Rishikesha T. Krishnan

Bio: Rishikesha T. Krishnan is an academic researcher from Indian Institute of Management Indore. The author has contributed to research in topics: Emerging markets & Multinational corporation. The author has an hindex of 13, co-authored 37 publications receiving 525 citations. Previous affiliations of Rishikesha T. Krishnan include Indian Institute of Management Bangalore & Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad.

Creating Successful New Products: Challenges for Indian Industry 1

Abstract: In the increasingly competitive environment in India, the development and launch of new products have become an important competitive tool In a crowded marketplace, there is greater need for differentiation; in markets that tend to be stagnant there is pressure to create excitement The development and launch of new products helps in both situationsIn certain industries like the two wheeler industry, new product development has become critical to survival Stringent new emission standards and multi-point competition are pushing two wheeler companies to broaden their product lines and introduce new technologies such as four stroke scooters and mopeds Today, the Indian two wheeler industry has more than fifty models/variants with one or two new launch announcements every month Such developments are happening in other industries as well, though perhaps not as visibly as in the two wheeler industryThis paper is prompted by our belief that there are unique problems faced by Indian companies in rapidly developing a new product development capability While the new product development challenges faced by large, established firms in developed markets have received considerable attention in recent years since the publication of the epochal The machine that changed the world (Womack, Jones and Roos, 1990), the problems faced by 'emerging market companies' are different and have not received enough attentionEmerging markets like India are different from developed markets Emerging markets are often characterised by specific local needs, limited purchasing power and high price sensitivity (Prahalad and Lieberthal, 1998) Khanna and Palepu (1997) have suggested that in emerging economies, to make up for the absence of well-developed markets for labor and capital, firms may have to create their own infrastructure There are thus contextual factors which can potentially influence an important strategic activity like new product development in the emerging market context and make the challenges before companies in these markets different from those in established economiesSpecifically, unlike established companies in developed markets, Indian companies are facing the challenge of structuring, ab initio, the new product development process in an environment of limited design skills and experience, few qualified vendors and inappropriate engineering resources At the same time, they are constrained by limited financial and human resources, a lack of a market orientation, strong centralized control by business family heads, functional chimneys without deep functional expertise, and pressures to change on numerous fronts all at once to cope with the competitive environment Further, over the last eight years, the complexity of strategy formulation and implementation has increased manifold - from merely obtaining an industrial license and preventing others from doing so, to managing growth, cost-competitiveness, knowledge, innovation, and business portfolios simultaneously in a globally competitive environmentIn this paper, our focus will be on the challenges in new product development faced by companies in India, an important emerging economy Our ideas are based on discussions we have had with managers involved in new product development in about twenty Indian companies, reports in the business press and some projects undertaken by our students At the end, we identify questions that remain either partly or fully unanswered in the hope that these can be the subject of research for Indian companies, consultants advising them, and researchersMost of the issues discussed in this paper have their origins in the problems faced by Indian companies manufacturing discrete, engineered goods for either consumer or industrial markets However, we will also discuss some of the challenges faced by Indian companies manufacturing fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), and by Indian firms involved in information technology/software product development

Innovation strategies of Indian market leaders

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the innovation strategies, and to understand the role of innovation, in the growth of Indian market leaders.Design/methodology/approach – This paper synthesizes recent research on the innovation strategies of Indian companies. It identifies innovation strategy in terms of dimensions used in prior literature such as exploration vs exploitation, market‐pull vs technology push, internal vs external development of capabilities, and product vs process innovation. It also identifies different organizational processes used by Indian market leaders to drive innovation. Finally, it identifies future innovation management challenges likely to be faced by Indian companies.Findings – Market‐leading Indian companies focus their attention on business model innovation for affordability. They use technology as a means to deliver such innovation rather than innovating in technology per se. They display a high level of ambidexterity in their innovation strategies on the fo...

Innovation in the Indian Information Technology Industry: A Study of the Software Product Development Process

Abstract: We examine the Indian context for software product development and build on the general literature on product development to develop an understanding of the software product development process in India. We do the latter by drawing from a detailed study of six specific software product development projects ofsix different Indian firms. The products were chosen to provide a variety of industrial contexts, types of firms, types of markets and levels of customisation. Based on a cross-product analysis on parameters such as product definition and positioning, choice of product, technology, product architecture and customisation, version management, marketing and product launch, reward and incentive systems, and quality systems, we draw implications for software product development by companies and for policy makers in the Indian context.

