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Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the meaning of TQM implementation in India and its impact on the Indian organizations'' overall performance. This study also aims to prescribe a TQM model for Indian organizations in order to maximize the impact of TQM with predefined concentrated efforts. Design/methodology/approach - A detailed questionnaire, based on current practices and unexplored areas identified by a literature survey, was designed and administered. The questionnaire consists of 11 "Contributing Variables" and nine "Contribution Variables". The scores for these 20 variables were obtained from different organizations and put to factor analysis. Findings - The result of factor analysis shows the existence of clusters of large correlation coefficients between subsets of these variables. This suggests that these variables could be measuring aspects of the same underlying dimensions. These underlying dimensions, or extracted factors, are four in number and are related to, respectively, efficiency, customer, people, and teambuilding. This shows that all the 20 TQM variables in India can be summarized into these four dimensions, which are taken as the four pillars of the suggested TQM model for Indian organizations. The proposed model is named TQMEF (TQM-efficiency model). Research limitations/implications - This study is based on a single respondent from each organization, so it adds individuality to the scores. This can be avoided in future by having cross-sectional data through more than one respondent from each organization. This will also help in avoiding error due to the tendency of respondents sometime to give over-ambitious answers. Practical implications - The paper identifies four pillars on which TQM implementations should yield positive results for Indian organizations, implying that these organizations can gain by concentrating efforts in these areas. Originality/value - The paper identified the importance of safety and resources conservation as crucial factors. Hitherto, in most models, only the other three aspects of TQM were given importance. Efficiency has emerged as a key issue in the Indian context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the literature on the early-modern Asian commercial world, the lack of historical longevity of mercantile wealth has been accepted as a major attribute. This paper establishes that some merchant families of Surat did experience longevity and family fortunes were kept up for five or six generations. It analyzes the institutional dimensions of trade and examines the ways in which these merchants articulated commercial strategies to ensure a long span of their family businesses. The paper demonstrates that fortunes were built and sustained primarily through trade and that the association with the European Companies was an important but additional means of achieving commercial affluence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased globalisation has also seen increased scrutiny of corporate behaviour by the communities. Clearly managers are under increased pressure from stakeholders not only to outperform their competitors, but also are expected to do so in an ethical manner. In order to act ethically an individual is expected to have a well-developed moral imagination and moral reasoning. Literature on ethical reasoning research indicates a positive relationship between higher levels of moral reasoning and ethical behaviour. This paper presents the findings of a study of the moral reasoning/moral development of managers working in large manufacturing enterprises situated in the state of Punjab in India. Kohlberg’s theory of Cognitive Moral Development forms the basis of the study. Moral Judgement Interview (MIG) developed by Weber, on the basis of Kohlberg’s theory was used for the study. Moral Reasoning Scores were calculated using Abbreviated Scoring Guide. More than half of the managers scored at post-conventional level of reasoning while assessing the moral dilemmas. The reasoning scores varied for the three dilemmas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corporate governance is an instrument for strengthening overall effectiveness of corporate enterprise in the corporate world and helps to optimize the goals of corporate entities within the boundary of corporate environment. With the above backdrop, the present paper deals with various issues of corporate governance relating to its concept and importance. This paper also describes various committee issues of corporate governance in the Indian economy and relates it with Indian banking system. Indian banking sector plays a catalytic role because of the critical nature of the relationship with business/ corporate sector and large public ownership. The change over from administered controls era to liberalization era followed by implementation of financial sector reforms end prudential norms have brought about new issues and challenges for implementation of corporate governance guidelines in the banking sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a new construct known as marketing innovation in the paradigm of the market orientation-performance link in India. The study depicts a substantial connection between market orientation and firm performance with partial support for marketing innovation. The significance for business firms in the emerging markets is that they will do better generally, if they would become more market-oriented.

This paper analyses the determinants of the overseas direct investment activity of Indian manufacturing enterprises. In general, several firm-specific characteristics such as age, size, R&D intensity, skill intensity and export orientation are observed to be important explanatory factors in the outward foreign direct investment (O-FDI) activity of lndian firms. The impact of age and size on O-FDI has been observed to be non-linear. The product differentiation activities and the productivity of firms are other useful factors in overseas production expansion in certain industries. The study reveals that the performance of these firm-specific variables is subject to sectoral dynamics. Internationalization of production activities of Indian finns has been observed to be partly fuelled by policy liberalization during the 1990s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses techniques from a stochastic production frontier (i.e., the best practice technology used in the industry vis-à-vis average practised technology) and panel data literature to test for the spillover hypothesis that 'presence of foreign-owned firms and disembodied technology import in a sector leads to higher productivity growth for domestic firms'. The study uses panel data for 368 medium and largesized Indian manufacturing firms for the period 1975-1976 to 1988-1989. The