Showing papers by "Indian Institute of Management Bangalore published in 2015"

Bridging the service divide through digitally enabled service innovations: evidence from indian healthcare service providers

Abstract: The digital divide is usually conceptualized through goods-dominant logic, where bridging the divide entails providing digital goods to disadvantaged segments of the population. This is expected to enhance their digital capabilities and thus to have a positive influence on the digital outcomes (or services) experienced. In contrast, this study is anchored in an alternative service-dominant logic and posits that viewing the divide from a service perspective might be better suited to the context of developing countries, where there is a huge divide across societal segments in accessing basic services such as healthcare and education. This research views the prevailing differences in the level of services consumed by different population segments (service divide) as the key issue to be addressed by innovative digital tools in developing countries. The study posits that information and communication technologies (ICTs) can be leveraged to bridge the service divide to enhance the capabilities of service-disadvantaged segments of society. But such service delivery requires an innovative assembly of ICT as well as non-ICT resources. Building on concepts from service-dominant logic and service science, this paper aims to understand how such service innovation efforts can be orchestrated. Specifically, adopting a process view, two Indian enterprises that have developed sustainable telemedicine healthcare service delivery models for the rural population in India are examined. The study traces the configurations of three interactional resources--knowledge, technology, and institutions--through which value-creating user-centric objectives of increasing geographical access and reducing cost are achieved. The theoretical contributions are largely associated with unearthing and understanding how the three interactional resources were orchestrated for service-centric value creation in different combinative patterns as resource exploitation, resource combination, and value reinforcement. The analysis also reveals the three distinct stages of service innovation evolution (idea and launch, infancy and early growth, and late growth and expansion), with a distinct shift in the dominant resource for each stage. Through an inductive process, the study also identifies four key enablers for successfully implementing these ICT-enabled service innovations: obsessive customer empathy, belief in the transformational power of ICT, continuous recursive learning, and efficient network orchestration.

Beyond institutional voids: Business groups, incomplete markets, and organizational form

Abstract: We extend the “institutional voids” perspective on business groups by examining the value-adding potential of two of the characteristic features of business groups: their diverse portfolio and multi-entity organizational form. We maintain that portfolio diversity affords affiliates privileged access to opportunities hidden by incomplete strategic factor markets. We hypothesize that the multi-entity organizational form enables superior sensing and seizing of these growth opportunities by affiliate firms. We further suggest that, in the context of institutional reforms, these characteristics strengthen business group affiliates' ability to capitalize on the expanded set of opportunities made available by the reform program. Empirical analyses on a sample of Indian firms over the period 1994–2010 support our hypotheses. Implications for theory and future directions are discussed

Changes in firm knowledge couplings and firm innovation performance: : The moderating role of technological complexity

Abstract: We investigate the effect of changes in a firm's knowledge couplings on its innovation performance. We develop arguments to explain how changes in couplings among existing knowledge domains and those between new and existing knowledge domains affect the generation of valuable inventions. We also examine how observed domain complexity, an indicator of the inherent interdependencies among knowledge domains, moderates the effects of changes in a firm's knowledge couplings on innovation performance. Our results suggest that a change in couplings among existing knowledge domains hurts innovation outcomes, but not when the degree of domain complexity is high, whereas coupling new and existing knowledge domains leads to improved outcomes, but not when the degree of domain complexity is high.

Financial inclusion: Policies and practices

Abstract: As a key enabler for development, financial inclusion is firmly placed on the agenda of most governments as a key policy priority. Against this background, this round table provides a global and regional perspective on the policies and practices of financial inclusion. Using macro data, the collection reveals the diversity in the efforts towards achieving financial inclusion and the need for a progressive approach in financial inclusion. Further to this, the round table provides the regional perspectives on the policies and practices of financial inclusion in India, South Africa, and Australia.

