Many organizations are attempting to improve the well-being of people living in poverty, whether it be philanthropic, through offering transformative services, or buying into the doing well by doing good ethos of corporate Base of the Pyramid (BoP) strategies. Some of these efforts are being directed towards extending access to safely managed water and sanitation services to everyone. There are many factors that contribute to the complexity of reaching universal water and sanitation coverage including limited finance, cultural practices, and localized effects of climate change. Once a community has access, sustaining it can be hindered by poor design, maintenance, or governance.

The aim of this dissertation is to examine the roles of business models and business model innovation in providing and later scaling water and sanitation services in low-income countries. In doing so, it brings together poverty alleviation and business model theories to address barriers specific to the water and sanitation sectors. This dissertation is a compilation of seven different papers that follow a case study approach. The cases used in these studies are of non-governmental organizations, social businesses, small and medium-sized enterprises, and multinational enterprises that work in the water and sanitation sector in low-income countries.

The findings of this dissertation span theoretical levels: business models, business model innovation, and capability development and sectors: water and sanitation. Each paper contributes to the intersection of at least two of these factors, e.g., by classifying business models and business model innovations in water service providers or examining the multiple business models used by a single sanitation service provider.

Overall, this dissertation has analysed key theories in market-based approaches to poverty alleviation with regard to business model thinking and provides insights into offering services and expanding social impact in BoP markets.

Många organisationer försöker förbättra välbefinnandet hos människor som lever i fattigdom, oavsett om det är det filantropisk, genom att erbjuda transforamtiva tjänster, eller köpa in det bra genom att göra bra etos av strategierna för basen av pyramiden (BoP). Några av dessa ansträngningar riktas mot att utvidga tillgången till säkert hanterade vatten- och sanitetstjänster till alla. Det finns många faktorer som bidra till komplexiteten att nå universell vatten- och sanitetsskydd, inklusive begränsad finansiering, kulturella metoder och lokala effekter av klimatförändringar. När en gemenskap har tillgång, behåller kan den hindras av dålig design, underhåll eller styrning.

Syftet med denna avhandling är att undersöka rollerna i affärsmodeller, affärsmodellens innovation och organisatoriska förmågor vid vatten- och saneringstjänster i låginkomstländer. Att göra så det samlar fattigdomsbekämpning och affärsmodellteori för att ta itu med sektorspecifika hinder.

Denna avhandling är en sammanställning av sju olika uppsatser som följer en fallstudie. Fallen som används i dessa studier är av icke-statliga organisationer, sociala företag, små och medelstora företag och multinationella företag som arbetar inom vatten- och sanitetssektorn i låginkomstländer.

Med en statisk bild av affärsmodeller anses affärsmodeller inom denna sektor antingen vara isolerade eller integrerade, dvs antingen adressera en begränsad uppsättning aktiviteter som krävs för att leverera säkert vatten och / eller sanitetstjänst eller täcker hela serviceleveranskedjan. Ta en transformations vy av dessa organisationer, affärsmodell innovationer som adress prospektering och anpassning möjliggör organisationer att expandera deras inverkan. Sådana aktiviteter kräver att organisationer ska kunna få kapacitet att vinna och integrera lokal kunskap, odla samarbete och främja flexibilitet. Sammantaget har denna avhandling analyserat viktiga teorier i marknadsbaserade metoder för fattigdomsbekämpning när det gäller affärsmodeller och ger insikter på att erbjuda tjänster och expandera sociala inverkan på BoP-marknaderna.

Many organizations are attempting to improve the well-being of people living in poverty, whether it be philanthropic, through offering transformative services, or buying into the doing well by doing good ethos of corporate Base of the Pyramid (BoP) strategies. This dissertation examines the roles of business models and business model innovation in providing and scaling water and sanitation services in low-income countries. In doing so, it brings together poverty alleviation and business model theories to address barriers specific to the water and sanitation sectors, through case studies of non-governmental organizations, social businesses, small and medium-sized enterprises, and multinational enterprises that work in the water and sanitation sector in low-income countries.

Providing socially beneficial services to people living close to the poverty line is an exceptionally complex task, due to limited disposable income for such services and little knowledge to understand the actual service benefits. In addition, service providers face capability constraints to provide these types of services. This article examines capabilities for providing services to consumers in low-income markets. Based on a multiple case study on providing drinking water as a service, we show that service providers require three capabilities: (a) adapting the service operation model, (b) converting latent customer needs into value-added services, and (c) extending the customer portfolio. These capability descriptions advance previous capability descriptions about services for low-income consumers.

People in Base of the Pyramid markets still face difficulties when it comes to sanitation. Container-based Sanitation (CBS) services represent a promising advanced sanitation service. Despite the observed outcomes of CBS services, organizations face obstacles when providing these services. To overcome these obstacles, digital transformations of these services are being carried out. We rely on multiple case studies to understand these digital transformations. Our findings highlight (1) the challenges these case organizations faced before engaging in the digital transformation, (2) their individual digital transformation pathways, and (3) a general framework for digital transformations in BoP markets.

Purpose: This paper aims to highlight how initial business models can be converted into a larger-scale solution for tapping into the emerging base-of-the-pyramid markets. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses a qualitative, multi-case research design with 20 organizations tapping into the water market at the base-of-the-pyramid. Findings: This paper explores three business models innovations: fostering value-in-context, allowing for modifiability and embracing organizational ambidexterity. Research limitations/implications: Due to our qualitative research approach, generalizability of our findings is limited. Practical implications: The description of the three business model innovations offers guidance for executives to make their business models financially more sustainable in base-of-the-pyramid markets. Social implications: The water sector represents one especially interesting sector to examine business model innovations. For, among social goods, safe water remains a huge challenge to date where 700 million people remain without access to an improved water source. Originality/value: Previous business model discussion in base-of-the-pyramid markets focuses on commercial goods. The authors focus on water as a social good. They demonstrate that the existing recommendations that business models in base-of-the-pyramid markets should be inclusive, complex, collaborative and scalable are mandatory, but not sufficient. In addition, business models should foster value-in-context, allow for modifiability and embrace organizational ambidexterity. © 2017, © Emerald Publishing Limited.

Many barriers must be overcome when entering the base-of-the-pyramid (BoP) market. Firms facing these barriers need to innovate new business models and reinvent existing ones to suit the BoP context. While previous literature has focused on the innovations of particular components of business models in BoP markets, we investigate the reconfigurations in the business model components that underpin the successful business model innovations. This study is based on multiple case studies in the water sector that we carried out in several different countries. Our findings suggest five business model innovations: (a) design, (b) renewal, (c) expansion, (d) diversification and (e) replication. Each business model innovation is a specific response to the barriers met in the BoP market and requires consistent configuration between its various components (i.e. value proposition, value creation and profit equation). These findings add, in two important aspects, to the academic realm of the business model domain: by contributing to the debate of business models in BoP markets and by advancing the configurational view of business models.

Purpose This paper aims to illustrate how managing multiple business models can become a key factor for succeeding in base-of-the-pyramid markets.Design/methodology/approach Case study was conducted through an engaged scholarship approach.Findings The authors highlight that companies can manage multiple business models, if they are following these three steps: recognition of costs-and-benefits, improvement and growth and creation of synergies.Practical implications The study provides guidance on how to manage multiple business models.Social implications This paper discusses Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods, a social enterprise, which provides basic sanitation in bade-of-the-pyramid markets.Originality/value Operating more than one business model could cause often strategic failures. Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods explored the advantages of having multiple business models in following three steps: recognition of costs-and-benefits, improvement and growth and creation of synergies.