Title: Boosting inclusive businesses' opportunities through the adoption of scrum: an execution strategy to enter low-end markets

Authors: Anne Lange

Addresses: Chemnitz University of Technology, Innovation Research and Technology Management, Thüringer Weg 7, 09126, Chemnitz, Germany

Abstract: As consumer markets in Western industries are saturated, the Bottom of the Pyramid has become increasingly important as a future mass market. Nevertheless, it remains difficult to adequately address the needs of low-income consumers. Approaches such as inclusive business have become more significant in both the literature and in practice. However, it is still unclear how inclusive business structures can be designed. Given the importance of networks based on local partnerships and knowledge transfer as key factors for success, this research proposes taking an agile approach to frame inclusive business approaches. Based on the Scrum framework, this study creates a conceptual model: the Inclusive Business Scrum Approach. Referring to the execution level, the model illustrates how inclusive business can emerge. It thus not only helps to address the 'how' of inclusive business, but it also considers topics related to the heterogeneity of partners and the composition of the team.

Keywords: scrum; agile; inclusive business; bottom of the pyramid; low-income market; sprint goal; partnership.

DOI: 10.1504/IJASM.2021.119041

International Journal of Agile Systems and Management, 2021 Vol.14 No.3, pp.495 - 515

Received: 06 Apr 2020
Accepted: 03 May 2021
Published online: 18 Nov 2021 *

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