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With the growing relevance of the Internet as a tool for communication and entertainment, researchers have examined the effects of individual's psychological factors and media use motives on their excessive use of Internet. Since Internet use has significant nuances, the excessive use of particular Internet application, such as social network services and online games, has been studied separately. However, as the major Internet application, online video streaming service has not been investigated. Moreover, other than psychological factors and media use motives, the IT features implemented in the application, such as the recommender system, could also induce excessive use behavior. This paper aims to examine individual's excessive use of online video streaming services and the effects of recommender system in such services. A survey of 490 video streaming service users was conducted. The results show that the use of recommendations, along with lack of self-control, lack of self-esteem and use motive of information seeking, lead to excessive usage of video streaming services. This study contributes to the literature of excessive Internet use by exploring individual's excessive use behavior in video streaming services and incorporating the salient role of recommender system in Internet applications.

Pro-poor innovations are innovations targeted at economically poor consumers. These innovations have the potential to improve consumer wellbeing. However, while take up of some such innovations has been rapid (e.g., mobile phones) take up of others has been slower (e.g., fuel efficient stoves). What explains why some pro-poor innovations fail and some succeed? While the literature on consumer innovation adoption in economically wealthy countries is vast there is very little literature in the context of the “bottom-of-the-pyramid” and subsistence marketplaces. This chapter aims to begin answering this question through a review of the extant literature in the area of consumer innovation adoption, which is integrated with literature in the area of consumption within subsistence marketplaces and the bottom-of-the-pyramid. A conceptual model is proposed which outlines key parameters for marketers and managers. The chapter closes by outlining implications and a future research agenda.

Research about consumers in subsistence marketplaces (Viswanathan and Sridharan 2009; Viswanathan and Rosa 2007) has grown substantially in line with interest in this market. Beyond the development literature, which has always had a focused interest in such consumers and their reactions to various development interventions, recent interest in such consumers has stemmed from the seminal work of CK Prahalad (Hart and Prahalad, 2002) on the so called bottom-of-the-pyramid, where a role for businesses in reducing poverty has been articulated. Consumers in such marketplaces seem to face a variety of constraints which affect their behavior and these are typically based around income, economic stability (e.g., high inflation), political factors (e.g., governance, political instability, legal systems) and infrastructural challenges (e.g., distribution channels, erratic electricity supply, unreliable transport). Such constraints lead to consumption behaviors that are likely to deviate from existing models where such constraints are less of an issue. A number of themes arise in the literature. One common theme is based around differences in urban and rural environments. For example, rural consumers seem to shop more frequently, form closer relationships with local retailers, spend less on technology and have fewer technological capabilities. Likewise, typical demographic variables (e.g., urban versus rural environments, age, gender) also seem to influence consumption with younger consumers having a better knowledge and capability to use technology. As might be expected, income level is a key factor in explaining consumption behavior. Other individual based factors also seem to be very important, including literacy level, which seems to affect how such individuals process information on products, packaging and advertising. For example, low-literate consumers are typically seen to process information pictographically rather than textually. Similarly, low literate consumers are

In countries such as Bangladesh some innovations have diffused rapidly and been taken up by large segments of the population (e.g., mobile phones). However, some innovations which offer the promise of time saving, greater efficiency and better economy have been slower in their take up (e.g., gas stoves). What explains these contrasting examples? The study of consumer innovation adoption is vast. However, the majority of research in this area has been written about economically developed economies where consumers have excess disposable income to spend on the latest gadgets. Yet, innovations benefit economically less wealthy consumers too (e.g., mobile banking, information communication technologies etc.). Such innovations have been termed pro-poor innovations by some (Ramani, SadreGhazi, and Duysters 2012) and are innovations which offer some developmental benefit within so called “Base-of-the-Pyramid” markets. The literature in this area is fragmented and scattered across numerous disciplines such as business, health, development, economics and others. Given this, researchers interested in this area have great opportunities to expand our knowledge base and contribute to an area of societal importance. This chapter reviews literature in this area, presents some challenges (opportunities!) for doing research in this context and provides a future research agenda.

Specifically, this research contributes by providing the first empirical comparison of key theoretical consumer innovation adoption models in the BOP context. The research provides interesting practical and theoretical insights about consumer innovation adoption in the BOP cultural context but further testing within the context is needed to establish confidence in these findings.

