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The Indian government made Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) mandatory in 2013 by amending the Companies Act, complicating research studies on the topic. This paper is a bibliometric analysis of recent trends in research on CSR in India. VOSViewer is employed to visualize networks such as keyword co-occurrences and author collaborations. With the help of BibExcel, other aspects of bibliometric analysis are carried out. Based on an analysis of 685 papers/retrieved articles from Scopus, the study finds that a company's financial performance has become central to CSR orientation in recent years. Co-occurring keywords suggest that sustainability issue is becoming important and that CSR fosters a positive brand image of companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to study whether adoption of sustainability policies by firms makes their stock market performance resilient to the downside risk during the crisis period. Design/methodology/approach: The paper empirically examines the relationship between environmental, social and governance (ESG) and stock market performance for Indian companies that have consistently been a part of Refinitiv Eikon ESG database. Further, the study examines whether there exist significant differences in stock market performance of high ESG and low ESG-compliant firms during crisis period. The sample was made up of 70 Indian firms studied over the period 2016–2019 defined as "normal period" as well as for the declared COVID-19 crisis period, i.e. January–March 2020, and full year 2020. The authors used multivariate panel data regression, robust least square multivariate regression, pooled OLS model and two-stage least square regression method. Findings: The study extends the existing literature by investigating the impact of ESG performance on market value of firms during the crisis period. Based on the stakeholder and "flight to safety" theory, the authors hypothesized that ESG would have significant positive effect on the stock market performance during crisis period; however, the results provide robust evidence that in a well-specified model capturing the effect of accounting-based measures of performance, Size, Growth, Risk and Dividend yield, ESG had no explanatory power over the stock market performance of ESG-compliant firms during crisis period. Furthermore, no significant difference in stock market performance indicators between high and low ESG-compliant firms was observed during the crisis period of 1Q2020 as well as for full year 2020. On contrary, the study finds dividend yield to be statistically significant in determining stock market performance of Indian firms during crisis period. The study extends the existing literature by coining the term, "ESG irrelevance" during crisis period. Research limitations/implications: The main limitation of this study is its limited sample size because there are very few Indian firms that have secured consistent ESG rating. The study focuses on consistently rated firms to avoid the impact of "greenwashing". Further, the study is focused on India, which limits the generalizability of our findings to other emerging countries. Originality/value: To the best of our knowledge, this is among the first few studies that examines sustainability and stock market performance of Indian firms during COVID-19-led crisis period. Our findings highlight no significant difference between stock market performance of high ESG firms and low ESG firms indicating that investors who wish to create wealth by investing in ESG-compliant stocks in India can do so without worrying about the companies' ESG rating scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Importance of the manufacturing sector in bringing about structural transformation in the economy is well appreciated in literature. In India, with more than 70% of manufacturing employment originating in the unorganised segment, it becomes imperative to explore the dynamics of employment and growth of firms in the unorganised manufacturing sector. Additionally, interest in the sector arises since it is one of the prime avenues of employment generation. In particular, this paper examines the economic viability of unorganised manufacturing firms and underemployment therein. Results on underemployment help us to conclude on the prospect of full-time employment opportunities in the sector, whereas an assessment of economic viability brings out the major obstacles to growth plaguing unorganised manufacturing firms. This article identifies the prime areas requiring policy intervention and emphasises the need of implementing existing policies on ground. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management & Innovation is the property of Wyzsza Szkola Biznesu-National Louis University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Recently the government has recognized and appreciated small and medium size hospitality enterprises (SMHEs) as a socio-economic tool for the development especially in terms of GDP, social upliftment and employment generation in the country. However, globalization has created both opportunities and threats for the local entrepreneurs. Many multi-level transformations were needed, so they will be able to adapt in the new technological era. Indeed, the COVID-19 is the most demoralizing one and still damaging the world and has also forced organizations to change business models. In most cases these transformations had several difficulties to be accepted by Indian SMHEs. The aim of this paper is to investigate and report the importance and usage of E-HRM in Indian small and medium hospitality enterprises and to identify the major barriers that are experienced by Indian SMEs in the hospitality industry in their efforts to adopt E-HRM practices in their businesses. Empirical data were collected through a structured questionnaire over 385 Indian small and medium hospitality enterprises. The findings suggested that e-HRM practices have a great impact on different firm's aspects especially on cost reduction and service quality improvement. Further results indicate the major obstacles for application of e-HRM practices in Indian SMHEs relating to ownership & size characteristics and extensive high cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach: This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings: The study demonstrates that craft-based microentrepreneurs in India pursue a hybrid form of marketing strategy, where the entrepreneur's creativity and inner visions take precedence over market needs. Furthermore, these microenterprises adopt informal marketing practices that are usually not seen in traditional firms. Originality/value: The briefing saves busy executives, strategists, and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entrepreneurship has been recognised as an important factor of development and has been playing a crucial role in capital creation and accelerating economic growth in India. Women entrepreneurs are also increasingly contributing towards the economic growth. By Women Entrepreneurs we mean, women who are engaged in an act of business and business creation that empowers women economically, builds financial stability as well as create a position for themselves in the society. Although incredible opportunities exist, few business challenges as inadequate funds, lack of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) knowledge etc. deter women entrepreneurs. This paper attempts to find the potential of ICT to support