The impact of product portfolio decisions on reducing inequality: evidence from Bangladesh
(A2023-114497)

AUTHORS

Farhan Ashik, University of Sydney; Jarrod Vassallo, University of Sydney; Sourindra Banerjee, University of Leeds; Ranjit Voola, University of Sydney

ABSTRACT

This study attempts to understand the relationship between product portfolio strategy and inequality within a BoP context. Product portfolio is a widely adopted strategy in marketing and marketing scholars have extensively studied its effect on firm performance. Products and services offered by BoP 3.0 organizations however are different as they are aligned to development outcomes, with one of the most important outcomes being inequality. We seek to address this gap by empirically investigating the effect of product portfolio strategy of development organizations on reducing market level inequality. Our study suggests that human capacity building and income building programs follow a U-shaped and inverse-U shaped relationship with inequality respectively, thus suggesting an optimum portfolio for both types for maximizing equality. This study is expected to assist managers in configuring their product portfolios to tackle inequality and contribute to the UN SDG 10: Reducing inequality.