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Fortune at the base of the pyramid (BoP) revisited
Edited by Vipin Gupta and Shaista E. Khilji
Introduction
The European Group of Organizational Studies (EGOS) held its 28th Colloquium in Helsinki, Finland, in July 2012. According to its web site (www.egos.com), EGOS is "a scholarly association which aims to further the theoretical and/or empirical advancement of knowledge about organizations, organizing and the contexts in which organizations operate." EGOS currently claims over 2,000 members from 46 different countries, and espouses a diverse, pluralistic approach to organizational studies and understanding through the social sciences and humanities. The theme of the 28th annual EGOS Colloquium was "Design!?" The inclusion of both the exclamation point and the question mark in the theme title was an attempt to convey the need for active engagement in the diverse discussions around design and organizations, and for a structured questioning of current approaches, assumptions and conceptualizations of design in organizational settings. The colloquium itself was divided into 57 sub-themes, each with a specific focus on a particular approach to and/or application of design. It is important to note that at the EGOS Colloquia sub-theme participants are expected to remain with their sub-theme during all sub-theme breakout sessions. Sub-theme participants are also expected to read the contributions of each participant in their sub-theme prior to the conference. While the conference program allowed for participation in broader, conference-wide events, the sub-theme structure was intended for participants to immerse fully in their sub-theme topics and to engage in repeated conversations with like-minded colleagues for in-depth discussion and generation of new ideas, approaches and applications of the specific sub-theme topic. This approach was different from the one I had experienced at other conferences where participants were free to attend any session they could make. The focussed approach of the sub-theme format offered an appealing alternative to the typical conference.
Purpose, subjectivity statement and theoretical framework
I attended the EGOS conference as a participant, which is also not my typical approach to academic conference attendance. I usually attend conferences as a recruiter in my professional role. In addition to being a third-year doctoral student in the Human and Organizational Learning (HOL) Program at George Washington University I am also a practitioner with 14 years of experience in...