring them on some expatriate contracts signed from London or signed from any other country, and the next day they are talking AES, and representing a company they do not even know.
BOP literature further suggests that the variables of products, price, promotion, distribution, and marketing offerings aimed for BOP markets should be adapted to existing differences in culture (Chikweche & Fletcher, 2012; Payaud, 2014). It is vital that business leaders address company culture and human capital in relation to the company’s BOP modeling.
Business leaders should consider planning for market risks that may threaten BOP success. The company under study had to renegotiate and amend an initial contract despite 3 years of price increases because vital sections became inapplicable and
presented serious threats for failure (AES, 2015). Despite this threat, Participant 5 stated
“the company was not worried about risks and failure due to their ability to handle similar challenges encountered around the world.” Participant 1 affirmed that “risk assessment and scenario analysis ensures that business decisions that are made are made from a robust perspective.” Participant 2 said business risks were understood and could be mitigated. Participant 7 saw threats only at the geopolitical level that was under
control by the entrepreneur. Planning before entering BOP markets provides advance knowledge and warnings for business leaders to succeed.
Table 3
BOP Readiness
Major theme Key Words or Phrases Participant References Theme 1:
BOP readiness
Strength and vision
Company culture and business modeling Recognition of BOP opportunities
As most of the participants stated, a multinational energy company leader trying to do business in the BOP country of Cameroon should have a detailed understanding of the business landscape in which the company will operate. The BOP concept suggests that enlightened business leaders who learn how to market and serve those in the BOP market may experience increased profits while helping millions of the world’s poorest people transition out of poverty (Hart & Prahalad, 2002). The subthemes that emerged from my data analysis included (a) knowledge of the local culture, (b) politics, (c) marketing, (d) management transitions, and (e) language barriers. Understanding the business landscape includes knowledge of the local human capital management practices, recruitment, training, employee satisfaction, favoritism, employee backstabbing,
satisfaction, and dissatisfaction. All of these affect productivity, profitability, and the corporate brand.