women entrepreneurs' in business ventures, and address certain problems peculiar to women, since ICT has helped expansion of many businesses and carry it to the international level too in quite a short span of time as compared to conventional business practices. This paper uses the qualitative research strategy and primary data collected from women entrepreneurs of northeast and eastern India. The result highlights, that there is limited use of ICT by these entrepreneurs in their business operation in such areas as purchasing system, website designing, internal communication etc. The present study may provide insight to existing and prospective entrepreneurs in considering use of ICT for business expansion and may help policy makers in getting relevant information to provide a sound support and information system to women. Conducive legal and institutional provisions will help future growth of women entrepreneurs and will also motivate more in creating new ventures with new hope in the future and a win-win situation for all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The primary purpose of this research paper is to evaluate e-learning among employees of Information Technology (IT) companies based in Hyderabad, India. Design/methodology/approach: A survey was undertaken among the employees from different IT companies based in Hyderabad, India, to gauge the perception towards e-learning. The participants were selected randomly. The evaluation is based on a few factors: convenience, usefulness, course content, quality, effectiveness and benefits for employees and organizations. The responses were recorded online through a structured questionnaire. In total, 237 responses have been collected for this present study, of which 227 questionnaires were used for analysis. Findings: The surveyed employees perceived that e-learning helped them enhance their workplace competency in a flexible but effective manner. The e-learning also empowered the learners and ultimately contributed to the enhancement of organizational performance in some ways. Research limitations/implications: Limitation of the study – by examining the pris study was confined to employees working with IT companies based in Hyderabad City, India. The data is collected online, and there may be some insufficient responses. Implications of the study – the study results show a deep insight into the critical aspects of e-learning as a tool for employee training for the benefit of employees and organizational development. The surveyed respondents from the IT sector at Hyderabad perceived that keys to successful e-learning programs should give due consideration towards availability of internet bandwidth, making the course more interactive, providing more choices to the learners and user-friendly and personalized learning experience. The study also shows that the e-learning programs primarily benefit the employees as well as the organization in a manner, namely, improved productivity, helping to achieve business objectives of the firm, growth and advancement to the employees and enhancing the job-related knowledge. The study also discovered that e-learning improves employees' opportunities for professional growth and advancement inside and outside the organization by assisting them in learning new skills and enhancing job-related information. Practical implications: The internet penetration in recent years, as well as post-Covid-19, has given rise to online learning in the education and corporate sectors. The emergence of online or e-learning has been gaining ground in the corporate world by replacing the existing face-to-face or physical training model because of the cost factor and flexible learning to the learners. E-learning improves the learner's ability to adapt to the company's constantly changing business environment, which in turn helps the company increase departmental productivity and, ultimately, achieve its overall business goals. Social implications: The e-learning also empowered the learners and ultimately contributed to the enhancement of organizational performance in some ways. The e-learning also empowers the learner to perform better at his workplace and at the same time moving on the social ladder as the learning makes him/her confident at the job market. Originality/value: This study provides a valuable understanding of employee perceptions on the adoption and effectiveness of e-learning, which ultimately improves the benefits of the training and development department in realizing and enhancing the quality in corporate companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper aims to propose a new hybrid multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) framework with spherical fuzzy numbers (SFNs). We extend two recently developed algorithms such as level-based weight assessment (LBWA) and MULTIMOOSRAL in spherical fuzzy (SF) domain. We present a case study on six MSME units belonging to engineering cluster for examining their leanness. MSMEs form the backbone of the socioeconomic growth and therefore garner attention of the policy makers. Lean manufacturing (LM) has been a key enabler for the last three decades which help the organizations to achieve business growth. We consider the criteria like leadership, supplier focus, customer focus, process management, waste, culture, human resource focus, technology use and communication, and awareness to compare leanness of the MSMEs using expert opinions. We find that committed leadership, waste reduction, and customer value are given more weightage by the experts for achieving leanness in SMEs. Furthermore, the results show that medium and small units with focused product line score high in terms of leanness. We validate the results obtained by our proposed method by comparing with the same derived by using another widely used approach such as Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). We carry out sensitivity analysis for examining the stability in the solution with the changes in the given condition such as variations in the criteria weights. Our results using SF-LBWA-MULTIMOOSRAL show reasonable accuracy and stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For much of the twentieth century the predominant belief was that informal entrepreneurship would disappear with higher rates of economic growth. However, the informal sector has persisted in most countries and has grown in some, which calls for a re-evaluation of the existing notions of informal entrepreneurship. An important strand of literature in the form of structuralist and neo-liberal theory provides an alternative explanation. We use the coagglomeration framework to understand the relevance of these theories in the case of India. Using firm-level data, we use the Coagglomeration index to calculate the tendency of formal and informal firms to locate in the same region. We also calculate three types of linkages between formal and informal sectors: buyer-supplier, labor and technology. Further, we use panel data to estimate the relative importance of these linkages in explaining coagglomeration between formal and informal manufacturing firms. We find that coagglomeration in India is driven by buyer-supplier linkage. We then use count data models to determine the effect of coagglomeration and agglomeration measures on new firm birth in the formal and informal sector. We find that coagglomeration positively affects new firm birth in the formal sector but not in the informal sector. The evidence provided in the paper supports the structuralist theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexibilities are involved in the process of decision-making. They offer much freedom of choice in terms of the selection of suitable actors who interact with the dynamic environment of the organization. This paper presents a systematic and holistic approach to ranking key actors responsible for the business excellence of an organization. The study highlights the area where the actors of the organization should focus on achieving desired business excellence. It portrays the outcome in the form that top management is the most influential actor since it is responsible for the formulation of the vision/mission of the organization along with the setting of plant quality targets, cost-saving targets, manpower planning, and policy formulation for energy-saving. Top management is followed by cross-function teams (CFTs) and the government of India (GOI) in terms of interaction with the various processes. The novelty of this case study is that it utilizes qualitative and interpretive tools for the analysis, which does not require much statistical knowledge to produce outcomes, and the results are easy to understand. The reported results are in consensus with the results reported by various studies that are conducted using quantitative tools like Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), total interpretive structural modelling (TISM), etc. that require statistical excellence for the calculation, interpretation, and dissemination of results to the general public and shopfloor employees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transparency and disclosure (T&D) of information trigger the interest of all stakeholders, including investors in a company. Cognizance of the company's financial health before investing is very necessary. Disclosure of information in the firm's financial reports reflects the firm's financial performance. A firm's financial health protects investors' and other stakeholders' interests and the firm's long-term sustainability. Owing to the importance of T&D and a firm's financial health, this paper investigates the impact of T&D on the financial distress (FD) of non-financial firms (NFFs) listed in India. This study examines both linear and nonlinear connectivity of T&D and financial distress (FD). Their association is also investigated in a competitive scenario (under the moderating effect of competition). The panel data analysis is incorporated into the study having 78 NFFs as cross-sectional units with a timeframe from 2016 to 2020. Altman Z-score measures a firm's FD (higher Z-score means low FD). BOS (Berger, Ofek and Swary) and AC (Almeida and Campello) scores are taken to consider investors' perspectives of the firm's FD. The T&D and Lerner indexes are used to assess the level of T&D and competition. The findings reveal that a higher T&D level decreases a firm's financial stability or increases a firm's FD. In nonlinear association, it is found that T&D has an inverted U-curved connection with financial stability or U-curved association with FD. It indicates that initially, higher T&D reduces FD, and after a threshold, it increases FD. However, under competition, T&D is not found to be significantly impactful for FD. The study is novel as no previous study has focused on such association under competition and taking investors' perspective of a firm's FD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Agricultural supply chains witness several challenges, which result in increased cost of operations, high wastages, and low efficiency. In the case of vegetable supply chains (VSCs), the intensity of challenges is very high due to perishability. Literature suggests various operations research tools for supply chain management of perishables, but there is a paucity of research highlighting the real models adopted by real players in the market while making revenue. This paper investigates and presents how a startup can innovate its business model to meet the VSC issues by adopting a single case study methodology. Design: The phenomenon was studied by convergent interviewing with the company's key personnel and gathering information from the company's key documents followed by content analysis. Findings: The study shows real practices adopted by a startup to cater to the challenges of VSCs in India by incorporating various tools of productivity enhancement and waste reduction. It highlights the adoption of a traceability system, production planning mechanism, reduced food miles, and green initiatives contributing to an innovative business model. The study maps the business model of the startup with the business model concept provided by Lindgardt and colleagues [2009] and states two more dimensions, i.e. "Client relationship management" and "Sustainability activities" to expand the mentioned configuration. Originality: The study is the first of its kind to highlight the Business Model Innovation of a startup to address the VSC challenges in the Indian context. Practical contribution: The study has important managerial implications useful for finding our new value propositions in a VSC firm by shortening and effectively integrating the supply chain while minimizing information asymmetry to achieve economies and sustainability. Theoretical contribution: This study has strengthened the methodological advances in the study of business models based upon earlier validated configurations. It contributes to the extant research by adding two more elements "Client relationship management" and "Sustainability activities" in a business model configuration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to examine whether perceived innovativeness moderates the relationship between working capital management (WCM) and firm value. The study uses a sample of 200 listed Indian firms for 2015–2019. The firms are classified into innovative and non-innovative categories using the OECD and the EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard 2018. Using OLS and GMM-DPD estimations, the study finds in accordance with the prior literature that a sample of firms exhibits a positive relationship between WCM efficiency and firm value. The original contribution of the paper is finding that low R&D and high R&D firms are treated differently when investors factor WCM into prices. The firms belonging to industries that are perceived to be innovative are not penalised in terms of valuation even if they follow inefficient WCM. However, firms that belong to industry sectors that are perceived to be non-innovative experience a drop in their valuation if their WCM is inefficient. The authors argue that this difference is due to the halo effect of innovative firms. The results imply that the halo effect obscures the true valuation. Hence, investors should learn to avoid valuing innovative firms' WCM based merely on their classification into an innovative industry sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoters play a very important role in the performance of companies. In India, the average holding of promoters is very large at around 54%. These promoters are either government or private individuals and business houses. India started the privatization process in a big way in the early 1990s and also started disinvesting stakes in major public sector companies, while retaining a minimum of 51% stake in a majority of companies, in effect keeping the control. The paper with an objective to study whether there exists a significant difference in the performance of government promoted firms and private firms and found a significant difference in the performance between them using both independent sample t-test and pooled panel data regression. The paper is based on the data of public listed companies in India over a period of 11 years (2008-2019). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper evaluates the effect of Working Capital Management (WCM) on firm profitability of selected textile companies in India. The study is based on secondary data collected by CMIE from the companies’ annual reports for the years 2011-2020. Regression analysis is used on a panel sample of 98 companies from India’s Bombay Stock Exchange. Various financial ratios related to Working Capital (WC) and profitability and panel data techniques like Fixed Effect Model, Random Effect Model and Hausman test, etc. are also used. The results showed that WCM has a significant impact on a firm’s profitability in the textile sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Araucaria is the property of Araucaria-Revista Iberoamericana de Filosofia, Politica y Humanidades and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of International Research Journal of Business Studies is the property of Prasetiya Mulya Publishing, Universitas Prasetiya Mulya and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The linear economy model is being transformed into a circular model to positively impact the environment, society, business, and sustainable development goals. However, emerging economies such as India face many significant roadblocks adapting to a circular model. Therefore, this study attempts first to assess and visualize the roadblocks in circular economy adoption in Indian micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) and then identify and evaluate the solutions to overcome these roadblocks. This paper explores 31 critical roadblocks and proposes 14 solutions in the pathway of circular economy through extant literature and expert inputs. Graph theory matrix approach (GTMA) is applied to calculate the comprehensive circular economy roadblock index. This value signifies the intensity of roadblocks taken altogether in an industry under consideration. Furthermore, fuzzy stepwise weight assessment ratio analysis (fuzzy‐SWARA) is used to compute the weights of individual roadblocks. After that, fuzzy‐weighted aggregated sum product assessment (fuzzy‐WASPAS) is used to rank the identified solutions and efficiently implement a circular economy. Finally, the research presents sensitivity analysis and the theoretical and managerial implications of the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Techno-marketing is a unique combination of technology + Marketing. Techno-marketing is a new disruptive way of marketing which is going to change the future of traditional marketing by using technology. It is the effective way to promote a company's products and services. By this, companies can attract their customers and easily interact with them. Technology is the backbone of all the market strategies around the globe. It provides a short time solution to solve complex marketing problems in today's competitive environment. In this paper, we have focused on Techno-marketing techniques such as Technology Marketing Mix (TM mix), Web 2.0, Cloud computing, Mobile computing and Electronic commerce which are commonly used by many companies in India for their promotional activities in the Indian market. As per the findings of the study, out of all Techno-marketing tools, Web 2.0, Mobile computing and Electronic commerce are the most commonly used by pharmaceutical companies. These technologies are fast catching up and have the potential to increase the sales of top global companies in future. It is also recommended that a company should promote its products using Techno-marketing Tools such as Web 2.0, Mobile computing and e-commerce which can be positively effective in Indian market. The study is based on a sample size of 103 retailers representing 8 top global companies in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper studies the structure and semantics of English-language accounting terminology through a close examination of The Company Act, the official legal document regulating the establishment and operation of India's commercial companies. The study aims to explore specific terminology occurring in accounting and audit books in the economic discourse, as well as to identify and analyse culture-marked terminology in the chosen field of study. Study results were used to compile a glossary of commonly used accounting terms constituting a part of a unified terminological system. The author has systemised the main notional classes of accounting terminology thus demonstrating its structural nature in English economic discourse, the semantic organisation and conceptual framework of the field-specific terminology system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oil sector, one of the eight essential industries in India, makes a significant contribution towards developing the economy. Due to changes brought by the liberalization of economy, a number of oil companies in India which had grown exponentially over the years in a virtually non-competitive environment started facing increasingly severe competition. Therefore, a paradigm changes in Indian oil sector also become inevitable to meet the new challenges. The companies operating in this sector forced to reorient their strategies for managing their working capital (WC). Some of them have been able to adopt themselves to the new situation while other could not so reorient. In this backdrop, the present paper attempts to analyse the efficiency of managing WC of Maharatna oil companies during the period 2006-07 to 2020-21. The efficiency of Working Capital Management (WCM) of the companies under study has been analysed using Bhattacharya Model (1995). While tackling the issue relevant statistical tools and techniques have been applied at appropriate places. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper attempts to study the determinants of choice between debt and equity for companies in India for a five-year period from 2015 to 2020 over a balanced panel dataset of firms listed on NSE-CNX 100. The study looks at the impact of explanatory variables such as, size, tangibility, age, liquidity, growth, profitability, volatility, debt serving capacity, and non-debt tax shield on Indian companies' long, short, and total debt ratios. Panel regression fixed effects model has been employed, and tangibility, size, age, liquidity, profitability and financial distress are found to be significant factors affecting capital structure ratio, whereas growth, non-debt tax shield and debt serving capacity did not show any significant effect on the debt ratio. For selected companies in India, the study's empirical findings support the pecking order theory rather than trade-off theory claims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The attempt of this paper is to find an empirical relationship between Foreign Direct Investment and New Firms (Paid up Capital) and Gross Capital Formation (proxy for business growth) and Credit to Commercial Sector and Gross Capital Formation using the test of stationarity (ADF, PP, and KPSS methods), Johansen Cointegration and Granger's Causality. The results show that FDI crowds out creation of new firms and capital formation and it is the Credit flow to the commer-cial sector that causes Gross Capital Formation at current price. It shows domestic flow of credit is more influential in capital formation rather than foreign capital