When developing products and services for base of the economic pyramid (BoP) consumers, it has been widely assumed that organizations must set extremely low prices that are dependent on substantial product acceptance and economies of scale. However, such pricing is often not feasible. Growing evidence suggests that more moderate price levels are needed for organizations to viably serve the needs of low-income consumers. However, price sensitivity is less understood in low-income contexts. To promote the success of social enterprises through fresh insight, we reexamine the extremely low-price BoP assumption by investigating product acceptance among low-income consumers using two experiments in Latin America. Results reveal that a belief in one's capabilities to make effective consumption decisions, consumer self-confidence, helps explain the acceptance of moderately-priced products. Discussion highlights directions for stimulating acceptance of socially beneficial products in low-income contexts.

中文翻译：

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超越金字塔底部的根本负担能力：消费者自信在产品接受度中的作用

在为经济金字塔底层 (BoP) 消费者开发产品和服务时，人们普遍认为组织必须设定极低的价格，这取决于大量的产品接受度和规模经济。然而，这样的定价通常是不可行的。越来越多的证据表明，组织需要更适中的价格水平才能切实满足低收入消费者的需求。然而，在低收入环境中，人们对价格敏感性了解较少。为了通过新的见解促进社会企业的成功，我们通过在拉丁美洲进行的两项实验调查低收入消费者对产品的接受程度，重新审视了极低价格的 BoP 假设。结果表明，相信自己有能力做出有效的消费决策、消费者自信、有助于解释价格适中的产品的接受度。讨论强调了在低收入环境中刺激对社会有益产品的接受的方向。