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The aim of the present paper is to evaluate the efficiency of the Indian general insurance companies and to find out the reason for their inefficiency. The paper intends to rank these companies on the basis of their efficiency. 12 general insurers are studied using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) for a period of 12 years, i.e., from 2005-06 to 2016-17. The study is based on secondary data collected from annual reports of insurers and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). The study concludes that not more than one-third of the insurers are found to be technically efficient. Pure technical efficiency was observed for 50-75% insurers. This makes it clear that the main reason for inefficiency is the scale inefficiency. The same is reinforced by superefficiency results. Public sector companies should reduce their scale dimension and private sector companies should work for the enhancement of their scale dimension, so that they can achieve the most productive scale size and become more efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the impact of new product announcements on the stock prices of announcing companies of the BSE 500 index. The paper analyzes a sample of 383 new product announcements for a period of 11 years. The authors have used the reliable CMIE's Prowess Database to collect the information regarding new product launches, announcements, approvals, unveils, etc. Traditional event study methodology is used in order to measure the abnormal stock market returns. The study found that there is a significant impact of the announcement of new products on the share prices and abnormal returns are generated on the event day. Also, t-test discloses that there is a significant difference between the pre and the post abnormal returns further emphasizing that there is an impact of the event on the abnormal returns. The means of the pre and post period reveals that the returns are positive for the pre period and negative for the post period. This emphasizes the fact that information is leaked to the market prior to the announcement and hence, abnormal returns are generated prior to the event day rather than the post abnormal return period. Therefore, the study concludes that new product announcements hold important information to the Indian stock market during the event and abnormal returns are generated on the event day and also, the returns are generated higher in the pre period than the post period of the event window. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study was carried out to analyze how various factors (student-related, faculty-related, exam-related and other factors) have an influence on the results of the students. To check the normality of the data, a normality test was carried out on demographic variables of the respondents. For determining the reliability of the data, Cronbach's Alpha was used. Further, mean score analysis and factor analysis were done on various factors. After carrying out this study, it was found that student-related factors, faculty-related factors and exam-related factors are important for the results of students in MBA program. The results of students can be improved by focusing on these factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A private company uses Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) to raise equity capital from the public who in turn become shareholders of the company after listing of its equity shares in the stock exchanges. IPOs have become very popular worldwide. Post-listing, the public shareholders get an opportunity to cash-in on the listing gains (typically in the short-term) or continue to be a part of the company's growth story (in the long-term). Typically, such investment decisions are based on the investors' returns expectations in the short and long-term, given the risk appetite. To analyze these critical aspects, several research studies have been undertaken globally. The extant literature suggests that the IPOs generally perform poorly in the long-term but offer good short-term returns. The purpose of this paper is to study the short-term performance of 117 IPOs issued for subscription in India during 2009-2013 by way of Market Abnormal Excess Returns (MAER) and identify the factors which affect their performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farmers' markets offering direct marketing opportunities have the potential to economically benefit the farmers. In India, the first farmers' market started its operations in 1987. Yet, the realization of the profitable marketing center that meets the requirement of enhanced profits, as envisaged by the state governments is not fully achieved. Against this backdrop, this paper studies the demographic characteristics of the small and marginal farmers with specific reference to the farmers operating from Rythu Bazaars—the farmers markets of Andhra Pradesh (a state in southern India), to understand the economic impact of these markets on the farmers operating from Rythu Bazaars. This may result in increased participation of small and marginal farmers in such markets which will go a long way in increased generation of their incomes. The paper found a high positive correlation between levels of education and income, and also between the number of working members of a farmers' family involved in agriculture income. Proper awareness and training may improve the family income of the farmers operating from these market yards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stock markets worldwide had passed through a very hard time from 2008 to 2012. During this time the yellow metal, i.e., gold (physical gold, gold Exchange Traded Fund (ETF)) had given very handsome returns to their investors, more than any other option of investments. This memorable past encouraged the investors to select the gold as safest and indispensable part of their investment portfolio. In this paper, an attempt has been made to evaluate the performance of ten select gold ETFs (five banking gold ETFs and five non-banking financing companies' gold ETFs) by analyzing their returns, total risk, systematic risk and risk return relationship to meet the expectation of investors by providing handsome returns in recent times. It may be concluded from the study that the comparative performance of gold ETFs of non-banking financing companies are better than their counterpart. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The financial system in India has undergone transitional change with the onslaught of Fintech which has proved to be a disruptive technology in the Banking, Financial Services, Insurance (BFSI) sector. Fintech is simply the use of high-end technology to carry out financial transactions. Fintech players are competing with each other in the business areas pertaining to not only digital wallets, retail and corporate lending but also insurtech, wealthtech. As per Indian Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), there are 20 public sector banks, 22 private sector banks, 44 foreign banks, 44 regional rural banks and also a good number of cooperative banks in India as of March 2020. Paytm has been facing a daunting competition from established players in Indian banking sector since it began operations as an e-wallet, followed by its expansion in areas of lending, insurtech, wealthtech. However, gradually with a user base of 450 million registered users, there were 130 million active users as of July 2019. Paytm was effectively able to capitalize the sudden digital wave in the country in the year 2014 and emerged as a potential competitor for existing players. The paper also discusses the trends in revenues and profits of Paytm since the year 2013 and how Paytm has set an example of daring to enter the industry and establishing itself, where established players have enjoyed dominance for a long time. It is also proved why a "High Volume-Low Margin" strategy helps a new venture to give stiff competition to even the established players if the same is implemented with a consistent approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effective achievement of organizational goals and objectives largely depends upon delivery of service quality, and it has received significant attention from policyholders and researchers in the field of general insurance. Hence, the present paper studies the service quality among the policyholders in the state of Punjab consisting of heterogeneous policyholders in terms of sex, age, educational background, occupation, income, number of persons earning in a family, and place of residence. An assessment of service quality and gaps thereof has been done based on 39 variables through a model given by Parasuraman et al. (1985) and related dimensions based on the literature. Paired t-test has been employed to assess whether the service quality gap between policyholders' expectation and perception is significant or not, which indicates a statistically significant difference on 25 variables out of 39 in the case of public sector policyholders, and 18 variables out of 39 in the case of private sector. A correlation analysis applied on the variables, viz., overall service quality, customer satisfaction, purchase intention and overall corporate image, shows that in the case of public sector, correlation is maximum between overall service quality level and the overall corporate image of the insurer, while in the case of private sector, the correlation is maximum in the case of overall service quality level and customer satisfaction. This paper fulfills a long-felt need to identify the service quality gaps affecting the Indian general insurance industry. Therefore, this study can add new dimensions that can be used to improve the service quality level and provide an enhanced level of satisfaction to policyholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has three major dimensions, namely, green practices, social welfare and ethical behavior. Fortunately, most CSR dimensions are measurable so as to facilitate CSR ratings in order to compare or highlight the different corporate sectors on a common platform. This paper at first charts the road map of evolution of India Inc. It has scanned particularly those companies who have crossed the various milestones of standard, namely, ISO 9000, ISO 14000, ISO 18000 and SA 8000, to satisfy quality, environmental trustworthiness, safety and social accountability, respectively. Next, the research investigates the role, the background framework and the potentiality of CSR ratings obtained from Karmayog.com platform that may act as suitable means to drive the industry further up the ladder of social responsibility. Tata Steel (TSE) has been found to be the best example, especially for Small and Medium Industries (SMEs) to follow, since CSR reporting may soon become mandatory for India Inc. as required by the Government of India. This paper culminates with the identification of the pivotal role of educational wings like Tata Institute of Social Sciences to extend the CSR journey further up to the breeding ground of future corporate citizens and in that spirit, the paper finally paints the current and future CSR picture of Eastern Institute of Integrated Learning in Management (EIILM) B-School at Kolkata. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wholehearted engagement in the given work on the part of the employees is becoming a problem to the organizations as the expectations of the employees are different from one another. The present paper tries to understand the various drivers of salesforce engagement in the real estate sector in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. A structured questionnaire is used to elicit responses from the salesforce working in real estate companies in Visakhapatnam. Factor analysis is used to identify the significant salesforce engagement drivers. The results are of help to the real estate sector to engage the salesforce in an optimum manner by concentrating on these vital drivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates what economic factors contribute most to the uptake of reverse mortgage by the Indian elderly homeowners. Binary logistic regression is used on a cross-sectional primary dataset of 410 elderly homeowners residing in different metro and non-metro cities of India. The result reveals that economic factors play an important role in reverse mortgage decision making. Coefficients related to employment status, income, cash sufficiency, insurance and financial wellbeing of the children are found to be significant factors that influence the elderly homeowners in opting for reverse mortgage. Being employed, cashconstrained and absence of insurance are significant and positive determinants of reverse mortgage uptake, while higher family income of elderly homeowners significantly reduces the probability in reverse mortgage participation. Further, the results indicate that financial wellbeing of children plays a significant and positive