results indicate that there exists positive spillovers from the presence of foreign-owned firms but the nature and type of spillovers vary depending upon the industries to which the firms' belong. There exist significant positive spillovers for the domestic firms belonging to the 'scientific' subgroup provided the firms themselves possess significant R&D capabilities. However, for the 'non-scientific' subgroup presence of foreign firms itself forces the local firms to be more productive by inducing greater competition. However, the results change marginally when the initial level of productivity (i.e. the technology-gap) is considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the importance of public affairs management in multinational corporations in India will be examined. After briefly discussing the state of the art in international business and society literature, a conceptual framework for public affairs management in multinational corporations will be developed. This framework serves as the theoretical basis for an empirical study among German multinational corporations in India. In the main part of this paper the results of this study will be presented and discussed. The paper ends with a critical assessment and some major implications for future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green logistics is an important aspect of production system in today’s world. It combines various efforts to quantify and control the environmental effect of production activities in an enterprise. This research is intended to emphasize upon the ways by which organizations can accomplish positive ecological effects simply by modifying their logistics practices. This paper presents a case study of an Indian automobile company by analyzing alternatives for green practices along with organizational objectives. It is imperative to focus on the green practices in context of Indian automobile sector as the volume of vehicles in India has increased considerably during last few decades. Accordingly, this paper attempts to improve the performance for sustainable adaptation of green practices of an Indian company by selecting the best alternative obtained from the use of Analytical Hierarchy Process to analyze alternatives for green practices in the assembly and packaging processes. Alternatives have been evaluated on the basis of three criteria i.e. green efficiency, factor of safety and ease of operation. The study revealed that clinch joint is the most appropriate alternative for assembly operation while carbon positive packaging material is the best alternative for packaging. [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]

Voluntary disclosures by firms have been gaining traction among the stakeholders as the inadequacies of mandatorily disclosed information are getting conspicuous. The customers are one of the most important stakeholder groups for any firm. This paper looks at how the extent and quality of voluntary disclosures by the supplier firms influence the impression that is formed in the minds of the users/buyers in the customer firms is manifested through the strength of the supplier brand. Consequently, we probe the effect voluntary disclosures have on corporate brand equity. This study has assessed the corporate brand equity of the firms directly from their customers which lends authenticity to the measured strength of the brand. This way the self-reporting bias is precluded from our research. The study was done on Indian B2B firms which is very crucial because business buyers pay more critical attention to the disclosures of their vendors. The findings strongly support that the better and more are the disclosures, stronger is the brand equity of the brands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are designed as a common set of language for business affairs so that company accounts could be understandable and comparable across international boundaries. IFRS leads to changes in the financial statement of the company. In order to check whether shareholders' wealth is affected or not by adoption of IFRS, the present research has been carried out. The objectives of the present paper are to determine the shareholders' wealth in terms of EVA (absolute and relative) before and after adoption of IFRS for Indian companies and to examine the different components of EVA before and after adoption of IFRS in India. To check the impact, paired data t-test has been administered for testing significance. The results of the study reveal that there is no improvement in EVA and EVA-related financial parameters due to IFRS adoption. For consistency concern, coefficient of variation has also been calculated. The results indicate that consistency in EVA and EVA-related financial parameters is observed after adoption of IFRS. It may also be concluded that the fundamental principle of accounting, i.e., consistency, is supported to a large extent by IFRS adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the working capital management (WCM) practices adopted by Indian firms listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).Design/methodology/approach Using a questionnaire, the authors gather data from 110 financial managers and use various statistical techniques to test for statistical significance.Findings The evidence shows that the majority (54.5 percent) of sample firms follow a moderate approach in financing their activities, which involves a trade-off between liquidity and profitability. Respondents tend to use an informal approach for WCM and consider receivables management as the most important component of WCM. In terms of WCM monitoring and financial measures, respondents mainly consider the cash conversion cycle and net working capital. Indian firms tend to use centralized cash management and rely heavily on material requirement planning (MRP) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) for proper inventory management.Research limitations/implications Tests involving firm size, foreign sales, and average age do not differ significantly between the NSE-listed firms and the sample firms. This evidence lessens concerns of non-response bias and the ability to generalize the findings to Indian firms.Originality/value By updating and extending previous research on WCM, this study fills a gap in the literature by providing insights into practices adopted by Indian firms in managing WCM and its components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across the world, large firms show a greater propensity to undertake innovative activity. Large firms are more active in R&D activities, technology in-licensing, employing qualified manpower, organizational and marketing practices. In India too, bulk of industrial R&D investment comes from large firms. Analyzing a panel dataset of 610 large manufacturing firms having higher propensity to