inflow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essential characteristic of firm size distribution patterns in developing countries including India, is a bimodal distribution with a "missing middle", which is widely accepted in development economics. We analyse data from the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI), National Sample Survey (NSS) and Economic Census to assess the firm size structure of the whole non-farm sector. The contribution of the paper is that for the first time a comprehensive database is constructed to enable analysis of the size structure of India's non-farm enterprises. The second contribution is that we find a deep distortion in India, with even a "small"-scale sector being very small, relatively. We examine briefly the policy-related causes that make India an outlier even among Asian economies in respect of size structure of enterprises. Finally, we argue that the historically policy-induced informality of enterprises is being entrenched by the current hiatus in state policy in even recognising the true nature of the problem of micro, small & medium enterprises (MSMEs), which holds back both their growth and employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial distress refers to the inability of firms to fulfill their debt obligations. This paper studies the impact of certain corporate governance measures or board characteristics on the probability of financial distress in various corporate sectors (manufacturing and non-manufacturing) in India. The higher the institutional ownership, the lower is the financial distress for the majority of the sectors, except telecom where firms having higher institutional ownership are found to be more financially distressed. Higher managerial ownership leads to less financial distress in the consumer and transport equipment sector. Measures like board size, number of board meetings, and commissioner's proportion are found to have a different impact on the probability of financial distress in diverse sectors. It has been observed that they have a positive influence on some sectors and a negative influence on others. So overall, a sectoral difference was observed in the impact of various board characteristics on the financial distress of firms in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of general financial literacy, specific financial literacy and overall financial literacy among the Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) entrepreneurs. The data has been collected from 309 respondents from three districts in the Punjab state of India. Using ordered logit model, the results depict that the age of the entrepreneur has positive and significant effect on different types of financial literacy for the MSEs in Punjab. The findings also show that the micro and small-service enterprises have significantly higher level of financial literacy than its other manufacturing counterparts. The study also found that entrepreneurs with higher level of education have significantly higher level of all types of financial literacy. The most influencing determinant that affects the financial literacy of the entrepreneurs is found to be the level of gross profit ratio of the enterprise. Higher the gross profit ratio of the firm, significantly higher will be the level of all three types of financial literacy of the entrepreneurs. For policy perspectives, the present study recommends that firms should keep some portion of their profits to educate their employees that enhance the financial literacy. Government should help the MSEs to educate the firms to improve their level of financial literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of digitalization in every sector of economy is increasing day by day. In today's world, the increasing role of digital banking cannot be ignored. Digital Banking helps to cope up with the company's strategy and plans. Digitalization in payment of commerce and trade has gained a lot in the present scenario and at the time of global pandemic era. Paper aims to discuss and analyse the increasing role of digital banking, and to increase the use of cashless transactions and to have smooth functioning in trade and commerce. The source of data collection is both i.e., primary as well as secondary. The data is collected from 300 respondents. The investigation was done to examine the similarities and differences of plans and policies, role of digital banking in every sector, and how they cope up with others using of digital banking. The finding of the study is that, the role has become important with digital payment, standards, position in the arrangement of policies to determine available options by digitalization in payment. Through the study, the capacity and competency of employees are acknowledged to be faced by industries and companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing literature shows that monitoring the effect of concentrated ownership has a positive impact on firm value. However, the economic channel of such a positive impact has not been examined. This study offers a possible economic channel and tests it empirically using a panel of Indian firms. The hypothesis of the paper is that concentrated ownership increases the competitiveness of the firms, through efficient monitoring of their activities, in their product markets, thus increasing the growth rate of firms. The results show that both institutional and promoter ownership have a positive impact on firm competitiveness. However, foreign concentration has an insignificant impact. Moreover, for business group-affiliated firms, only institutional concentration has a positive impact. The results remain robust for different specifications and endogeneity issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Venture capital funding is the prime source of finance for high potential startup firms. The e-commerce marketplace is one such entity, which is highly dependent on venture capital funding to fulfill the requirement of capital. Corporate venture capital has long been seen as the strongest kind of finance, but it is also the least likely to be available to entrepreneurs. Each of these funding approaches is likely to foster a distinct company culture, which might have an influence on the e-commerce venture's long-term success. The paper tries to understand the factors influencing venture capitalists to invest in these types of firms and analyses how firms are consolidating their positions in the market to increase their valuation to obtain more funding from venture capitals. The methodology used is the case study of four top online marketplaces in the Indian e-commerce market, namely Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, and Paytm Mall. The study is analytical and data are collected from secondary sources from the year 2014-2019 for the purpose. The study found that Angel investors and equity finance are two of the most important sources of startup funding. The study contributes two points. First, the identification of factors that influence the valuation of the firm. Second, how these factors motivate a venture capitalist to fund particular e-commerce platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides large scale evidence on the determinants of international competitiveness of Indian manufacturing firms, focusing in particular on the role of technology, costs and imported intermediate inputs. Our evidence suggests that innovation, in particular R&D investment, is positively related to both firms' probability to export and firms' export volumes. We also find