Family firms in India: family involvement, innovation and agency and stewardship behaviors

Abstract: Family firms and business groups play an important role in many emerging economies. In this paper we study how different aspects of family involvement influence technological innovation in a firm. Arguments drawn from agency theory and particularly the principal-principal agency hypothesize a negative influence of family involvement with respect to technological innovation. In contrast, stewardship theory predicts a positive influence of family involvement on technological innovation. Drawing on these theoretical lenses with contrasting directionalities with regard to the impact of family involvement on technological innovation, we study how family involvement in ownership, management and board of directors, and business group affiliation influence R&D investments and patents obtained by the firm. The hypotheses are empirically tested on a seven-year panel of 172 firms from the pharmaceutical industry in India. Our results indicate that family shareholding and family control over both CEO and chairperson positions have a positive and significant influence on the firm’s R&D investments, broadly lending support to stewardship theory. We also find a positive influence of business group affiliation on R&D investments and patents applied by the firm. Our conjecture is that the high technology opportunity environment in the Indian pharmaceutical industry facilitates stewardship behavior which in turn promotes innovation in these firms.

Affordable housing: Policy and practice in India

Abstract: Affordable housing is a problem that many countries are taking stock of, world over In India, the problem is much more stark with an estimated shortage of around 18 million houses, with 99% of this in the economically weaker sections of society This paper sets out the definitions of affordable housing in India and across the world; the issues with the various definitions of affordable housing; the institutions and agencies responsible for formulating and implementing affordable housing policies in the state; the opportunities and challenges in affordable housing as well as a discussion on learnings from international experience in this sector

Big Data: Prospects and Challenges:

Abstract: We are living in an era of data deluge. Data that the human race has accumulated in the past one decade, far exceeds the data that was available to mankind during the preceding century. McKinsey & Co. foresees that the society is ‘on the cusp of a tremendous wave of innovation, productivity, and growth as well as new modes of competition and value capture—all driven by Big Data’.2 They also expect that different stakeholders such as consumers, companies and businesses are likely to exploit the potential of Big Data. Eric Siegel, founder of Predictive Analytics World, estimates that on an average day we accumulate 2.5 quintillion bytes of data.3 Another important character of the ‘datafication’, as Viktor Mayor–Schonborge and Kenneth Cukier call it, is that ‘Data can frequently be collected passively, without much effort or even awareness on the part of those being recorded. And because the cost of storage has fallen so much, it is easier to justify keeping data than discard it.’4 As the cost of storage has fallen and computing power has increased, the size of data that was challenging before, can be easily handled with a desktop computer now. Several estimates about the accumulation of data have challenged our earlier imagination. Data scientists are increasingly using data quantities in Peta and Zeta bytes. Businesses, governments and developmental organizations—all are foreseeing that Big Data is likely to create value in multiple

Overqualification, mismatched qualification, and hiring decisions: Perceptions of employers

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how employers define overqualification and mismatched qualification and whether they are willing to hire applicants whose educational and work experience credentials do not match job requirements. Design/methodology/approach – This paper draws from qualitative interview data from 24 hiring managers across a wide range of US public sector and private industries. Data were analyzed and coded to identify themes related to managers’ perceptions of overqualification, matched, and mismatched qualification, and how these were related to selection decisions. A typology is proposed for categorizing applicant qualification levels and their potential human resource outcomes such as hiring decisions. Findings – Hiring managers report that they are willing to interview and hire individuals whose education or experience exceed a job’s requirements as well as applicants with less than required education, but only if they possess sufficient compensatory experience. Resear...

Language-based diversity and faultlines in organizations

Abstract: Summary Language-based diversity is a relatively understudied area within diversity research. Drawing upon the social identity-based fault lines literature, the present paper describes the effects of language-based diversity within organizations operating in India. Interview-based findings indicate that organizationally mandated languages are occasionally disregarded by employees in both national and multinational organizations. Respondents noted how even benign and momentary language switching can lead to the formation of language-based groups and cause negative consequences such as feelings of being devalued. Respondents also noted strategies that let them attenuate negative effects of multilingualism while simultaneously leveraging its benefits. Overall, the present study indicates that momentary exclusion based on incomprehensible language, when experienced on a daily basis, may have a far-reaching influence on individual and team functioning. Findings thus point to language use as a trigger that can activate social identity-based fault lines. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A narrative review and meta-analysis of service interaction quality: new research directions and implications