undertake R&D activities over a span of 6 years (2009-2014), the paper tries to identify the determinants of R&D investment in large manufacturing firms in India. The result shows that the large manufacturing firms who are younger in age, highly engaged in import and export activities and more profitable have higher propensity to undertake R&D activities and investment. The result could provide policymakers a handle to create a space for targeted initiatives for the large manufacturing firms in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design of Knowledge management adoption depicts similarity to the design proposed in 'Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)' and 'Extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM2)' holding varied adoption enablers, suggested by Davis 1989. The purpose of this paper is to identify the relationship between KM adoption enablers and demographic variables prevalent in Indian ITES organizations within Delhi NCR. Due to ordinal nature of data, 'multiple-ordinal regression' was applied. The demographic variables are considered independent while KM adoption variables/enablers are considered dependent for this research. The outcomes from of 'multiple-ordinal regression' showcase that maximum number of statistically significant outcomes were in case of the KM adoption enabler 'Perceived Usefulness' holding likelihood of lower cumulative scores in most cases with lowest scores from the independent variables '18-28 years' age group and 'Admin' department. This research study has proposed a knowledge management adoption framework for Indian ITES organization that can be used as guidelines to develop KM adoption and augmentation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing stress level in today's work environment is visible easily and it continues to spread. If this is not managed with caution it can lead to various psychological diseases than can badly hamper the health of an employee as well as the productivity of the organization. This paper aims at understanding reasons for employee vulnerability and relationship of the same with regards to Tenure of Service of the respondent. ITeS-BPO companies located at NCR (National Capital Region of Delhi) form the population for selecting the sample units. Hence, the survey was limited to companies located in Delhi and other NCR towns. Call-floor executives and operational managers at all levels were the target population for the study. The results of the research substantiate that the respondents in the group 12 months - 24 months of the tenure of service are the most vulnerable to stress. Also, the results indicated that the respondents with more than 36 months of service are least vulnerable to stress while working with an ITeS-BPO company. The study suggested that companies should explore in detail the causes due to which employees get tired very easily and thus become vulnerable to stress. Appropriate measures should be taken that may include time management, physical exercises, yoga, and meditation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand whether the adoption of environmental management practices and firm characteristics influence the environmental benchmarking in Indian firms. It further looks into the impact of environmental benchmarking practices on firms’ environmental performance. Design/methodology/approach – The study conducts a research survey to obtain the practitioner’s responses on the different aspects of environmental benchmarking. The survey data of 104 firms provide an empirical basis to investigate different research hypotheses using statistical techniques. Findings – The results indicate that the firms which implement environmental management practices are more likely to adopt environmental benchmarking in one or more areas of their operations. The findings signify that firms which benchmarks for environmental purposes are more likely to have better environmental performance. The study confirms that large firms have significant chances of having environmental benchmarking compared to small and medium sized firms. The firms in different sectors have different relative preference to eight different areas of environmental benchmarking. However, all these preferences are not significant at 95 per cent confidence level. Research limitations/implications – The research use only qualitative responses on environment management aspects and could be further extended by incorporating the quantitative (emission) data of different industries. Practical implications – The study provides an insight into the environmental benchmarking practices of Indian firms for better management of environmental performance of the firms. Originality/value – The study investigates the experience and attitude of Indian firms to environmental benchmarking based on an empirical research. It adds to the knowledge in the field of environmental benchmarking in developing countries with specific focus on India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) or converged Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS) and its implications are imperative for Indian companies. India has decided to converge with IFRS, which means that India will have its own converged standards in line with the IFRS. On January 2, 2015, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs notified (PIB, 2015) that Ind AS would be mandatorily applicable for accounting period ending March 31, 2016 for companies falling under certain classifications. It is expected that once these are implemented, it will have a significant impact on financial statements. The convergence of IFRS will benefit Indian companies as they would be comparable to the peers internationally, which in turn would lead to a greater equity and debt participation by international players, thus making funding easier and cheaper. This paper focuses on two key issues: Are financial statements prepared using the two different standards significantly different? And, is there an increase in equity participation of foreign investors in Indian companies which have adopted IFRS? Companies covered in the study report financial statements as per two accounting standards because they are listed on Indian stock exchange and NASDAQ. Since these Indian companies have dual listing (India and international), on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), they report as per Indian GAAP, and as these companies are listed on NASDAQ, they need to prepare financial statement using IFRS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new thrust towards self-employment is seen in India where more than half of the labor class is fending for itself outside the ambit of any kind of employment. Global production networks (GPN s) have changed the structure of the labor market and extended precarity to almost every part of work and