ABSTRACT
Vital Wave Consulting (VWC), a company specializing in the information technology and telecommunications industries, performs considerable research in emerging-market business growth, including market research. VWC (2008a) reports that while developing countries have always had a larger population than developed countries, emerging-market incomes and purchasing power have increased signifi cantly since the 1990s. Further, advances in international transportation, fi nance, and communications have turned developing countries into viable markets. e company estimates that from 1998 to 2012 infl ation-adjusted GDP is expected to grow by 5.7% in developing countries versus 2.5% in developed countries. Within emerging markets, an estimated 69% of the workforce employed in the formal sector work in micro, small, or medium-sized companies.