Leadership Development in Organizations in India: The Why and How of It (Part II)

Abstract: Aarti Shyamsunder*, Anand S, Ankush Punj, Arvind Shatdal, B M Vyas*, Balaji Kumar*, Binu Philip*, C Manohar Reddy, Chitra Sarmma*, Gopal Mahapatra*, Govind Srikhande*, Kartikeyan V*, Manoj Kumar Jaiswal, Nandini Chawla, Prabhat Rao*, Prakash K Nair*, Prasad Kaipa*, Rajshekhar Krishnan*, Rishikesha T Krishnan, Rituraj Sar, S K Vasant*, S Ramesh Shankar, Santrupt Misra, Shabari Madappa*, Sudhakar B, Swasthika Ramamurthy*, Twisha Anand, Vasanthi Srinivasan, Vikas Rai Bhatnagar, Vishwanath P*, Vivek Subramanian* and Neharika Vohra and Deepti Bhatnagar (Coordinators)

Adaptive strategies in the Indian pharmaceutical industry

Abstract: Trade liberalisation and proposed changes in the IPR has ushered in new dynamics in the Indian Pharmaceutical industry. Referring to theoretical debate on industrial organisational policies, the pharmaceutical industry is moving towards consolidation and augmentation, thus towards a "new industrial order". The pharmaceutical industry's adaptation to change, as shown in this article, is rather multifaceted both horizontal and vertical at product and process end. Scale economies seems to be the predominant strategy, with an attempt to stabilise and control the environment through alternative technology routines seeming to be the other preferred strategy.

The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields (Chinese Translation)

Abstract: What makes organizations so similar? We contend that the engine of rationalization and bureaucratization has moved from the competitive marketplace to the state and the professions. Once a set of organizations emerges as a field, a paradox arises: rational actors make their organizations increasingly similar as they try to change them. We describe three isomorphic processes-coercive, mimetic, and normative—leading to this outcome. We then specify hypotheses about the impact of resource centralization and dependency, goal ambiguity and technical uncertainty, and professionalization and structuration on isomorphic change. Finally, we suggest implications for theories of organizations and social change.

Investigating the factors that diminish the barriers to university-industry collaboration

Abstract: Although the literature on university–industry links has begun to uncover the reasons for, and types of, collaboration between universities and businesses, it offers relatively little explanation of ways to reduce the barriers in these collaborations. This paper seeks to unpack the nature of the obstacles to collaborations between universities and industry, exploring influence of different mechanisms in lowering barriers related to the orientation of universities and to the transactions involved in working with university partners. Drawing on a large-scale survey and public records, this paper explores the effects of collaboration experience, breadth of interaction, and inter-organizational trust on lowering different types of barriers. The analysis shows that prior experience of collaborative research lowers orientation-related barriers and that greater levels of trust reduce both types of barriers studied. It also indicates that breadth of interaction diminishes the orientation-related, but increases transaction-related barriers. The paper explores the implications of these findings for policies aimed at facilitating university–industry collaboration.

Relative absorptive capacity and interorganizational learning

Abstract: Much of the prior research on interorganizational learning has focused on the role of absorptive capacity, a firm's ability to value, assimilate, and utilize new external knowledge. However, this definition of the construct suggests that a firm has an equal capacity to learn from all other organizations. We reconceptualize the firm-level construct absorptive capacity as a learning dyad-level construct, relative absorptive capacity. One firm's ability to learn from another firm is argued to depend on the similarity of both firms' (1) knowledge bases, (2) organizational structures and compensation policies, and (3) dominant logics. We then test the model using a sample of pharmaceutical–biotechnology R&D alliances. As predicted, the similarity of the partners' basic knowledge, lower management formalization, research centralization, compensation practices, and research communities were positively related to interorganizational learning. The relative absorptive capacity measures are also shown to have greater explanatory power than the established measure of absorptive capacity, R&D spending. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Schumpeterian Analysis of Economic Catch-up: Knowledge, Path-Creation, and the Middle-Income Trap

Abstract: One of the puzzles about why some countries have stronger economic growth than others revolves around the so-called 'middle-income trap', the situation in which a country that has grown strongly gets stuck at a certain level. In this book, Keun Lee explores the reasons why examples of successful catching-up are limited and in particular, why the Asian economies, including China, have managed to move, or are moving, beyond middle-income status but economic growth has stalled in some Latin American countries. This is one of the first studies to demonstrate using patent analysis that the secret lies in innovative systems at the firm, sector and country levels which promote investment in what the author calls 'short-cycle' technologies and thereby create a new path different from that of forerunning countries. With its comprehensive policy framework for development as well as useful quantitative methods, this is essential reading for academic researchers and practitioners.