world. This has created a labor class that is neither proletariat nor bourgeois but a petty producer integrated in GPN s through mediators called 'contractors.' These producers are basically laborers who have been pushed out of the factory system and forced into self-employment. The paper has studied the trajectory of non-agricultural home-based Own Account Enterprises (OAE s); a classic case of petty producers across gender and caste lines in various sectors of industry using state-organized enterprise surveys conducted in 2010–2011 and 2015–2016. It has found a vast majority of OAE s earning less than half the proposed minimum wage (PMV)—a threshold similar to the idea of living wages rates. The most distressed OAE s are in manufacturing, especially, textile, garment, leather, and chemical industries. The over emphasis on self-employment is shrinking the space for labor movement particularly in the global South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the ways in which legal norms enunciated by India's industrial tribunals are used by management and labor in their bilateral negotiations. Data from Indian courts and companies permit an empirical contrast between Durkheim's and Weber's analyses of the legal process. The evidence substantiates portions of both approaches: legal norms tend to be invoked as a function both of need for normative regulation and of the authority of the courts. A theoretical synthesis of the two positions is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Business decisions can be made rapidly in an error free environment with the application of information technology. The XML computer language has been extended further for its application programme in extensible business reporting language (XBRL). Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) is a language for the electronic communication of business and financial data revolutionizing business reporting around the world. XBRL has become the standard way of recording, storing and transmitting business and financial information from the computer information providers to the information users. XBRL was developed by XBRL International in 1998, an international non-profit consortium of approximately 450 major companies, organisations and government agencies. XBRL India is known as the Indian Jurisdiction of XBRL International. Its main objective is to promote and encourage the adoption of XBRL in India as the standard for electronic business reporting. The business value possible from XBRL can be realized by the transparency, uniformity, accuracy, timely and reliability provided to its users. As it has been framed in accordance to the GAAP and IFRS standards, its adoptability is gaining momentum for all the countries that are looking forward towards a smooth functioning in the global scenario. In the light of this, the present paper provides a conceptual framework of XBRL as a business reporting language, along with its worldwide usage. The paper further discusses components and uses of XBRL in corporate reporting. It also focuses on the status of applicability of XBRL as a business reporting language for Indian business entities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cleaner technology strategy is a firm's long term planning to avoid negative externality to the natural environment and remain competitive in future markets. The paper proposes a comprehensive definition of cleaner technology strategy and presents its important aspects to derive competitive advantages based on an empirical study of sixty firms across the industry sectors in India. A measure of cleaner technology strategy was constructed and, tested for its reliability and validity. Descriptive statistics was used to understand the relative importance of competitive aspects of cleaner technology strategy in Indian firms. The result shows that cleaner technology strategy derived from top management's vision of future technologies and ability to manage risk due to natural environment play a critical role in implementation of cleaner technology strategy. Firm's ability to pursue regulators for additional benefits, ability to manage risk associated with failures and imitation, and focus on up-gradation of in-house technological capabilities help in re-positioning to derive competitive advantages. The results also indicate that sustainable solutions offer differential competitive advantages across the industry sectors and firm's focus to update skill set of employees is also linked with industry sectors. The paper contributes to existing literature by making distinction between cleaner technology strategy and other strategies like pollution prevention and product stewardship. It further argues the strategic perspective of cleaner technology, cleaner production and eco-friendly products to develop necessary attributes for competitiveness. It also provides a measurement tool for the managers to check the performance of their firm to achieve the goals of cleaner technology strategy. Further, the paper provides important managerial, policy and research implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Companies Act, 2013 has come into effect in India recently. Previously, Indian companies were under the control of Companies Act, 1956. In Companies Act, 1956, there were no provisions regarding corporate social responsibility (CSR). Therefore, it was practiced only by few Indian companies voluntarily and they would report it in the way as they deemed fit. In this background, presence of a structured legal framework for CSR was badly needed. Keeping this in mind, Companies Act, 2013 has provided some important and contemporary provisions regarding CSR practice and reporting and these provisions came into effect from 1st April, 2014. Now, the companies which satisfy the required conditions as laid down in the act must spend a specific percentage of their net profit for CSR activities and report it each year. Standing on this situation, in this present paper, it has been attempted to review the scenario of CSR practice and reporting by some major Indian companies. A sample of ten companies has been selected for this purpose. On the basis of their merit in complying the CSR provisions, they have been ranked. The conclusion is that the selected companies have already initiated good CSR projects and they have the intention to perform their social responsibilities in the coming years in a better way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute an international perspective to corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability (Sus) discussions by examining CSR/Sus reporting practices of the 200 largest state-owned and private companies in India. Design/methodology/approach – The authors conduct a case study at the Danish carpet manufacturer EGE. The authors interpret the case from the perspective of pragmatic