Research

Collaborative Research

The contribution of the private sector to poverty alleviation programs: Exploring business engagement in conditional cash transfers

Ungson, Gerardo R. ; Hudgens, David; Gonzalez-Perez, Maria Alejandra; Wong, Yim-Yu ; Wong, Sara A.; Monje-Cueto, Fabiola; Borda, Armando; Soorapanth, Sada. Management Research, The Journal of the Iberoamerican Academy of Management, forthcoming.

This study proposes roles for business, broadly defined, in government-led programs designed to enhance human capital investment. Through Conditional Cash Transfers (CCTs), businesses have opportunities to alleviate poverty, address the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda (SDGs), enhance CCT viability, and explore new market opportunities. This multifaceted research approach consists of 5 case studies of CCTs in Latin America, face-to-face field meetings with CCT administrators, 48 CCT beneficiaries in a pilot study, and 31 interviews (verbal and remote) with business managers and companies in 5 countries. Building on an on-site pilot study, an in-depth appraisal of five CCTs in Latin America over a five-year period, we examined six stages of CCT activities to assess possible areas of business engagement. Our cases, augmented by field interviews with businesses, present fledgling business engagement in CCTs. In light of anticipated growth in CCTs, this study presents six major ways businesses can further participate in selected stages of CCT operations that contribute to their long-term sustainability, as well as future market opportunities. Conducted over a 5-year period with participants from government, businesses, and CCT beneficiaries, this study deepens our understanding of how businesses can alleviate poverty through engaging in government-led antipoverty programs. This paper contributes to a better understanding of businesses' roles in poverty alleviation and how the private sector can help government-led development programs succeed.

PACIBER Casebook

Dynamics of International Business: Asia-Pacific Business Cases by Prem Ramburuth, Christina Stringer and Manuel Serapio, published by Cambridge University Press (July 8, 2013).

PACIBER Special Edition

Journal of Teaching in International Business, Special Issue: IB Education in the Pacific Basin, Volume 25, Issue 3, July-September 2014.