Technology adoption at the BOP markets: insights from Turk Telekom’s focus on inclusive business

Abstract

The post 2015 agenda on sustainable development has emphasized the role of science, technology and innovation in promoting sustainable development (Chandran et al., Tech Monitor 14–19, 2015; Dosi and Freeman, in Dosi et al. (eds), Laboratory of economics and management (LEM), Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa 1988; Fagerberg et al., in Hall and Rosenberg (eds), Handbook of the economics of innovation, North Holland, 2010). The chapter examines Turk Telekom’s “Life is Simpler with Internet” initiative, which is an inclusive business activity that has contributed to both company’s sustainable market development and also to sustainable development goals in the Turkish context. By targeting to bridge the digital divide that persists in Turkey, the initiative depicts how Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is capable of reducing particular types of market separations between consumers and producers at the BOP, and thus facilitating market development at BOP (Tarafdar and Singh, Proceedings of SIG GlobDev 4th annual workshop, Shanghai, 2011). Considering the fruitful outcomes of this project, and business and social impact that could be created through the proliferation of ICT in BOP markets, the authors recommend companies to employ long-term, iterative efforts of awareness creation, knowledge and skill development and technology appropriation to reap the desired benefits.