role in uptake of reverse mortgage by parents. Possession of high home equity and financial assets does not contribute significantly to reverse mortgage uptake. Overall results suggest that more liberal provisions like enhancing the cap of loan limit and higher Loan to Value (LTV) ratio should be introduced so that it can work like a cushion for elderly homeowners in their later life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Venture capital investment has been increasing in India in recent times due to its strong potential, an improving regulatory environment and favorable demographics. This paper examines the trends and patterns of venture capital companies' investment in India and the evolving regulatory framework permitting higher investment limits. The trends in venture capital investment are not only in the direction of exploiting IT/ITES sector, but also in infrastructure, retail, manufacturing and financial service sector. The policy framework has been gradually liberalized in the reactive mode rather than a proactive measure to help venture capital companies to increase their portfolio investment. The paper concludes that venture capital can fuel the economy, and the recent amendments and regulatory changes may encourage venture capitalist to invest more effectively in India and make Indian venture capital industry vibrant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses whether the Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) of Northeast India are financially healthy and will continue to work in the foreseeable period. The study analyzes financial sustainability of four FPCs based on their economic performance, bankruptcy, sustainable growth, net financial liabilities, asset sustainability, auditors’ comment on CARO items, Working Capital Cycle (WCC), and Cash Flow from Operating (CFFO) activities. The study included only those companies which were operating for more than two years and had published their reports to Ministry of Corporate Affairs, India. The study used secondary data collected from the website of Ministry of Corporate Affairs, India, for the financial year 2015-16. AAPCL and YMPCL are found to be financially sustainable, while GSPCL and BTPCL might face survival issues in the near future. GSPCL could be considered moderately financially unsustainable, while BTPCL has high chances of nearing bankruptcy in the near future, if the management does not try and solve their financial problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper estimates the Cobb-Douglas production function and further uses it to derive the marginal productivities of labor and capital. Dickey-Fuller test was used to detect the presence of unit roots in times series; and step-wise regression was used to test multicollinearity. The results indicate that labor is a better determinant of output than fixed capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper introduces a different viewpoint towards capital adequacy measurement of Indian commercial banks by applying Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). DEA investigates the relative adequacy of core capital of the banks with respect to their risk-weighted assets corresponding to the three risk types-credit risk, market risk and operational risk. The study categorizes the sample into two groups, i.e., Public Sector Banks (PSBs) and Non-Public Sector Banks (non-PSBs- comprising Private Sector and Foreign Banks), and uses the bilateral model of DEA for comparing the capital adequacy efficiency scores of the two groups. The results reveal that the distribution of efficiency scores for the two groups is significantly different, and that the non-PSBs consistently outperform their PSB counterparts in terms of capital adequacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Business organizations are attaching great importance to human resource because it is the biggest source of competitive advantage and has the capability of converting all other resources into product/service. The effective performance of this human resource depends on the type of Human Resource Development (HRD) climate that prevails in the organization. The study of HRD climate is very important for all the organizations, and educational institutes are not an exception. This paper attempts to study the employees' perception towards HRD climate in management institutes of Nagpur city on the basis of age, gender, experience, qualification and job approval status of the faculty. Data was collected from the employees of select management institutes using a structured HRD climate questionnaire. The data was analyzed using several statistical tools such as mean, standard deviation, chi-square test and regression analysis. The results show that the HRD climate in management institutes is average and the perception of employees regarding the HRD climate does not differ significantly on the basis of age, job approval status and, qualification, but it differs significantly on the basis of gender and experience. The paper concludes by offering useful suggestions to the managements involved in the operation of the management institutes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper highlights the importance of human resource practices in selected sugar factories. Human resource is one of the most vital assets of an organization. It makes the other resources move and provides a wide variety of activities in different functional areas. Human resource handles all physical and financial resources in an organization. Without its efforts, the non-human resources remain idle. The sugar industry plays a very significant role in the development of rural areas. The economy of western Maharashtra and its vicinity is highly dominated by the sugar industry situated in this area. This paper examines the role of human resource workforce (organized - managerial level and below-managerial level staff and unorganized - sugarcane cutters) and its contribution to the development of sugar factories. It also examines the human resource practices adopted by the selected sugar factories from cooperative and private sectors. This study covers the areas of Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur and Belgaum districts of Maharashtra and Karnataka states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cultural identity of India is associated with its ancient and official Sanskrit name Bharat (named after Emperor Bharat). The people of India own one of the world's oldest civilizations (Indus Valley