Abstract: – This paper aims to conceptualize and empirically test the determinants of service interaction quality (SIQ) as attitude, behavior and expertise of a service provider (SP). Further, the individual and simultaneous effects of SIQ and its dimensions on important marketing outcomes are tested. , – The narrative review of extant research helps formulate a conceptual model of SIQ, which is investigated using the univariate and multivariate meta-analysis. , – There are interdependencies between drivers of SIQ that underlines the need to conceptualize service interaction as a dyadic phenomenon; use contemporary multilevel models, dyadic models, non-linear structural equation modeling and process studies; and study new and diverse services contexts. Meta-analysis illustrates the relative importance of the three drivers of SIQ and, in turn, their impact on consumer satisfaction and loyalty. , – The meta-analysis is based on existing research, which, unfortunately, has not examined critical services or exigency situations where SIQ is of paramount importance. Future research will be tasked with diversifying to several important domains where SIQ is a critical aspect of perceived service quality. , – This study emphasizes that, although the expertise of an SP is important, firms would be surprised to learn that the attitude and behavior of their employees are equally important antecedents. In fact, there is a delicate balance that needs to be found; otherwise, attitudinal factors can have an overall counterproductive effect on consumer satisfaction. , – This paper provides an empirical synthesis of SIQ and opens up interesting areas for further research.

On the importance of trust in interpersonal attraction from attitude similarity

Abstract: Trust has been identified as a key factor in relationship development and appreciation of group members. However, trust has not been previously considered as a reason for attitude similarity to result in attraction. Thus, in the current research, the authors investigated trust as a key component of attraction based on attitude similarity. Trust was shown to significantly mediate attitude similarity effects on attraction when measured alone (Experiment 1) and alongside positive affect in the participants (Experiment 2A), respect for the partner (Experiment 2B), or inferred partner’s attraction to the participants (Experiment 2C). Trust was also shown to have independent effects on attraction when juxtaposed with all three of the traditional mediators of attitude similarity effects (Experiment 3). Implications of these findings for models of attraction are discussed.

The influence of governance infrastructure and corporate governance on profit shifting

Abstract: In this article we develop a conceptual model to examine the influence of quality of country-level governance infrastructure and corporate governance effectiveness on profit shifting. We empirically test propositions derived from the model with a unique firm-level data set and using multiple indicators of governance infrastructure quality and corporate governance mechanisms. We estimate that on average about 6% of total pre-tax income is shifted out of foreign-owned firms in India. We show that governance infrastructure that improves collective action and transparency in both the foreign- and host-country reduces shifting. On the other hand, secure property rights and efficient contracting in the foreign country increases shifting. We also find that monitoring by foreign institutional investors restricts shifting.

Two substitutable perishable product disaster inventory systems

Abstract: A disaster inventory system is considered in which two substitutable items are stored for disaster management. In the event of disaster management, a particular product may become stock-out and the situation warrants that a demand for the particular product during its stock-out period may be substituted with another available similar product in the inventory. From the utility point of view, continuous review inventory models are quite appropriate in disaster inventory management. In this paper, a continuous review two substitutable perishable product disaster inventory model is proposed and analyzed. Since the inventory is maintained for disaster management, an adjustable joint reordering policy for replenishment is adopted. There is no lead time and the replenishment is instantaneous. For this model, some measures of system performance are obtained. The stationary behavior of the model is also considered. Numerical examples are also provided to illustrate the results obtained.

Talent management activities of disability training and placement agencies in India

Abstract: This study seeks to outline activities of training and placement agencies in India aimed at employment of persons with a disability. We contend that persons with a disability are an underutilized human resource and that utilizing their abilities should be a key part of an inclusive approach to talent management. As there is little empirical research on this subject, our approach is exploratory and we seek to create a platform for further studies. A key finding of the study is the preference of agencies to engage in non-traditional and ad hoc approaches to build and showcase underutilized talent of those with a disability. Based on present findings and the contextual approach to talent management, a more comprehensive agenda for future research areas in inclusive talent management is outlined.

