Bridging institutional voids via supplier development in base of the pyramid supply chains

The different institutional environments in which base-of-the-pyramid (BoP) actors and supply chain (SC) partners do business make institutional voids salient. This is due to varying or missing institutional arrangements, which, in emerging countries, can cause market failure along the SC. This paper suggests using supplier development (SD) as a way of cooperation that has the potential to bridge institutional voids. The feasibility of the developed framework is explored using empirical data from a case study of the local dairy SC in Kenya. It thereby contributes to research on institutional voids and BoP SCs. In fact, direct and indirect SD can contribute to fill institutional voids. Direct SD is outstanding due to the omnipresent resource scarcity in the BoP context. This research is novel because it explicitly connects SD with institutional voids and consequently emphasises the potential and importance of SD in the BoP context.