constructivism, which focusses on the integration of four dimensions: facts, possibilities, values, and communication. Findings – The analyses showed that while most companies share CSR/Sus information through their websites they associate different levels of importance to this communication. However, the study found that overall the CSR/Sus climate in India is showing signs of positive reform. Research limitations/implications – Being among the first, this study provides a framework for future studies to continue exploring CSR/Sus context in India, a country that despite its growing importance and influence has been largely ignored in the CSR/Sus literature. Practical/implications – The study outlines the current CSR/Sus reporting trends and best practices in India that can help managers and organizations identify issues and topics that they could channel their resources and efforts into to maximize returns and benefits in this area. Social/implications – This study provides insights into how corporations in an emerging and complex economy such as India are assuming roles of corporate citizens and are actively using web-based communication to engage and interact with stakeholders on issues that are of general concern. Originality/value – The value of this study is in providing empirical insights into the strategies that Indian companies use to report on their CSR/Sus policies and commitments. The study is among the first to examine CSR in India from a sustainability perspective, and evaluate compliance with global reporting standards among top corporations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature of strategic corporate communication (SCC) activities and its impact in Indian service sector organizations. Design/methodology/approach – A descriptive research design was used with data obtained from 227 executives from service sector organizations. A research instrument was constructed and measures of SCC and its impact were derived through factor analysis. Findings – Multiple regression analysis led to formulation of new relationships among the variables (messages, medium and stakeholders) involved in SCC and its impact. For example, in crisis situations, messages related to identity and image were associated with greater communication impact than were other types of messages. Similarly communicating with primary stakeholders like employees and customers was more important than with other stakeholders. Among the different types of medium used in SCC, virtual medium and disclosures led to greater communication impact. Originality/value – Communication impact due to SCC was a multi-dimensional construct comprising of three kinds of impacts: communication synergy; value representation; and organizational reliability. The relationships of messages, mediums and stakeholders with different types of SCC Impact can help practitioners design and implement effective strategies of corporate communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is not a new concept in the present scenario.CSR is a continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as the local community and society at large. After replacement of the Company Act 1956 by Corporate Act 2013, certain changes have been made. Earlier CSR was not mandatory for the Indian companies but after enforcement of Corporate Act 2013 it has become mandatory for those companies whose turnover is more than Rs. 1000 crore or net worth is more than Rs. 500 crore or net profit is more than Rs5 crore. Such companies implement the CSR practice in their business and expend on CSR activities which should be 2% of their net profit. CSR is a concept where an organisation considers the interest of society by taking responsibility for the impact of their activities on customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, and other stakeholders. CSR policies, practices, and programmes are being comprehensively integrated by an increasing number of companies throughout their business operations and processes. This research paper highlights the concept, philosophy, role of CSR in value creation. How Indian companies are treating CSR activities in contemporary environment. In this study we found that community welfare, education and enlightening rural youth is the top priority areas for most Indian Companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The question of whether socially responsible stocks outperform or underperform general stockshas been of keen interest for various researchers and academicians. This paper seeks to empirically examine the performance of socially responsible portfolios across various sectors and index of socially responsible and general companies in Indian stock market. Design/Methodology/Approach: We have taken up S&P ESG and CNX NIFTY as the indices of socially responsible and general companies respectively. ESG index has been classified into six different sectors on the basis of GICS. Performance has been evaluated in terms of risk, return and various risk-adjusted measures like Sharpe ratio, Treynor ratio, Double Sharpe ratio, Modified Sharpe ratio, M2 measure, Jensen's alpha, Fama's decomposition measure, etc. We have also checked whether market model is sufficient to explain cross sectional variation in stock returns or we need Fama-French three factor model. The study period ranges from January 1996 – December 2013 and it is further divided into different sub-periods. Findings: We find that socially responsible stocks across IT, FMCG and financial sectors are well rewarding in Indian stock market by generating significantly higher returns and outperforming the two indices on the basis of risk-adjusted measures employed during 18 year period and different sub-periods. The results uphold even with the use of market model and Fama-French three factor model by generating highest significant excess returns. Originality/Value: There is no empirical evidence on the performance evaluation of socially responsible portfolios across different sectors. Hence this study is first of its kind. This will help investors in selecting best sector for investment in socially responsible companies. Implications: Significant higher returns of ESG index and socially responsible stocks across different sectors make Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) a betterinvestment vehicle for investors in India. This is the time when general companies should change their approach and agenda towards CSR and start considering ESG issues as their investment themes. The regulators, policy makers and mutual funds should come up with different socially responsible products and sectoral indices to initiate the movement of SRI across different sectors in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethics refers to moral demands regarding the business and is based on a theory of the relationship between