The seminal work by CK Prahalad, arguing the crucial role of multi-national corporations in alleviating poverty by treating the poor as consumers, has been one of the most influential tracts in recent years.

Now, a vigorous attack has been mounted on its underlying assumptions and conclusions.

Aneel Karnani, Associate Professor of Strategy at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, has produced a critical analysis that not only challenges some of the tenets of Prahalad's thinking - it savages them.

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