Abstract

Business schools are slowly waking up to the reality that most of the products and services discussed in management curricula serve a small portion of humanity. A small number of business schools has begun to address businesses designed to meet the needs of the poor (the so called “base of the pyramid”) in business in society courses or in dedicated elective courses. As the world heads into an era defined by pervasive uncertainty, perhaps a business mindset focusing on management in the face of inherent unpredictability is a better model for reflecting on business in society. Effectuation theory describes a decision process employed by entrepreneurs and the poor that differs substantially from the rational choice paradigm that dominates management education. This theory of problem solving that views the environment as constructible by choice in the face of pervasive uncertainty may be a better foundation for theories of business insociety than existing frameworks