business and society. Ethics is a good business investment that generates trust and confidence between the parties and in turn guarantees long-term performance. Corporate identity is formed in the way a company manages the stakeholder claims through its values and actions. This paper attempts to define different nonfinancial parameters of ethical identity based on corporate governance, corporate social responsibility and sustainability and measure the extent of ethical practices followed in selected companies based on these parameters. Using Kruskal Wallis analysis, it was found that there is a significant difference between different industries in following and reporting ethical practices in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Given the increasing global significance of Indian markets, multi-national corporations (MNCs) are keen to do business here; however, cross-cultural issues can be barriers in managing human resources (HR) in international businesses. The purpose of this paper is to understand how MNCs can successfully do business in India, with special reference to cross-cultural issues and management of HR. Design/methodology/approach – In-depth interviews were conducted with executives working in MNCs and Indian MNCs based in India and abroad. Respondents were senior professionals, working in diverse sectors and had global work experience for about five years. Majority of the interviews were conducted in Delhi and some were conducted in Singapore. Interviews responses were qualitatively analysed. Findings – Findings reveal that MNCs wanting to do business in India need to have a long-term business focus, a well-defined expatriate policy and deep pockets to experience growth and payoffs on investments. In order to be successful, they need to understand India culturally and geographically, build trusting relationships with HCNs, partner with local players who are familiar with domestic challenges and localize the best practices of the west. Attrition and retention being the major challenges in India, compensation alone is not enough to attract and retain talent. Understanding Indian psyche and offering individuals a unique value proposition such as challenging roles and professional growth is imperative for creating an attractive employer brand in order to win the war for talent. Research limitations/implications – Though sample size is small, this research has implications for MNCs operating in India or planning to set up Indian operations. Originality/value – Inferences have been drawn out of primary data collected from senior executives who were handling core MNC operations and sharing their wealth of experience. The findings give fresh insights into the whole issues of MNC management involving cross-cultural and HR issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid globalization and boundary less business ventures have contributed to a growing number of expatriates working in foreign locales. As a result of this, it is increasingly important that multinational corporations sending their employees for international assignments prioritize expatriate management. The Global Delivery Model followed by the Indian firms creates a number of onsite (international) opportunities for Indian professionals. The effective management of expatriates is increasingly been recognized as a major determinant of success or failure in international business. This paper attempts to identify factors that impact expatriate satisfaction in the industry and how an expatriate can act as a boon to domestic employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Real estate business is one of the core businesses in fast developing states, but it is too challenging business as well. Scarcity of land has resulted in accelerating prices of land with every passing day. As a result of this changed economic environment, real estate business is becoming a very attractive business proposition. Andhra Pradesh is one of the fast growing states in India. The increased importance of Tier 2 cities like Hyderabad, Vijayawada in the overall economic scene of the country has made real estate business even more attractive. The increasing number of industrial units setting their bases in this state has resulted in increased demand for land - both industrial and housing. In this paper the focus is to analyze the performance of real estate business for the period of 2004-05 to 2013-14. The present study has made to analyze the Liquidity, solvency and Profitability performance of real estate companies in Andhra Pradesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between financial performance and internal governance structure of Information Technology (IT) sector in India. Various aspects of the board such as board independence, board size, board meeting, board attendance, aspects of leadership with role duality and family ownership are addressed in this study. Design/methodology/approach – The sample consists of 114 listed IT sector firms in India from 2006 to 2011. To account for endogeneity of the relationship between firm performance, corporate governance and capital structure of the firm, simultaneous system of equations was employed. Findings – The study, after controlling for firm-specific factors, shows that larger board size had a positive impact on firm performance. Independent directors on the board did not show any association with firm performance. The study failed to find any relationship between the number of board meetings and firm performance. However, attendance of the board members was found to be positively associated with firm performance. Family firms showed better performance compared to non-family firms. Originality/value – The study demonstrates that governance measures related to the board in Indian firms have some similarities to the firms in western countries. However, the study shows that some of the widely used board characteristic measures differ with other studies documented in the western contexts which limits the generalisability of the western studies in the emerging countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For several decades the leading wind energy nations were European, while China and India were mainly the recipients of technology transfer. This paper aims to explore the role technology transfer/cooperation from Europe played in shaping firm-level wind energy technologies in China and India and to discuss whether the recent technology cooperation between the Chinese, Indian, and European wind firms challenges the classical North–South technology cooperation paradigm. The research finds that firm-level technology transfer/cooperation shaped the leading wind energy technologies in China and to a lesser extent in India. The paper also finds that several trends towards South–North technology cooperation have been observed between China, India and Europe, such as South–North flows of capital, drivers for market access, and R&D leadership, while the origins of innovation (e.g. patents) seem to remain predominantly in the global North. The paper concludes that the technology cooperation between China, India, and Europe has become more multi-faceted and increasingly Southern-led. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We now commonly see that sports sponsorship is used by companies as part of their marketing efforts. The question that comes to mind is: why should the companies be interested in sponsorship? One view is that if sports sponsorship is done properly, it can provide good opportunities for distinct marketing and competitive advantages, and also showing support for the event. It is also considered as one of the communication vehicles available, which is capable of helping to form a long-term relationship with the consumers. Brand building is another objective for using sports sponsorship. It is natural that different companies will not have similar objectives for sports sponsorship. Academic research in a number of countries has tried to understand the various reasons and objectives for sports sponsorship. However, in India, academic research on sports sponsorship is hard to come by. Therefore, for this paper, various objectives for sports sponsorship and related aspects were primarily identified on the basis of review of available literature from other counties. A questionnaire was designed containing Likert-type statements about sport sponsorship management while setting the objectives as well as importance attached to various identified objectives. Responses received from 248 respondents were analyzed and described using means and standard deviation. Statements about 'strengthening/altering the company image as an objective' and 'likely benefits to be derived from sponsorship' have been found to be more important. The statements on 'monetary profit due to sponsorship' and 'utility of objective setting to measure sponsorship effectiveness' are surprisingly lower down the order. Sponsorship objectives which turned out to be most important belong to three categories namely, media coverage, objectives related to product/service/brand, and general corporate objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With integrated global economies and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, uniformity of financial reporting by Indian companies is inevitable for the authenticity of their financial statements worldwide. The emergence of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) marks the biggest revolution in financial reporting, though not without posing challenges of convergence in India. In order to harmonize with the financial reporting worldwide, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has issued 35 IND AS--the converged accounting standards which are in line with IFRS subject to certain carve outs (differences) due to tax-related issues, as notified by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. With reference to this convergence, this paper provides an insight into the revised framework of AS 6 - Depreciation and AS 10 - Fixed Assets, with the formation of new IND AS 16 -- Property, Plant and Equipment (PPE) and its implications through various illustrations. Moreover, the issues of recognition of assets are explained through different models of measurement, determination of their carrying amounts, accounting treatment of revaluation and depreciation charges on the assets. The analysis shows that adaptation to IFRS convergence opens new avenues for the accounting profession, followed by unforeseeable challenges. The analysis of the standard concludes that significant parts (components) of a PPE can be recognized, depreciated and derecognized separately and individually. There will be major changes in the value of PPE in the financial statements due to treatment of revaluation surplus. [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]

As amply reported, after Bhopal disaster process safety got a boost worldwide and risk analysis got applied more generally. Even if the concept of inherent safety, strongly promoted by Trevor Kletz, represents one of the main lessons from this tragedy, in the first part of the paper we focus on Bhopal mitigation measures representing the ultimate relevant layer of protection. Starting from a technical analysis of the whole safety equipment of the plant and relevant empirical evidences, we face the short-cut design of critical safety devices suitable to mitigate release effects. The applied method allows a preliminary design and management tool to evaluate the effectiveness of safety systems and the impact on surroundings. In the second part, we develop an empirical-based framework allowing to identify emergency actions and intervention time and demonstrate how the implementation of these safety measures when reaching a critical pressure of 10 psig in Thnk 610, even under the condition of protective equipment out of commission, would have surely mitigated such a high profile tragedy. The paper illustrates the determining contribution to this tragedy of such deficiencies in the safety procedures for handling abnormal situations and emergencies by the company. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous empirical and conceptual studies describe waste minimisation as a key environmental performance indicator for industry. ISO 14001certification in this regard is widely considered the tool of choice for driving waste minimisation efforts. To this day, however, the evidence remains mixed as it pertains to the effectiveness of ISO 14001 in helping firms reduce waste, especially in developing countries. This paper explores the waste minimisation efforts among Indian small and medium enterprises. Specifically, improvements in waste minimisation are analysed from small and medium enterprises operating in the cities of Delhi and Noida. Our proposed model is tested for a model-fit, and the hypotheses are tested through regression coefficient (β) scores to determine the influence of ISO 14001 on the degree of waste minimisation among certified and non-certified companies. The data reveal that ISO 14001 certification alone helped account for a 25% increase in waste minimisation in certified companies after controlling for other critical factors (correlated to the variable ‘waste minimisation’) that may influence this relationship. The analytical tools described in this paper lend themselves to be applied to similar research problems in future studies. The study provides baseline data for further research into ISO 14001 effectiveness in the Indian SME context – a field with still only limited research insights – and offers policy prompts for targeted environmental management improvements in Indian firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HR are really the most significant assets a firm can have on the grounds that compelling usage of physical and monetary assets rely on nature of HR. Viable Human Resource Management is imperative as individuals produce benefit though machines and capital simply upgrade the benefit making ability. Human Resource Accounting is the procedure of recognizing and measuring information about HR and conveying this data to invested individuals. Fundamentally HRA is a data framework that tells administration what changes after some time are jumping out at the HR of the association. In spite of the fact that HRA is exceptionally helpful in choice making and, after its all said and done not very many organizations are approaching to esteem this critical resource. Numerous organizations in India and abroad began reporting HRA yet later on they quit doing it. It was seen that certain issues were connected with the utilization of human asset bookkeeping framework. The present paper condenses the aftereffect of a review directed to know the impression of chiefs with respect to issue regions in creating and initiating the HRA framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of Internet for business has created a large amount of scholarly literature on Internet marketing and consumer behavior. But relatively little empirical work has been undertaken on branding strategies over Internet. In recent years, customers are giving more value to brand and online experience. Also, the shift of power from companies to customer has pushed businesses to redefine their marketing and branding strategies. The paper contributes to the knowledge on online branding through exploratory research and identifies the ways in which the online channel is being used to support brands. The focus of this research is the online fashion store and multichannel retailers in India. The findings of the research confirm a consistency in multichannel brand visibility approaches over online and other channels, but their strategy for online brand relationship is still underdeveloped. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate Indian companies’ compliance with the mandatory and voluntary corporate governance disclosure requirements of the Stock Exchange Board of India’s Clause 49. Design/methodology/approach – The authors develop a corporate governance disclosure index and sub-indices based on Clause 49. Annual reports of listed Indian companies are scored according to their disclosures in two periods – pre and post amendments to Clause 49. Findings – Indian companies are highly compliant with corporate governance disclosure requirements of Clause 49. Disclosure increases significantly after amendments to Clause 49 as the penalties for non-compliance increase in severity. Government controlled firms disclose significantly less than privately owned firms. Research limitations/implications – The findings are consistent with bonding theory and the authors note that the presence of an independent regulator (with powers to take action against violators) provides corporate India with additional incentives to comply with corporate governance reform. Practical implications – These findings have important implications for policy makers and regulators as they contribute to the debate on the choice between formal corporate governance regulation versus informal self-regulation. The study also has implications for understanding factors associated with the adoption of disclosure practices in general. Originality/value – This is the first study to examine disclosure compliance in a major developing country pre and post amendments to mandatory corporate governance requirements. Prior evidence indicates a low level of disclosure in India but our results demonstrate an improvement in line with our theoretical predictions that suggests, India is converging towards an Anglo-Saxon model of corporate governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the research is to empirically investigate the impact of Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) practices on organization's performance—operational, environmental, and financial. The paper also aims to theorize and empirically assess a comprehensive GSCM practices and performance model. The data from a national sample of 161 company managers working for Indian manufacturing organizations participating in green supply chain is analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) methodology. Hypotheses are formulated for linkages between GSCM practices and organizational performance. The results of hypotheses testing show that there is a positive relationship between GSCM practices and organization's performances. All these performances in turn enhance the overall organizational performance. The findings may prove to be effective in inducing Indian firms to adopt GSCM practices for improving their performances. [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]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between leadership and business model innovation (BMI) in an entrepreneurial firm. From the literature, it was found that the role of a leader in BMI was unexplored. A research framework was created which was the replication of the model created showing the relationship between leadership and innovation. Design/methodology/approach: The qualitative single in-depth case study was used to understand the effects of leadership in BMI. The case of an entrepreneurial firm in the graphic and animation education sector from India was chosen to test the research framework. The leader of Xplora Design Skools was observed closely, and he was interviewed multiple times. Findings: From the analysis, it was clear that, in this organization, the leader was a trigger for BMI through creating and influencing creativity and innovation in the organization. This case also shows that he was making tangible contribution to the work being done and motivating his employees. These initiatives show his influence on the process or execution of BMI. Originality/value: This is the first study explores the role of a leader in BMI in an entrepreneurial firm in emerging economy contexts like India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the enforceability of share transfer restrictions under the ambit of company contracts including, inter alia, preemptive rights such as 'right of first refusal', or' tag-along' or 'drag-along' rights contained in shareholders' agreements or articles of association. With the enactment of the Indian Companies Act 2013 company law jurisprudence in India is set to take an efficacious leap as it addresses not only corporate governance issues but also introduces sweeping changes which, though sine qua non to rights of shareholders, have been consistently denied in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]