Theorising the Marketing-Development Nexus: How Bottom-of-Pyramid Marketing Strategies Shape Inclusive Growth in Northern Nigeria

This study theorises the marketing-development nexus by examining how bottom-of-pyramid (BoP) marketing strategies deployed by firms and social enterprises shape inclusive economic growth outcomes in northern Nigeria, spanning communities in Kano, Jigawa, Zamfara, and Yobe States. The BoP marketing literature, pioneered by Prahalad and subsequently extended by researchers including Simanis and London, proposes that commercially viable marketing strategies targeting low-income populations can simultaneously generate enterprise profitability and poverty alleviation. However, the theoretical frameworks underlying this proposition remain contested, and empirical evidence from West African BoP contexts is highly sparse. This study advances the BoP marketing theory by integrating it with inclusive growth economics, social enterprise theory, and the capability approach to human development. A critical realist philosophical foundation informs a multi-case longitudinal study design, examining 12 firms and social enterprises in selected northern Nigerian states over 30 months. Data are collected through 70 interviews, community focus groups, and enterprise performance documentation, analysed through abductive reasoning and cross-case synthesis. The study delivers original theoretical propositions about the conditions under which BoP marketing generates genuine inclusive development outcomes versus extractive commercialisation, contributing foundational theory applicable to African development marketing contexts. Keywords: bottom-of-pyramid marketing, inclusive growth, development marketing, northern Nigeria, social enterprise