Vinita Krishna

Abstract: Climate change is one of the greatest social and economic challenges today. It is a global problem which needs a global solution and for this each country has to play its part in reaching that global solution through local actions.

Abstract: PurposePatents as one of the important components of intellectual capital are emerging as a new source for mining insights on open innovation (OI) practice of the organizations. Their role in value creation through collaboration and the inter-firm differences is yet to be explored in depth.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve the aim, survey data is analyzed to rank OI practices (collaboration) of the firms, while patent data are analyzed to carry out descriptive and bivariate analysis to study the inter-firm differences in collaboration.FindingsThe survey findings highlight mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and patent pooling as the top two preferred modes of OI, while from patent data M&A has emerged as a predominant OI practice for mainly nonresident firms. At the firm level characteristics, out of firm age, number of granted patents and firm size, firm age has been found to be somewhat significant in few cases of OI practices.Research limitations/implicationsIt provides an alternative source, in this case patent data to study open innovation capabilities of firms in India. There is contribution to the patent value theory from profit motive to deriving strategic decisions on collaboration.Practical implicationsThe managerial implications of this study lie in realizing granted patents as important business tools for seeking collaboration, tracing competitive intelligence and the geography of innovation of the firms' competitors.Originality/valueThe dataset of granted patents at the Indian Patent office (2005–2017), the sample of pharmaceutical firms drawn from this list of patents, patent data– based OI insights and the use of multiple imputation technique to missing data for meaningful insights are some of the unique aspects of this paper.

Abstract: The paradigm shift in management from part to whole has led to a complete rethinking of the working system in the organizations today. Coupled with the globalization-led competitiveness, a pressing need for flexibility in management has become imperative. Open Innovation (OI) is one such practice which the organizations today are looking forward to cope with change, respond quickly to threats and opportunities and manage diverse and decentralized operations. OI which allows for the use of internal and external resources both, is being adopted across different organizations amidst diverse challenges to be met. The life sciences sector is catching up with the OI paradigm though the change is gradual due to the challenges in breaking free from the shackles of traditional vertically integrated model. The pharmaceutical firms are grappling to adjust in this environment with administrative, regulatory, legal and management of intellectual property (IP) challenges. With this background, the present chapter aims to explore the flexibility of organizations in adopting and using the open innovation practice with special reference to intellectual property management (IPM). The discussion is centered on the main theme “open innovation as a flexibility exercise in managing the intellectual property with special reference to patents in the pharmaceutical sector”. Based on the secondary data, i.e. varied sources of literature a conceptual discussion on the paradoxical nature and the synergistic effect of open innovation (OI) and intellectual property (IP) is attempted in this chapter. What different connotations/factors of flexibility are exercised in the pharmaceutical organizations to synergize the two processes and what challenges need to be handled in this context, are examined here. The findings of this study, though mainly contextual with partial empirical exercise may add to the conceptual understanding of open innovation and flexibility.

Abstract: Research on pharmaceuticals has mainly focused on the needs of developed countries while the scenario in developing countries is unclear. This industry is knowledge-intensive and unusually sensitive to intellectual property rights (IPRs).Patents play very important role in their business and this entails good management practices by the firms from various aspects of patent management. Two dimensions viz. commercialization of patents and renewal of patents are studied in this paper. There is dearth of in-depth research studies on these dimensions of patent management in India. A random sample of 300 granted pharmaceutical patents for patent renewal and another sample of 300 patents selected through purposive sampling for patent commercialization have been drawn from the population of granted pharmaceutical patents by the Indian Patent Office between 2005-06 and 2013-14. The information on working of patents has been taken from Form-27 submitted by the patent assignees of the selected patents. Some of the main findings are: a weak but positive and significant correlation between patent renewal & commercialization, blocking motive is the top most barrier to commercialization, direct contact with the partners is the chief mode of commercialization, no potential for technology is the main reason for non-renewal of patents, and enhancement of reputation is the main reason for renewal.

