Sameer Prasad

Purpose: Billions of entrepreneurs at the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) operate as small-scale producers within multi-tiered supply chain networks. Unfortunately, a majority of these entrepreneurs are simply unable to derive sufficient value from the network and are vulnerable to disasters and poverty. The purpose of this paper is to develop a typology that examines dynamic and triadic power relationships in order to create value chains for BoP producers. Design/methodology/approach: This paper builds upon the available literature and a relevant historical case study to develop a typology. The validity of the typology is ascertained by examining and comparing two current BoP silk weaver communities in India. Findings: The typology captures essential environmental variables and relates them to mediated and non-mediated forms of power which, in turn, shape the value derived from the supply chain network. Practical implications: The typology provides specific recommendations for BoP producers, such as the formation of cooperatives, engaging in political unionization and ensuring that their social networks expand beyond local communities. Originality/value: The typology brings together structuration theory and power and provides a framework for understanding supply value. This typology is generalizable to dynamic multi-tiered supply chain networks.

The optimal level of investment in mitigation strategies is usually difficult to ascertain in the context of disaster planning. This research develops a model to provide such direction by relying on cost of quality literature. This paper begins by introducing a static approach inspired by Joseph M. Juran's cost of quality management model (Juran, 1951) to demonstrate the non‐linear trade‐offs in disaster management expenditure. Next it presents a dynamic model that includes the impact of dynamic interactions of the changing level of risk, the cost of living, and the learning/investments that may alter over time. It illustrates that there is an optimal point that minimises the total cost of disaster management, and that this optimal point moves as governments learn from experience or as states get richer. It is hoped that the propositions contained herein will help policymakers to plan, evaluate, and justify voluntary disaster mitigation expenditures.

Many large cities in the developing world cannot keep up with the vast quantities of solid waste being produced on a daily basis. Often, only 15 per cent of the waste is handled by municipal waste management systems; the rest is handled by the informal sector consisting of networks of rag-pickers who collect, sort, process and dispose of solid waste. These networks and waste streams hold not only economic but also environmental and social value. The current literature, however, has largely ignored this promising area of study, and provides limited direction in terms of the informal networks and their influence on economic, environmental and social outcomes. In this research, we use qualitative methodology and archival data to develop a typology connecting social capital to three value streams within this informal solid waste network. We find that the social capital of the rag-pickers provides superior economic, social and environmental yields. In addition, we discuss the role of NGOs in fostering social capital.