Executive Functions of BoP Consumers: Research Propositions, Conceptual Framework and Implications for Marketing Strategies for BoP Markets

Abstract Although extant literature has studied consumers at the bottom of the pyramid (BoP) extensively, there seem to be some lacunae in terms of a deeper understanding of the cognitive peculiarities of low-income consumers owing to their resource-lean environments and childhood uncertainties. In this paper, we attempt to address this gap by focusing on poverty-induced idiosyncrasies in a set of vital cognitive processes called executive functions (EFs). Specifically, we exlore the possible impact of such anomalies in EFs on a BoP consumer’s information processing abilities, decision-making processes, and consumption behaviors, through a series of propositions and a conceptual framework. The focus is on two core EFs, inhibition and working memory, which tend to make BoP consumers susceptible to persuasive messages, while lacking sufficient self-control, goal-directed behavior, analogy-processing and comparative evaluation abilities. We then present several managerial, policy and research implications of the study.