that imported intermediate inputs, incorporating foreign technology is strongly associated with expanding export activities of firms. Finally, and in contrast to much of previous evidence on developed economies, we find that higher productivity or lower unit labour costs are not systematically associated with the probability to enter export markets, but they are positively related to higher export volumes. Overall our results point to the existence of a pattern of involvement in international trade for firms in developing countries that is not relying as a main driver on cost competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationship between external financing constraints and the intensive margin of exports for manufacturing firms in India. We use a sample of nearly 3200 firms over the period: 2000–2015 and construct a multivariate index proposed by Musso and Schiavo (J Evol Econ 18(2):135–149, 2008) to estimate the degree of external financing constraints. We find that an increase in the degree of external financing constraints faced is associated with lower firm-level exports and this result holds even after accounting for endogeneity issues. We next examine whether business group-affiliated firms are less dependent on external finance to support their overseas sales. We find that financing constraints are a significant binding factor even for firms with access to internal capital markets. Moreover, we find that firm size matters, as a decline in the financial health of small- and medium-sized firms is associated with a significantly larger decline in their export levels. Finally, we find some evidence of industry-level heterogeneity, as financing constraints lead to a more pronounced decline in the exports of firms in industries with greater dependence on external finance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the challenges faced by the present day's volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment, high level of flexibility is required for the organizations to sustain and stay competitive. Given the dynamic nature of the pharmaceutical industry in India, the need to be flexible is more pronounced. The Indian pharma sector has witnessed tremendous change in the last several years and hence, it is imperative to explore as to how these firms are addressing the critical issue of flexibility and its consequent linkage with their competitiveness by undertaking a qualitative study to structurally model their inter-relationship. In this paper, a detailed conceptual review of flexibility and competitiveness is presented, after which Total Interpretive Structural Modeling (TISM)—a qualitative method is used for the analysis. TISM is an improvised form of Warfield's structural modeling tool which is used to develop a model using different types of enterprise flexibility and competitiveness for better understanding of the relationship between these factors. The findings of this study will highlight the possible implications for practitioners and researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the volatility by applying beta and GARCH and volatility spillover by employing Dynamic Conditional correlation. All the NBFCs had a beta greater than one, indicating that the asset class is more volatile and riskier than the benchmark. The GARCH analysis also indicated the presence of short-term volatility and which is able to capture all the information available to traders and investors. The persistence of the long-term volatility parameter indicated the riskiness of the security. DCC- GARCH examined the spillover effect of one NBFC over the other. As both the parameters were insignificant, it suggested that volatility in one security may not be the cause of another security. Moreover, the volatilities were found to be decaying in nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How private firms can overcome their unique governance challenges remains an important but understudied topic. Using novel data on more than 28,000 private firms in India from 1988 to 2017, we examine whether private firms can improve their survival prospects by having board interlocks with public firms and, specifically, interlocks whereby a public firm director subsequently joins the private firm's board. In our data, we found a U-shaped relationship between the number of incoming board interlocks and the probability of private firm exit. We also found that board interlocks formed by public firm directors of public firms audited by Big Four companies improve private firms' survival more than other interlocks, consistent with the notion that such interlocks improve monitoring at private firms. Overall, our study points toward the importance of considering the role of incoming board interlocks when explaining private firm survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reservation of goods to be produced in the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) sector, in the early years after India's independence, addressed the dual needs of development of the industrial sector and production of goods. However, these industrial policies created an incentive for firms to remain small so that they can continue to avail of the benefits provided by the Government. On the positive side, the MSMEs typically employ more labor intensive production processes and consequently contribute significantly to the provision of employment opportunities, generation of income, and poverty reduction. But, on the negative side, the policies have also partly facilitated the creation of a divide in terms of productivity between the MSMEs and large sized firms. In particular the policy raises important questions for a firm auctioning supply contracts among suppliers with a significant cost differential. In this paper we propose an idea to allocate supply contracts wherein a manufacturing firm partitions the stochastic demand into mutually exclusive portions and awards each portion to a different supplier. We characterize such an optimal procurement mechanism when there are two types of suppliers and an arbitrary number of demand portions. We show that the optimal procurement may require the manufacturer to intentionally withhold some demand portion, and this arises when one type of supplier is considerably inefficient in serving a demand portion. We extend our analysis to the cases with multiple types with two suppliers and two types with multiple suppliers. The optimal partition is composed of at most six contiguous demand portions, and it may include a detrimental demand portion that only generates a negative expected payoff to both supplier types. Our demand partitioning mechanism leads to a strictly higher manufacturer's expected payoff than the conventional winner‐take‐all case unless one supplier type completely dominates the other. We present numerical experiments that indicate when such a mechanism holds the greatest advantage for the buyer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of the article was to examine the level of debt value in companies pursuing international expansion in food sector in India, against the background of macroeconomic indicators. Design/methodology/approach: The following methods were used in the article:1. Calculation of statistical descriptive values for debt level, revenue and total assets, 2. A parametric Student's t-test to test for differences in the capital structures of the companies studied, 3. The Pearson coefficient for determining the relationship between capital structure and the ratio of revenue generated from international sales