Language‐Based Exclusion and Prosocial Behaviors in Organizations

Abstract: Organizations can be seen as amalgams of languages that can serve as a source of divisive tensions among employees. In our conceptual model, we draw upon social identity and social exclusion research to propose that linguistic diversity increases the potential for language-based exclusion in multilingual work settings. Language may cue listeners to ethnic or cultural stereotypes as well as negatively affect perceptions of speakers’ competence, leading listeners to exclude speakers of certain languages. We contend that when excluded, perception of oneself can be cast in an antagonistic relation to perceptions of others, with detrimental effects on prosocial behaviors. Perceptions of procedural unfairness, a weakened identity, and impaired mood serve to amplify the association between language-based exclusion and prosocial behaviors. However, organizational factors such as positive diversity climate may mitigate experiences with language-based exclusion. We outline an agenda for future research and discuss implications for human resource practice

Successful Turnarounds: The Role of Appropriate Entrepreneurial Strategies

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on a research study aimed at comparing the causes of organisational decline and turnaround strategies involved in cases of successful and unsuccessful turnarounds, with a view to identifying the differences, if any, between the two groups, which in turn is expected to provide useful information to academics, practitioners and policy makers. Design/methodology/approach – Since turnaround is a business phenomenon of general interest, their stories are often published in business periodicals, which are a rich source of data on them. In order to tap this data source, the present paper employed a method of content analysis for the proposed investigation on the cause of organisational decline and turnaround strategies used. In order to quantify the data, a three-point scale was developed, where the presence of a cause/strategy is rated as “3”, its ambivalence as “2” and its absence as “1”, whose validity was assessed through the inter-rater agreement indices. The...

Impact of leadership role perspective on conflict resolution styles - a study on small and medium sized entrepreneurs of Karnataka State in India

Abstract: Perceptual studies are important because of the influence of perception on individual behavior. The behavior of an individual is known to be influenced by activation of traits like stereotypes; behavior of leaders and entrepreneurs is no exception. The leadership role perspectives of entrepreneurs play an important role in the behavior of entrepreneurs as leaders of organizations. One of the important behavioral indicators of entrepreneurs is their conflict resolution styles. There is hardly any empirical research that focuses on Leadership role perspective and conflict resolution styles of an entrepreneur. The present study attempts to bridge this research gap by focusing on the relationship between two leadership role perspectives (Benevolent and Benevolent-Authoritative leadership role perspective) and conflict resolution styles (Cooperative, Competitive and Avoiding Style) of entrepreneurs who are steering small and medium enterprises (SMEs). For the study, data is collected through a self-administered online questionnaire from 238 SME entrepreneurs of Karnataka, who were selected by convenience judgmental sampling method. Descriptive statistics, Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling were used for analyzing the data. Leadership role perspectives and conflict resolution styles were extracted using factor analysis and thereafter, tested for reliability and validity. The results indicate that the role perception of leaders has an impact on their conflict resolution styles. The study is relevant today because entrepreneurs’/leaders’ conflict resolution style is a major concern in SMEs due to its importance in problem-solving as well as motivating and retaining employees.

Towards a general research framework for social media research using big data

Abstract: The increasing adoption of cloud computing, social networking, mobile and big data technologies provide challenges and opportunities for both research and practice. Researchers face a deluge of data generated by social network platforms which is further exacerbated by the co-mingling of social network platforms and the emerging Internet of Everything. While the topicality of big data and social media increases, there is a lack of conceptual tools in the literature to help researchers approach, structure and codify knowledge from social media big data in diverse subject matter domains, many of whom are from nontechnical disciplines. Researchers do not have a generalpurpose scaffold to make sense of the data and the complex web of relationships between entities, social networks, social platforms and other third party databases, systems and objects. This is further complicated when spatio-temporal data is introduced. Based on practical experience of working with social media datasets and existing literature, we propose a general research framework for social media research using big data. Such a framework assists researchers in placing their contributions in an overall context, focusing their research efforts and building the body of knowledge in a given discipline area using social media data in a consistent and coherent manner.