Civilization) and rehearse the traditions, customs and celebrations precisely the same way their ancestors used to do a few thousand years ago. The traces of Indian civilization were found in the remains of 5,000-year-old urban communities of Harappa, Mohenjodaro, Mehargarh (now in Pakistan) and Lothal (India). The Eastern Uttar Pradesh region of India is dotted with some most sacred destinations belonging to Hindu and Buddhist religions. The present paper examines the perception of cultural tourists against several controllable variables, of Allahabad, Varanasi, and Kushinagar cities of Eastern Uttar Pradesh region. It concludes that despite being among the most sacred and popular cultural tourism destinations of the country, the three destinations severely suffer from a crunch of facilities and services. The destinations should be provided with adequate infrastructure to manage the huge influx of cultural tourists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India's automobile sector is one of the world's strongest and most rapidly developing sectors. India surpassed Germany and Japan to become the thirdlargest vehicle market globally as of 2022. In India, the automobile industry is valued at over $100 bn, accounts for 8% of the nation's total exports, and generates 2.3% to GDP. Although considered risky, the equity market is regarded as one of the most lucrative options for investment purposes. Investors must do a common stock analysis and comprehend the attributes associated with risks and returns of equity share valuations and sectors in which they choose to invest. This study examines the valuation of equity shares of automobile companies listed on the National Stock Exchange in India. The study will be of use to prospective investors in making well-informed and logical investment decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the whole world is witnessing exponential growth in the modern form of retailing, India is no exception. The Indian food and grocery retail is the largest retail segment in terms of market share and has been attracting big corporate retailers to make their presence felt in the segment. Rising interest and growth of organized retailers in this segment has given pace to the growth of modern food and grocery retail in India. The food and grocery retail in India is still dominated by unorganized players and is continuously challenging the corporate retailers to tap the market. In this context, the retailers should be aware of the factors considered by the consumers for visiting an organized retail outlet. Thus, the objective of the present paper is to identify the factors affecting consumers' decision to purchase food and grocery products from modern retail store by conducting a survey using convenient sampling of hypermarket shoppers in Patna, the capital of Bihar, India. The factors affecting purchasing of food and grocery products from modern retail are identified using factor analysis. The results reveal that seven key factors influence consumers' purchasing from modern food and grocery retail store. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities of 10 public sector and 10 private sector banks have been analyzed and their performances have been ranked based on 10 parameters. Data available on websites, in annual reports and sustainability CSR reports of all selected banks have been collected and studied. Among the public sector banks, State Bank of India and Indian Overseas Bank are the top performers, while among the private sector banks, ICICI Bank is the top performer. In the case of public sector banks, CSR activities are mostly carried out in the field of education, community welfare, financial inclusion and rural development. On the other hand, private sector banks are concentrating more on community welfare, education and rural development activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study is an attempt to find out the factors affecting the success of joint ventures in construction firms in India. For this purpose, the study identified several critical factors based on a very comprehensive literature review and developed a questionnaire. The questionnaire was tested for its reliability and was pretested. The final questionnaire was administered to respondents having experience in dealing with joint ventures in the construction sector working on behalf of clients, contractors and consultants. Factor analysis was performed to group the items of the questionnaire, and a total of six factors were extracted, namely, cultural fitness with host nation, organizational fitness, partner synergy, relationship building and maintaining the relationship, proper management of joint venture and joint venture drivers. The overall variance explained by all the factors is 77%, while cultural fitness explained 38% of the variance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India has been projected as one of the most sought-after retail destinations by many national and international consultancy firms. In the whole retail sector, clothing has emerged as one of the leading segments in terms of growth and a frontrunner in terms of growth in output. Since the beginning of this century, India has witnessed an increase in the number of retail stores in different parts of the country. The emergence of apparel retail stores in smaller cities of the country is definitely an attempt to tap the potential in the market. With the emergence of organized apparel store, apprehensions about the closure of unorganized retail outlets have been expressed. However, the success or failure of any retail outlet depends on the attitude of customers towards it. Hence, this paper attempts to determine the differences in the attitude of consumers towards unorganized apparel retailers and predict the future of unorganized retailers in India by analyzing respondents from Tier I (Delhi, Bengaluru and Pune) and Tier II (Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana) cities of India. 