Conditional acceptance of digitized business model innovation at the BoP: A stakeholder analysis of eKutir in India

The current research explores the contingencies behind the acceptance or rejection of digitized business model innovation at the Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP). Building on the existing literature on business model innovation and using the lens of stakeholder theory, we explore the contingencies that decide the success or failure of digitized business models at the BoP. We conducted an inductive case study of eKutir, an Indian social enterprise that uses a digital platform to deliver value for farmers in Orissa. Our analysis reveals that stakeholder's stability and stakeholder's incentives are the critical contingencies deciding the conditional acceptance of the digitized business model innovation. Our results also confirm that accessibility, availability, affordability, awareness and acceptability are the most important factors contributing to the stakeholder's adoption of digitized business model innovation. Further, we infer that age, respect, power and authority are key differentiating factors contributing to stakeholder's stability which can significantly influence the acceptance of digitized business model innovation. We conclude with a framework that can guide the successful implementation of digitized business model innovation at the BoP.