An Interproduct Competition Model Incorporating Branding Hierarchy and Product Similarities Using Store-Level Data

Abstract: We develop and implement a Bayesian semiparametric model of demand under interproduct competition that enables us to assess the respective contributions of brand-SKU stock keeping unit hierarchy and interproduct similarity to explaining and predicting demand. To incorporate brand-SKU hierarchy effects, we use Bayesian hierarchical clustering inherent in a nested Dirichlet process to simultaneously partition brands, and SKUs conditional on brands, into groups of "similarity clusters." We examine cluster memberships and postprocess the Markov chain Monte Carlo output to infer cluster properties by accounting for parameter uncertainty. Our proposed approach lends to a spatial competition interpretation in latent attribute space and helps uncover the extent to which competition across SKUs in the latent attribute space is local or global. In a related vein, we discuss the implications of well-defined groups of similar SKUs as subcategory or submarket boundaries in latent attribute space. We empirically test our model using aggregate beer category sales data from a midsize U.S. retail chain. We find that branding hierarchy effects dominate those from product similarity. We find that the model partitions the 15 brands in the data into 4 brand clusters and the 96 SKUs into 25 SKU clusters conditional on brand cluster membership. In estimating a set of models of spatial interproduct competition, we find that SKU competition is more local than global in that only subsets of products compete within groups of comparable products. Finally, we discuss the substantive implications of our results. This paper was accepted by Pradeep Chintagunta, marketing.

Persons with (dis)Abilities

Abstract: This chapter examines workplace discrimination faced by persons with (dis)abilities. We begin by discussing usage, meaning, and effects of the word “disability” and the related term “persons with disabilities.” It then considers the diversity of conditions and experiences among persons with (dis)abilities by reviewing extant research on people with five common disabling conditions (i.e., mobility, seeing, hearing, chronic illness, and psychiatric conditions). It also examines the importance of national context by taking a closer look at research on the experiences of people with (dis)abilities in five nations (i.e., United States, Canada, Germany, India, and China). By separately highlighting extant research on a few common conditions and nations, the chapter’s intent is to show the need for more research on specific conditions in specific work and national contexts, as well as the need for research integrating and summarizing these focused studies.

Emerging Economies: Muddling Through to Development

Abstract: Though ‘emerging economies’ is one of the widest used terms in discussions on global economies, it takes different meanings in different contexts to suit the main issue under discussion. An operational definition that could serve as a general description of this group it that they are low income, rapid growth countries using economic liberalization as their primary engine of growth under severe constraints of institutional deficiencies. The size and character of this group kept changing to accommodate the needs of the issue under discussion. Currently there are two main sub-groups within the conglomerate group of Emerging Economies (EE), namely: the developing countries in Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East and the transition economies in the former Soviet Union and China. While it is often predicted by ‘economy-watchers’ that EE will be a major economic power in about 30 to 50 years, their growth and development are constrained by institutional deficiencies, which are summarized in this paper (based on a comprehensive survey of the literature) under the following sub-headings: (1) Underdeveloped institutions, (2) Unclear and inconsistent policies, (3) Inadequate governance, (4) Disjointed infrastructure (5) Limited funding options (6) Inhibiting culture, (7) Personalized networks, (8) Ill-funded and ambivalent education system, and (9) Reluctant internationalization. The overall impact of these inadequacies is that entrepreneurs have to overcome several constraints for setting up and growing their ventures. Hence much of their innovativeness would be exercised on devising the means to overcome these constraints rather than in designing, developing and marketing innovative products and services. Thus they tend to develop a style of muddling through towards venture creation and growth.

Dialogue on leadership development

Abstract: Sharing our considerable experience as teachers who have designed and conducted leadership development programmes, we discuss the challenges in the field of leadership development. We distinguish between leader development and leadership development; differentiate leadership theories from leadership development theories; discuss the goals of leadership development programmes and their implications for the design of such programmes – the knowing , being and doing gap and how the goal, cognitive understanding vs. deeper internalization vs. transformation would impact the design; the need to synthesize Western and Indian approaches to leadership development; and the importance of designing coherent leadership development programmes which combine multiple methods and approaches.

Electoral Uncertainty, Income Inequality and the Middle Class

Abstract: We investigate how increased electoral competition — by influencing the equilibrium policies of competing parties — affects the income distribution in society. Our model is embedded in a standard probabilistic voting setup where parties compete at two stages: (i) they allocate resources across various districts and (ii) then, for each district, they divide the resources among the different constituent groups. We show that an increase in electoral competition in a district results in a tendency towards equalization of incomes therein. We check for these relationships using data from the Indian national elections which are combined with household-level consumption expenditure data rounds from NSSO (1987-88 and 2004-05) to yield a panel of Indian districts. We find that districts which have experienced tight elections exhibit lower inequality and polarization which indicates a larger "middle class".