Title: From local gardens to the national market: the case of cut flowers in Kathmandu

Authors: John Walsh

Addresses: SIU Research Centre, School of Management, Shinawatra University, BBD Building, 197, Viphawadi-Rangsit Road, Bangkok 10400, Thailand

Abstract: Emerging economies develop unevenly, with comparatively small and mostly urban areas being the centre of most development and the place of accommodation for those benefiting from it. In Nepal, a landlocked country graduating from least developed country status, that space is provided almost entirely by central Kathmandu, the capital city. It is there that consumption of consumer goods acquired commercially takes place almost completely. As a middle class emerges, it tends to aspire towards the professionalisation of important family-based rituals, such as weddings and births, as well as religious celebrations. In this situation, cut flowers represent a genuine commercial opportunity as these rituals are professionalised on a seasonal, at least partly predictable pattern. This paper examines how small-scale operations might come to participate in such a commercial sector and what problems and constraints they face in so doing. The result is an exposition of market development in an emerging market.

Keywords: cut flowers; market development; Nepal; price competition; technical capacity; Kathmandu; emerging markets; small-scale operations.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEIM.2016.080010

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, 2016 Vol.20 No.5/6, pp.320 - 329

Received: 08 Mar 2016
Accepted: 27 Mar 2016
Published online: 27 Oct 2016 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article