Most research into innovation adoption has been done within economically advanced countries. However, there is a growing need to understand consumer evaluations of innovations in “Bottom of the Pyramid” (BOP) markets (Nakata and Weidner 2012; Prahalad 2010) in light of their size, potential for growth and the development benefits of “pro-poor” innovations (Ramani et al. 2012). This research aims to provide guidance to managers and policy makers on influencing adoption of pro-poor innovations in BOP markets. Prior research has developed a range of models to provide guidance here, but these have typically been validated on consumers in economically advanced economies. Following a procedure similar to Venkatesh et al. (2003), this research contributes to the literature on innovation adoption and the BOP by empirically comparing seven existing consumer-based innovation adoption models in Bangladesh, a country often associated with the BOP. It does this through the development of a consumer survey (n = 311) based around existing consumer innovation adoption models and consumer evaluations of bKash, a mobile banking innovation. Interestingly, it was found from this research that affective constructs, such as enjoyment of using the technology, have the strongest influence on adoption intention relative to more utilitarian constructs such as perceived usefulness, perceived value and perceived ease of use. Therefore, it seems that consumers in the BOP don’t just look for functional, utilitarian benefits but are also concerned about affective and hedonic gratification. The results also show BOP consumers evaluate the compatibility of a new product within the context of their existing lives and are heavily influenced by their social setting, in light of their collectivist nature. Given the various internal and external constraints (e.g., low literacy rate, poor health, lack of infrastructure, political instability, and economic constraints) constructs such as perceived behavio

Purpose To enhance the understanding of the moderating influence of different bottom of the pyramid (BOP) income segments on the antecedents of pro-poor innovation acceptance. Design/methodology/approach In this study, 320 BOP consumers with a range of low-to-moderate literacy and low-income levels were used as a convenience non-probability sample for undertaking quantitative analyses. Findings Only the influence of perceived usefulness on intention is moderated by income segments, such that the effect will be stronger for low-income BOP segment. Moreover, the influences of relative advantage, compatibility and observability on intention are moderated by income segments. Practical implications This empirical work has considerable private sector and public policy implications for companies and government designing/selling products for millions of poor people in developing and emerging economies. Originality/value This study contributes originally to knowledge in the subject area as there are very few studies that clearly and systematically analyse the key antecedents influencing the adoption intention of pro-poor technological innovations in the BOP market.

This paper considers the Community Information Centre (CIC) of Grameenphone (name of Norwegian Telenor in Bangladesh) as a case study to investigate how brand orientation as a strategy of Grameenphone influences the adoption of an innovation like CIC in the Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) market in Bangladesh. From the findings of quantitative research (factor, regression and correlation analyses), it is found that brand orientation significantly influences the ‘relative advantage’ attribute of an innovation like CIC in the BOP market. This has strategic implications for multinational corporations designing or selling products to the millions of poor people in developing and emerging economies.

Purpose – To explore how visual comprehensibility of a product can affect innovation adoption among bottom of the pyramid consumers (BOP) in Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach – This is an exploratory qualitative study based on interviews with 8 managerial respondents involved in the design and marketing of innovative products targeted at BOP consumers in Bangladesh, and 3 respondents who are consumers of these products. Findings – One key finding from this research, in comparison to innovation adoption research in developed contexts, is the distinct importance that BOP consumers attach to visual cues in learning about and understanding a new product. Practical implications – This research provides guidance for private and public sector organisations selling products and services to BOP consumers on the role of visual cues in generating better product comprehension. It also identifies the role of social relations in facilitating adoption of new products within this segment. Social implications – Through enhancing adoption of so called pro-poor innovations this research can assist in bringing about positive social change and developmental benefits in this burgeoning segment of the market. Originality/value – This is one of the first studies to consider innovation adoption of propoor innovations in BOP markets and one of the first studies to collect data on the role of visual comprehensibility for consumers in BOP markets.

This paper illustrates how understanding consumer preferences through market research may enhance CRM adoption among the rural customers of a developing country like Bangladesh. It presents the case of Community Information Centre (CIC) established by Grameenphone, a company owned by Telenor, the Norwegian telecommunications company and Grameen Bank, the Nobel prize winning micro credit organisation in the rural settings of Bangladesh. The paper shows that CIC is an innovative way of building and maintaining customer relationships and technological interface with the financially constrained consumers in a poor developing economy like Bangladesh.