720 respondents (120 from each city) were contacted using snowball sampling technique for filling the questionnaire. However, only 600 questionnaires were found suitable for the purpose of analysis. The study applies Fishbein's model, and the results reveal differences in the attitudes of respondents from both the categories of cities towards unorganized apparel stores. Furthermore, the effects of level of income and family size on buying behavior of the consumers are also determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper examines the applicability of talent measure sculpts for effective talent management in automobile industries and IT sector with special reference to Krishnagiri district in Tamil Nadu, India. In the primary data collected from the 100 respondents from automobile industry and IT service sector using factor analysis, seven important factors: (1) creativity and innovation; (2) leadership; (3) teamwork; (4) interpersonal sensitivity; (5) personal motivation; (6) association; and (7) team spirit, which constitute talent were found. It was also found applying nonparametric Mann-Whitney test that there is no significant difference between the opinion of automobile industry and IT service sector employees with regard to a set of factors that constitutes talent management. This study helps the company to retain the present talented workforce and stop them from quitting the organization. Critical talent has been defined and identified covering all staff-level positions and suggestions have been proposed in line with company's requirements and capabilities in order to select perfect and highly skilled employees for the organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The successful functioning of any industry is determined by the factors like men, material, money and market. Among all these factors, manpower assumes greater significance. Manpower is the life blood of any industry. Therefore, every effort should be taken on a priority basis to keep this factor for achieving the main objectives of the industry. The textile industry occupies a unique place in our country. It is the second largest employment generator after agriculture. The textile industry being labor-intensive, is a major contribution to the country's economy with its vast potential for creation of employment opportunities in the agricultural and industrial sectors. Business organizations are made up of people and function through people. Textile industries are no exception to this. Hence, it is essential for every organization to adopt the human resource management practices in the administration. This paper also analyzes the human resource management in textile industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the reasons for clustering of printing units at Sivakasi. In Sivakasi, there are 450 registered printing units engaged in printing activities. Of these, 20% of the population (i.e., 90 units) has been selected for the study. Convenience sampling method has been applied to identify the sample printing units. The primary data has been collected by using interview schedule during the period December-February 2009-10. For the purpose of analysis, percentage analysis and Kolmogorav-Smirnov (KS test) were applied. It is found that congenial climate, family business and raw materials are the main reasons for clustering of printing units at Sivakasi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of corporate social responsibility is gaining importance nowadays. It calls upon businesses to follow ethical practices while dealing with employees, suppliers, dealers, customers, etc. Unfortunately, all the companies are not equally committed towards their social responsibility. We repeatedly hear about various scams taking place in the business world. When everything seems to be going wrong, it is the youth that can make businesses realize their social responsibility. After all, the future of India depends on the youth. This paper is an attempt to explore the attitude of the youth towards corporate social responsibility. The data has been collected on the basis of 46 queries relevant to the required information and it has been analyzed with the help of factor analysis. The effort is towards finding the minimum number of factors that, if incorporated by the business in its day-to-day operations, can make it socially responsible as well as socially acceptable in the true sense. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tata Nano was one of the longest awaited and most talked about automobile debuts in India. It is known as people's car. It is an engineering marvel to come out of India in terms of cost efficiency, fuel efficiency and space efficiency. This paper is an attempt to study the consumer behavior and also their perception towards car in the post-launch period. Factors that motivate buyers to purchase this car have also been studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to Khanna and Palepu, India is an emerging economy where poor functioning of institutions leads to severe agency and information problems. This has led to the formation of business groups in these markets. This affiliation of firms to business groups can lead to benefits as well as value destruction. This paper compares the profitability of firms affiliated to a business group with stand-alone firms in the automobile sector of the Indian business environment. Comparison has been made on different dimensions of firm performance such as firm profitability, shareholder value and growth. The paper concludes that in the automobile sector, a firm's affiliation to a business group does have a significant effect and helps in increasing the performance of the firm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the significance of word-of-mouth for educational institutes (Career Launcher, TIME, Aptech, NIIT, Akaash, Narayana, BSL, etc.) operating in Rohtak, Jhajjar and Bhiwani. All these three non-metros are upcoming educational hubs. Particularly, Rohtak and Bhiwani attract nearly 70% of students from nearby towns, suburbs and villages. And it is alltogether a different, unorganized and hitherto untapped market for established institutes operating on national level. This paper with all the primary data (from both institute owners/center heads, principals and students) lists out the most significant factors behind students' decision to choose a particular institute despite the advertisements done by these institutes. Besides this, it highlights the role of advertisement and the contribution of word-of-mouth in the success of educational institutes. It also provides information on the institute owners' attitude on different advertisement tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotional Intelligence (EI) is the ability to identify our own feelings and those of others in order to motivate ourselves and manage emotions effectively in ourselves and others. Till recently, Intelligence Quotient (IQ) as a measure of excellence of capacities of the human mind, personality and technical expertise was