Resumo Pesquisas sobre a inovação e o mercado de baixa renda têm focado eminentemente no desenvolvimento de produtos e gestão de marketing, assumindo uma postura top-down das empresas para os consumidores. Do ponto de vista do indivíduo, tem sido dada pouca atenção para compreender a adoção da inovação pelos consumidores de baixa renda. O presente artigo tem como objetivo apresentar o desenvolvimento de um framework de adoção da inovação do consumidor de baixa, renda assumindo uma postura bottom-up, focando principalmente nos consumidores e em suas restrições estruturais e individuais encontradas no contexto de pobreza. Os pressupostos teóricos que embasam o framework consistem nas restrições encontradas pelos consumidores do mercado da base da pirâmide, que englobam baixa renda, falta de informação, conhecimento e confiança. Para buscar alternativas a fim de minimizar esse efeito, procurou-se na literatura fatores que pudessem influenciá-lo. Como resultado, o artigo apresenta um framework teórico que busca evidenciar a relação entre as restrições da baixa renda e sua influência na adoção da inovação. Partindo do pressuposto de que essa é uma relação negativa, o framework apresenta variáveis sustentadas na literatura de inovação e baixa renda, que podem influenciar esse efeito principal.

Abstract Research on innovation and the low-income market has focused primarily on product development and marketing management, taking a top-down approach, from business to consumer. From the individual’s point of view, little attention has been paid to understanding the adoption of innovation by low-income consumers. This article aims to present the development of a framework for innovation adoption by low-income consumers assuming a bottom-up approach, focusing mainly on consumers and their structural and individual constraints found in the context of poverty. The theoretical assumptions underlying the framework are the constraints faced by market consumers at the base of the pyramid, which include low income, lack of information, knowledge and confidence. In order to find alternatives to minimize this effect, we searched in the literature for factors that could influence this effect. As a result, the paper presents a theoretical framework that seeks to show the relationship between the constraints in the low-income market and its influence on innovation adoption. Based on the supposition this is a negative relationship, the framework presents variables supported by literature on innovation and low-income markets, which can influence this main effect.

Resumo Objetivo: Investigar o conceito e a adoção da inovação no mercado de baixa renda. Metodologia: Quatro estudos diferentes foram realizados: primeiro, uma pesquisa Delphi, com 126 professores de marketing e inovação de programas de pós-graduação; segundo, entrevistas com 13 profissionais, de assistência técnica e gerentes varejistas; terceiro, dois grupos focais com os consumidores de baixa renda; e quarto, pesquisa de levantamento com 390 entrevistados. Resultados: Os resultados indicam que as inovações no mercado de baixa renda são caracterizadas principalmente por adaptações e ajustes nos produtos, com ênfase nas inovações incrementais, não nas radicais. Adicionalmente, a adoção da inovação nesse contexto se caracteriza como tardia, não inicial. Contribuições: Em termos de contribuição teórica, o presente artigo revela como o conceito de inovação é construído no mercado de baixa renda. A partir de uma perspectiva construída coletivamente com informações de diferentes agentes de mercado (indústria, varejo e consumidores), os resultados se tornam robustos para compreender o fenômeno. Adicionalmente, além dos diferentes agentes, diferentes métodos de coleta e análise também foram utilizados no intuito de potencializar os resultados. Essa contribuição coletiva, fundamentada teoricamente na literatura de construção social, entrevistando diferentes agentes de mercado e usando diferentes abordagens metodológicas, potencializaram sinergicamente o desenvolvimento do artigo.

Abstract Purpose: Investigate the concept and the adoption of innovation in the low-income market. Design/methodology/approach: Four different studies were conducted. First, a Delphi study with 126 Marketing and Innovation professors from graduate programs. Second, interviews with 13 professionals, technical assistance professionals and retail managers. Third, two focus groups with low-income consumers. Fourth, survey with 390 respondents. Findings: The results indicate that innovations in the low-income markets are mainly characterized by adaptations and adjustments in products, with emphasis on incremental innovations, not radical. In addition, the adoption of innovation in this context is characterized as late, not initial. Originality/value: In terms of theoretical contributions, the present study reveals how the concept of innovation is built in the low-income market. From a perspective collectively constructed with information from different market agents (industry, retail and consumers), research findings become robust to understanding a phenomenon. Moreover, in addition to different market agents, different methods of data collection and analysis were also used, further enriching the results. This collective contribution, based theoretically on a literature of social construction, interviewing different market agents and using different methodological approaches, synergistically potentiated the development of this paper.

ABSTRACT Purpose: 1. to investigate if a difference is found between university students of both countries. 2. to provide an analysis of the attitudes, intentions, and behavior of Brazilian and Canadian university students regarding the purchase of green products. Originality/value: The relevance includes a cross-cultural study between Brazil and Canada and its possible use as a tool for educators in the Business area seeking to develop curricula that will prepare students for future roles in management. The study may also stimulate other research on green product markets. Moreover, it should be useful to managers in developing corporate environmental management systems in large and small organizations, as well as to professionals seeking to develop marketing strategies based on the behavior of their consumers. Design/methodology/approach: Data analyses were conducted using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Findings: The study demonstrated the positive and direct relationship between intention and behavior. The literature notes incentives and stimuli to promote purchase behavior through features, such as quality, price, and availability. These are key factors in the relationship between intention and purchase behavior.

Consumer-Company Identification is a relatively new issue in the marketing academia. Bhattacharya and Sen (2003) explored the Social Identity theory and established Consumer-Company Identification as the primary psychological substrate for deep relationships between the organization and its customers. In the present study a new instrument was constructed and validated that permits the empirical verification of the phenomenon described by Bhattacharya and Sen (2003). The scale validated in the present study is the first to embrace the idiosyncrasies of the identification between consumers and organizations. The process was conducted through 3 independent data collections. The first one was collected using literature search and in-depth interviews with 12 undergraduate students and bachelors from different professional fields. The second data base was obtained from a survey of 226 undergraduate students from 3 universities in 2 big Brazilian cities. This data base was used for purification purposes using Explanatory Factorial Analysis. Finally, the Structural Equation Modeling technique was applied to analyze a third data base composed of 387 observations collected from the same 3 universities of the second study. The results confirm the content, convergent and discriminant validity of the new scale proposed.

Este trabalho aborda um segmento de mercado ainda pouco estudado no Brasil: crianças até 14 anos pertencentes a famílias de baixa renda. Sob tal foco e mediante a teoria acerca do tema, são analisados e detectados padrões de comportamento deste segmento de mercado dentro de um ambiente de varejo supermercadista e a sua influência nesta atmosfera. Este trabalho se apóia teoricamente nas principais obras que tratam do desenvolvimento psicológico e do processo de socialização da criança, bem como em textos específicos da área de consumo infantil. A parte empírica desta pesquisa recorreu a técnicas de observações e de entrevistas para maior compreensão do objeto de estudo. Como contribuição, este trabalho gerou categorias que auxiliam a construção de uma visão holística do comportamento e do processo de socialização da criança no ambiente varejista.

This work deals with a market segment that is so far little studied in Brazil: children up to 14 years old who come from low income families. With this focus and using the theory on this theme, the behavior patterns of this market segment are detected and analyzed within a retail supermarket, as is their influence on this particular environment. This work is supported by the main theoretical works that deal with psychological development and the process of child socialization, as well as by specific texts taken from the area of consumption by children. The empirical part of this research resorted to observation and interview techniques to obtain a greater understanding of the object of the study. This work's contribution is that it has generated categories that help with the construction of a holistic view of behavior and of the socialization process of children in a retail environment.