to total sales revenue. Sixty-five companies from the food sector in India participated in the study. The study covered the period 2014 - 2021. Findings: The results of the used study indicate that there is a steady decline in the level of corporate debt and an increase in revenues. This is associated with an increasingly better financial situation of the companies - an increase in revenue levels and an increase in foreign direct investment (increasing macro environment indicators). The results presented confirm previous findings in the literature. Originality/value: In the article, the obtained results allowed capturing the unique relationship between debt structure and internationalisation of enterprises in the food sector. An additional value is the presentation of the relationship between the formation of macroeconomic factors and the internationalisation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigates public sector enterprises' corporate social responsibility expenditure (spent & unspent), firm age and debt financing using signalling theory. The study employed feasible generalized least square (FGLS) and linear regression with panel-correlated standard errors (PCSE) to analyze data from 107 public sector firms with 1060 firm-year observations from 2011 to 2020. The first findings show that corporate social responsibility expenditure (spent) causes access to debt financing. The second findings show firm age causes access to debt financing (natural logarithm of total debt and total leverage ratio). The third findings show that unspent corporate social responsibility expenditure causes negative access to debt finance. The stakeholder frown on firms that do not utilize their allotted corporate social responsibility funds for the year. Lastly, firm age and not unspent corporate social responsibility expenditure positively moderate the association between corporate social responsibility expenditure and debt financing. The study is limited to firms that are central public sector undertakings and have a majority stake by the central government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Business enterprises consume the resources of the society for manufacturing of goods and services. Now in the process of creation of business utilities like form utility, time utility, ownership utility, etc., both the ecosystem and the society get severely affected due to Green House Gases (GHG) emission and other hazardous activities, thereby creating a social obligation on the corporate houses to take care of the society and uphold the tenet of 'People', 'Planet' and 'Profit'. In view of the growing importance and mandatory requirements under Companies Act, 2013, for the companies to undertake Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) subject to certain requirements, it is of paramount research interest to reconnoiter the social and financial dimensions of select companies of eight core sectors of Indian economy, i.e., Coal, Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Refinery Products, Fertilizers, Steel, Cement and Electricity. The basis for undertaking a study of the above-mentioned core sectors are that most of the core sector-based companies by nature of their activities emit GHG, utilize non-renewable resources, constitute 40.27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), contribute substantially to the Gross Domestic Product of India, etc. The social and relationship capital will be studied for both public and private sector companies and correlation analysis among CSR expenditure and Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) and CSR and Profits After Tax (PAT) will be done to understand the relationship between CSR activities and the mentioned financial variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

M&A performance is a multifaceted, compound construct with no overarching factor that captures all different dimensions. This paper examines the concept of acquisition performance and proposes a model that links firm-level factors and transaction parameters with firms' short-term and long-term performance, extending to financial-, market- and innovation measures. Building on past empirical studies on the influence of various factors on M&A performance, a multi-dimensional structural equation model has been developed and it has been tested with a dataset on acquisitions in the Indian technology sector over a period of ten years. The results suggest that: (a) smaller acquirers with higher book value and leveraged firms demonstrate better long-term performance; (b) contrary to established understanding, short-term market returns are not influenced by deal parameters; (c) majority stake purchases show relatively lesser gains—suggesting the possible presence of post-acquisition integration issues and, (d) acquirers with high intangible assets continue to do well on innovation performance post-acquisition. By indicating situations and conditions under which an acquisition would potentially lead to a performance gain for the acquirer, these results provide significant insight to practitioners pursuing M&As for growth opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distressed companies create panic among the investors, and the overall effect comes on the economy and leads to a degraded image and value of the companies. Transparency and disclosure involve disclosing the operational as well as the financial performance and corporate governance practices employed by the firms. A corporation or person is said to be in a financial distress (FD) if they are unable to keep their pledge to make payments on time. The current study seeks to shed light on the effects of Financial Distress (FD) and Transparency and Disclosure (T&D) on the value of non-financial firms operating in India. The study makes use of panel data analysis (PDA). The authors of the study used secondary data of non-financial companies included in the S&P BSE 100 index for five fiscal years, from 2015–2016 to 2019–2020. Altman Zscore for FD measure and Tobin's Q, MCAP, and MTB for the firm's valuation is considered. Our study established that Financial Distress (FD) negatively impacts a firm's valuation because a positive association between Zscore (financial soundness) and a firm's value is found. However, Transparency and Disclosure (T&D) have no significant impact on the firm's valuation. We also find evidence that financial distress significantly impacts the value of firms under the influence of T&D. With the help of information about financial distress provided in our study, companies can analyze and take required steps to minimize the probability of being in a state of insolvency or being bankrupt. Investors can also gain knowledge of the business factors and their effect on a company's valuation so that they can cautiously choose and include healthy companies in their targeted list of companies to invest in. No such study has been conducted till now in any of the developing countries that include finding the impact that (FD) as well as (T&D) have on the value of the firms in the non-financial sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to examine the objectivity of accounting professionals based in India. Design/methodology/approach: To examine the objectivity of accountants based in India, this study performs an experiment using a well-established instrument from prior literature. The authors asked accounting professionals based in India to act as either the seller or buyer in a hypothetical acquisition scenario. Participants were asked to evaluate