Abstract: Managing patents is a core issue in the intellectual property management (IPM) of the firms. It entails two important activities: the patenting of new innovations and the renewal of patents. With the research on renewal data gaining momentum, this paper tries to study the renewal of patents in the pharma sector in India. Adopting a unique approach of studying both active and ceased patents of non-resident applicants in India, with the aid of descriptive methods and statistical tools as SPSS following trends, has been found. Business firms are the dominant patentees and single inventorship an emerging trend in India. While renewal patterns are quite applicant category specific, grant period is independent of the applicant category. In case of the patents category (ceased or active), maintenance duration is independent of the number of inventors but effective life of the patents varies with category of patents. The higher propensity to patent and maintenance show linkage with specific technology fields and the portfolio size.

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the paradox that arises when firms simultaneously share and protect their knowledge in an alliance with other organizations. The goal of this paper therefore is to explore this tension field in such a coupled open innovation process and to identify which strategies can be developed to cope with this tension.Design/methodology/approach – The study was initially guided by a literature review and exploratory interviews, and it ultimately develops an inductive framework based on a multiple case study approach. The paper presents eight cases of a focal firm involved in a particular R&D collaboration. The case studies are based on a variety of data sources, including a number of semi‐structured interviews.Findings – This paper unravels the tension field of knowledge sharing and protection in R&D collaborations, with the knowledge characteristics at the core and with the knowledge embodiment and relational dimension as mediating factors. These forces are in t...

Abstract: Anticipating seasonal and shorter time scale dynamics to farming practices is primordial for indigenous farmers’ resilience under extreme environmental conditions, where climate change is a menace to agro-hydro-ecological systems. This paper assesses the effectiveness of indigenous farmers’ knowledge and aptitude to read weather signs for informed decisions on their daily and seasonal activities. Such climate-proof development is anchored on indigenous people’s knowledge and perceptions in circumstances where the dearth of scientific evidence or information exists as in Cameroon. The study is based on eight focus group discussions and a survey of 597 farming households in seven agro-ecological basins on the Bui Plateau of the Bamenda Highlands. The results indicate that indigenous smallholder farmers value their ability to accurately observe and anticipate local conditions in various ways to serve their local realities more aptly than outside forecasts. Such local knowledge should thus exercise a complementary role weave in a local climate information understanding system that replicates ecological variability.

Abstract: To reveal inequity in health in India. The global paradigm of the knowledge economy propounds that growth and equity will occur if there is a free-market economy without state intervention and if patents are provided as incentives for innovation. In this paper, we explore the veracity of this thesis by investigating growth in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors in India, and by looking at equity issues through the lens of gender health and health costs for poor consumers. We used data from current publications to support this thesis. We found that growth has been characterized by multiple handicaps and oligopoly, with the nature of expansion not having relevance for the disease profiles in India. The scenario of gender health and health costs of the poor is grim due to state retrenchment and neglect of the provision of public good, such as in health matters. One can conclude that equity has not occurred under a growing pharmaceutical sector. This finding has huge implications for public policy in India and other emerging nations.

Abstract: The open innovation approach emphasizes porous knowledge boundaries between firms and upstream suppliers, but tends to ignore questions of transformative efficiency and effectiveness once the knowledge reaches the focal organization. In this paper, we test for the significance of interaction effects between open innovation strategies and absorptive capacity, finding support for the idea that effective knowledge absorption capabilities are of vital importance in the facilitation of innovation effectiveness.

Abstract: ENGLISH/ ABSTRACT (ENGLISH/ ABSTRACT (ENGLISH/ ABSTRACT (ENGLISH/ ANGLAIS India is the second largest concentration of tribal population in the World. Indian tribes constitute around 8.3 percent of nation's total population. There are 635 tribes located in India. Present, health is a prerequisite for human development and is an essential component for the well being of the mankind. India is characterized by the presence of a large number of endogamous castes, tribes and religious communities with several types of marriage practices and the age at which the girl gets married will depended on social values. Tribal people are known to have sexual practices that differ from those of mainstream cultures and a high prevalence of HIV and AIDS have been reported. Lack of data is a constraint when it comes to tracking the health indicators of the tribal population. Tribal communities in general and primitive groups in particular are highly disease prone. Maternal malnutrition which is quite common among the tribal women is also a serious problem, especially for those having quite a few pregnancies too closely spaced, and reflected the complex socio- economic factors that affects their overall situation. Hence, there is an urgency of comprehensive health research among the tribal populations of India.