considered essential for success in professional life. Of late, however, there is a growing realization that success takes more than these capabilities in the form of EI. Considering the present status of research on the subject, the paper presents a descriptive research to find out the importance of EI for professional success through a survey of the top management executives working in the manufacturing and services sectors, both in the government and private sector organizations in Delhi, Ghaziabad and Noida. Based on the statistical analysis of the data collected, EI was found to be important for the professional success of top management executives at 99% level of confidence for one-tailed test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attitude does not usually exist in isolation. It is likely, for example, that one's attitude toward where one works is linked with one's attitudes toward the work itself, co-workers, the location of the workplace, and so forth. The study explores how satisfied managers are with their organization and also how they perceive HR practices such as scope for advancement, objectivity and rationality, wages and benefits, job characteristics and leadership. The sample consists of 51 executives from the BPO industry having offices in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). Data were collected using an attitudinal survey scale and the results were analyzed with the help of SPSS package using mean score, standard deviation, correlation and regression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the service quality dimensions of Indian private banks dealing with retail banking. Overall service quality level acts as an antecedent for customer satisfaction. The factors extracted give perceived service quality dimensions which correlate with overall attitudinal loyalty. Overall service quality further tested for any significant relationship with attitudinal loyalty, which is considered to be an important component of retaining valued customers. The data has been collected from 100 valued customers of two private retail banks of Tiruchirapalli. A questionnaireelicited information on socio-demographic variables along with SERVQUAL dimensions of service quality added with three extra contemporary validated variables and attitudinal loyalty variables. The results suggest that responsiveness and reliability of service quality dimensions determine customer satisfactionmore than the assurance, empathy and tangible aspects (SERVQUAL score analyzed using Factor Analysis and Multiple Regressions). Overall perceived service quality fosters customer's attitudinal loyalty through latent customer satisfaction (Tested using Chi-Square Statistics and Correlation Analysis). Increase in service quality of the banks can satisfy and develop attitudinal loyalty which ultimately retains valued customers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study attempts to analyze the factors influencing the purchase decision of shoes by the consumers in Kolkata. Individual buyers take different factors into consideration while purchasing any commodity, which is a necessity. The probable factors have been classified into four groups—product, price, place and promotion. Based on the ranks provided to the factors by the respondents, opinion scores have been calculated to evaluate the relative importance of the factors in purchase decision making. This study focuses on whether the importance assigned to the different factors vary across gender and income. Identification of the factors will help the shoe-making companies to tailor their marketing and manufacturing strategies to take advantage of these influences in a way that will satisfy both the consumers and marketers. The paper also helps the companies to clearly understand the consumer behavior, so that they can formulate effective strategies and help develop the company and the industry at large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the advent of globalization, the World is blooming with magnificent opportunities of growth in business. Globalization has brought boom in all sectors of the economy, thus, bringing impact on international business also. International business has caused India to involve more in international market by creating powerful logistics support system. Logistics play a vital role in international business. The major focus of exporters is that the materials should be shipped on time and this task is performed by shipping agents like Customs House Agents (CHAs), freight forwarders, etc. Indore is a developing city where export turnover is very high. The city has more than 100 export industries which include Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and Export Oriented Units (EOUs). But, due to lack of infrastructure, the intermediaries, i.e., CHAs and freight forwarders confront many difficulties, and thus, they lag behind. This paper attempts to explore the root cause of the problems faced by various intermediaries/shipping agents and suggestions to improve it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In our country, most of the Self-Help Groups (SHGs) endure from huge assorted inventories. The women SHGs of Howrah and Hooghly district of West Bengal are in the line with the nationwide scenario. Examples like Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) in Ahmedabad are mere exceptions. Although SHGs of Howrah and Hooghly prepare papads, achars or jute made handicraft products of best quality possible with their scant finances and infrastructure, still the products are not getting a steady market share. These groups clearly lack in terms of diversification and value addition in the product lines, building up sustained brand loyalty, appropriate distribution and pricing strategy. In this context, a study was conducted on behalf of the aspiring group of women in Serampore, Hooghly, to identify the initial entry mode in the pickle business. In this paper, an attempt has been made to identify the customer's preferences regarding choice of pickle, its distribution mode and pricing strategy. Efforts were also made to identify the best possible permutation in the product, distribution and pricing mode, which engender maximum utility to the average customers of the locality and persuade them to buy these products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) has been used as a base to predict consumer preferences. However, TAM was primarily used for predicting behavioral intentions of using a service that are more technology prone. Moreover, the different constructs of TAM, particularly Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) and Perceived Usefulness (PU) have not been properly defined. This paper suggests an extension of TAM, called Service Acceptance Model (SAM), which not only defines the two constructs but also adds one more dimension to predict behavioral intentions of using a service. The framework is tested with data of retail service broking from a global bank with operations in Hyderabad. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new development in service exports is the explosive growth of business services including professional services. In India, the IT industry forms the major share of foreign exchange earnings. This paper analyzes the performance of individual or standalone firms and business group affiliated firms in the IT industry and tries to give insight into what propels service exports in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on order of entry suggests that early entrants tend to have a higher market share and be market leaders across various types of goods and firms. The paper also suggests that these firms invest heavily in marketing strategies, like advertising, distribution and promotions to prevent the entry of other firms. This study aims to generalize the findings in the Indian context. On a cross-sectional data set of Indian companies in the manufacturing industry, the results show the early entrant advantage. Further, the study investigates the role of order of entry in the business performance of a company. The findings illustrate that the early entrants outperform the non-early entrants and are more aggressive in pursuing marketing and advertising strategies. The implications of the study and future research prospects are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking financial risks makes most people nervous. Certain types of people enjoy taking risks, while others prefer stability and are averse to any type of risk. Risk tolerance is an important component in investing, which means the degree of variability in investment returns that an investor is willing to withstand. Risk appetite is the risk taking capacity of investors, which signifies how much risk an investor can afford to take and how much risk he can stand to take. Besides, to identify the risk tolerance level is a very complex and difficult task because an individual's risk taking capacity is a multidimensional issue, so it is very hard to measure it. In simple words, every individual varies in his readiness to take risk. But for giving proper and accurate financial advice, it is necessary to identify the risk tolerance levels of that person appropriately. Nowadays, investment administrators and managers, financial consultants and researchers are taking improved interest in identifying the risk tolerance of investors because it is indispensable to achieve the most propitious investment portfolio and it can be attained by exploring the level of risk tolerance. In view of this, it is imperative to investigate the risk tolerance attitude of women investors to understand their investment behavior. The present study aims to identify the risk taking ability of women investors in response to the investment dimensions considered by them while making investment decisions. A random sample of 400 women investors were selected from Haryana, India. To analyze the data, Chi-Square test was applied to investigate the association between risk tolerance level and investment dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher Education Institutions (HEI) in India have a goal of doubling employability. The current literature on enhancement of employability does not explore how institutional employability avenues can be prioritized for differing HEI contexts. A Higher Education (HE) prism for graduate employability is modeled for management institutions offering the two-year full-time MBA program or equivalent. This model rests on the assessment frameworks used by accreditation agencies in Indian HE. In this exploratory study, 91 elements, chosen from these frameworks for employability potential, were rated by experienced stakeholders consisting of faculty, placement staff and leadership staff from different management institutions in South India. Stakeholders on an average rated almost all the elements to have good to great potential for employability. The ratings varied based on the location of institution, type of institution and the role of the stakeholder. This study is an initial validation of the HE prism for graduate employability. The prism is useful in prioritizing potential mechanisms for employability development which align with those used for improving learning outcomes. Stakeholders can then craft initiatives specific to their HEI context to enhance employability. An implementation gap can be identified through self-assessment and continuous improvement can be initiated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The volatile behavior of price of capital assets is always interesting for different stakeholders of capital markets. It is fluctuation in the price of the asset which is responsible for the capital gain or loss of the investor. What a sensible investor wants, is a model that will predict the rise and fall of price of securities up to a greater degree. A significant milestone in the journey of prediction of price of securities was Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) in 1964. After CAPM, there was a flood-like situation in the literature of asset pricing models. Fama and French (1993) proposed three-factor model, which is an extension of the conventional CAPM. The present study is an attempt to detect the presence of monotonic models in Indian capital market. The study deals with the period from April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2016. The study confirms that the two-factor model with value premium as extended variable is better than the prolonged CAPM and the superiority of Fama and French three-factor model in Indian stock market. The study also confirms the wellbeing of CAPM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an inextricable link between money market and foreign exchange (forex) market. The policy rates of India consist of the repo and reverse repo rates, in addition to the Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and bank rate. This study examines the changes (hike/reduction) in policy rates against the backdrop of the prevalent global and domestic scenarios. It also maps the changes in spot rates of Indian Rupee-US Dollar (INR-USD) and Indian Rupee-Euro (INR-EUR) and the forward premium/discount of 1-month USD for the time period January 2011 to September 2016. It elaborates the spread analysis for the repo rate and reverse repo rate on the one hand, and MSF rate and bank rate, on the other. The repo rate has a high degree of correlation with reverse repo rate and a moderately high degree of association with MSF rate. Bank rate and MSF rate have been closely aligned for some time now. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study is to check the socioeconomic factors influencing purchase decision making among health insurance policyholders in India. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire given to 170 customers. Data analysis was done through regression with the help of the 170 responses received. The study found that the dependent factor, i.e., health insurance institutional choice, and the independent factors, viz., age, gender, income, marital status, and cover HI, have a significant impact on the decision making process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an agro-based region like Odisha, when most of the development activities are focusing on maximizing the benefits to the rural stakeholders, the time has come to understand the underlying factors responsible for developing the framework of this process. There are various opinions related to making this development process visible. Amidst all these strategic dimensions, the most eligible factors, i.e., the productivity of resources and the space utilized for the said purpose, can be put on a measurement platform. The present study makes an attempt to understand the relationship between the use of land and productivity with regard to agro-developmental processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of a diverse and inclusive workforce in promoting an organization's economic and social wellbeing has been widely accepted in the extant literature. People with disabilities are an important form of diverse workforce and their employment contributes significantly to the corporate culture and success of an organization which may provide a necessary impetus for sustainable competitive advantage. This study was undertaken to examine the disability inclusion initiatives undertaken by nifty companies in India. By means of qualitative content analysis of the annual reports of nifty companies for three consecutive years i.e., 2011-2014, the disability inclusion initiatives undertaken within the organizations were examined. The findings revealed that several themes related to disability inclusion in Indian companies have emerged wherein the most disclosed theme was "Employment Inclusion of employees with disabilities". Other themes include "Training of Employees with Disability" and "Disability Inclusion and Corporate Social Responsibility". The findings suggest that some of the organizations engaged in disability initiatives through direct recruitment of people with disabilities and others dealt with it in the form of CSR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demand for knowledge-based products is changing the structure of global economy and the role of intellectual capital in business, especially human capital. Although a large number of studies have been done on intellectual capital, the literature on specific human capital disclosure and its relation to contextual variables is limited. Hence, the present study tries to fill the existing gap in research and contribute to the body of literature by investigating the impact of contextual variables (continent of origin and growth status of country) on the inclusion/disclosure of Human Resource Management (HRM) information (human capital) in annual reports of the foreign companies operating in India. Data collected from 202 companies identified on the basis of shareholding patterns (more than 50% foreign shareholding) and information availability (annual report and official website) is analyzed using the content analysis approach. The findings highlight that continent of origin has more impact on HRM information disclosure as compared to growth status of the country of origin. However, there are a number of unaccountable variables that may affect the research findings and need to be explored. Nonetheless, documenting the variations in HRM inclusion/disclosure of companies from different continents and countries of origin enables a greater understanding of the prevalent voluntary disclosure practices and importance given to HRM in corporate disclosures. Being the strategic key area, human resource skill, potential and abilities affect the way company performs and explicitly impact the content of annual report. Such an understanding holds the potential to guide researchers, HR professionals and policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research focuses on the persistent debate on pay discrimination between top-notch executives and general class of employees by examining whether high remuneration structures of executives of the firms are really justified. One of the most vigorous industries of the world, the automobile sector, is selected as the sample frame. The BSE-listed automobile companies operating in the Indian market are selected on the basis of their annual turnover. Financial parameter like Profit After Tax (PAT) and HR accounting parameter like Total Employee Remuneration (TER) have been considered for the parametric analysis with small sample size. Paired sample t-test is performed to check the equality of mean values of executive compensation as percentage of PAT and as percentage of TER. Equality is observed for a few automobile companies only. Finally, a composite analysis of the entire automobile sector of India is also done. The results of paired sample t-test establish that executives of Indian automobile sector earn their high remunerations due to their remarkable performance measured in terms of profit contribution to their respective organizations. Therefore, it is concluded that pay discrimination between executives and general employees does not really exist in automobile sector in India, and high remuneration of executives is attributed to their efficient management of company affairs. The outcome of this research is likely to help in mitigating the industrial and social disputes originating from the grievance of pay discrimination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]