the obsolescence of an apparel company's inventory, assessing both the probability of inventory obsolescence and the likelihood they would propose an inventory write-down. Findings: The results indicate external auditors and tax professionals were able to remain objective, reflected in the consistency of their assessments across the buyer and seller conditions. Internal auditors were less objective, evaluating inventory obsolescence as more likely when their client was considering buying a subsidiary than when their client was considering selling a subsidiary. Internal auditors were also more likely to recommend an inventory write-down adjustment when hired by the buyer than when hired by the seller. Originality/value: This study informs regulators and accounting professionals. Offshoring has "prompt(ed) questions regarding the factors that affect the quality of work in India" (Dickey et al., 2022, p. 680). While the authors do not prescribe specific actions, this study provides evidence on the decision-making process of accounting professionals based in India that regulators might use to craft policy. Furthermore, this study responds to calls for additional evidence on the decision-making process of accounting professionals based in India (Spilker et al., 2016; Mohapatra et al., 2015), and for evidence on the objectivity of internal auditors (Burt and Libby, 2021; Stewart and Subramaniam, 2010). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses a qualitative approach to address limitations and blockages to current plastics reduction via semi-structured interviews with zero waste business practitioners in India. Although they are nascent, India is home to a budding zero waste community that is grappling with how to reduce plastics—via trial and error—and these stakeholders hold insights from lived experience on how plastic reduction can actualize in the Indian subcontinent. This research involved interviewing zero waste businesses and consultants and makers of plastic alternatives in India to understand their experiences with plastic reduction strategies. The key stakeholder interviews reveal key insights for moving forward with plastic reduction initiatives, including challenges faced at government, business, and social levels; considerations regarding plastic waste generation; motivations for starting zero waste businesses and organizations; how it will be possible to operationalize plastic bans in India; appropriate actions for plastic waste reduction; elements that would help India shift into a more circular, regenerative economy; and locally appropriate alternatives to plastics. The discussion further delves into caveats with various alternatives to plastic materials, economic considerations, and characteristics of the zero waste network, and provides next steps for action at the government, business, and civil levels for reducing plastic waste generation in India and minimizing plastic pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to examine how transformational leadership impacts learning flows that are critical for enhancing the learning capabilities of organizations. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from 502 employees of business organizations located in India. A cross-sectional design was adopted, and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used for data analysis. Findings: Transformational leadership behavior positively influences feed-forward learning flows in organizations and strengthens their learning stock. Learning stock held by the individuals emerged as a predictor of feed-forward learning flows in organizations and a partial mediator of the relationship between transformational leadership and feed-forward learning flows. The study's findings suggest transformational leadership encourages feed-forward learning flows through the development of individual learning stock. Originality/value: This study empirically supports the theoretical claim of transformational leadership behaviors as an important antecedent to fostering organizational learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses whether a credit ecosystem that enhances the recovery rate of default debt by providing a time-bound method to address insolvency impacts collateralized borrowing. To explore this, we utilize the adoption of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Act 2016 as a quasi-natural experiment in India. Using a propensity score-matched difference-in-differences approach, our findings demonstrate an increase in secured debt for financially-distressed firms more than non-distressed firms in the post-regulation period. In addition, we show that smaller and less profitable distressed firms experience the most aggressive response to secured debt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines how the Indian CSR law has been implemented and enforced by companies and industries situated in the Malwa region of Punjab state in India. Malwa region, one of the most industrialized clusters of the state, is also simultaneously one of its most polluted areas. Given the severe health effects that these polluting industries cause, implementing the law on CSR in its true spirit is of grave importance. This study uses in-depth interviews of the intended project beneficiaries to determine the state of implementation of the Indian CSR regulatory framework for the selected geographical region. Using the above methodology, this article suggests that businesses should strive at mitigation of the risks of their production and manufacturing activities to the community and the environment. Rather, CSR is viewed by companies as donating part of the companies' profits to CSR activities, and undertaking social-welfare activities to meet statutory obligations. Hence, this article further determines that there is a need to implement the CSR law in its true spirit by developing an understanding among the companies on the concept and importance of CSR, which goes beyond profit donations. This article concludes with several policy recommendations that can be utilized by the government to strengthen the state of implementation of the law in not only the Malwa region, but also the entire country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unorganised manufacturing sector has been facing numerous challenges in spite of its capacity to generate employment. This study analyses the enterprises in the unorganised manufacturing sector in India most likely to face challenges based on different characteristics. The data for the study is extracted from the 73rd Round of National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) for the period 2015–2016. The aim is to identify the characteristics of unorganised manufacturing enterprises more likely to encounter problems. Logistic regression techniques have been employed for this purpose. The results show that the larger enterprises, the establishments, are more likely to face problems than the small own-account units. With odds ratios greater than one, rural sector enterprises, registered enterprises, male-owned enterprises, contracting enterprises, enterprises with accounts maintained and enterprises with government assistance have higher risks of problems. Registration status does not reduce the chances of such enterprises encountering problems. Older enterprises are less likely to face problems. Suitable policy measures designed for enterprises with specific characteristics are needed to address the problems of the unorganised manufacturing sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]