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  • January 2018
  • Technical Note
  • HBS Case Collection

Business at the Base of the Pyramid: Understanding Impact and Impact Evaluations

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Tricia Gregg
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:20
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Abstract

Unlike financial success, there is no clear consensus regarding how best to define and measure social impact. This HBS Technical Note written for students of the HBS MBA course Business at the Base of the Pyramid (BBOP), offers readers pragmatic perspectives on how the framework of the Logic Model (Theory-of-Change) may be used by businesses, nonprofits, and impact investors to assess the social value they create for their customers/beneficiaries and society. The note concludes with a brief tour of a few impact evaluation methodologies and their applications in areas such as hunger, healthcare, education, and microfinance.

Keywords

Developing Countries and Economies; Social Issues; Value Creation; Human Needs; Performance Evaluation

Citation

Rangan, V. Kasturi, and Tricia Gregg. "Business at the Base of the Pyramid: Understanding Impact and Impact Evaluations." Harvard Business School Technical Note 518-057, January 2018.
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About The Author

V. Kasturi Rangan

Marketing
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  • KaBoom! Play at Scale By: V. Kasturi Rangan, Sarah Appleby and Christine Snively
  • Transformative Social Impact: Year Up By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Sarah Appleby
  • OneTen: One Million Careers for Black Talent By: Boris Groysberg, V. Kasturi Rangan, Annelena Lobb and Kerry Herman
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