Kunal Kamal Kumar, Sushanta Kumar Mishra and Pawan Budhwar
The “war for talent” is not limited to developed economies but has become a common feature in emerging economies such as India. From the sociocultural perspective, India…
Abstract
The “war for talent” is not limited to developed economies but has become a common feature in emerging economies such as India. From the sociocultural perspective, India represents one of the oldest cultural heritages with distinct cultural values. The cultural difference may contribute to explain organizational practices toward talent retention. In the present chapter, the authors focus on the institutional, legal, and cultural context and highlight their uniqueness with respect to the Indian context. Within the institutional context, the authors found that prior to liberalization (which happened in 1990s), the Indian business scene was dominated by public firms or a small enclave of private firms. For both types of organization, turnover hardly mattered, and turnover was indeed negligible. Employees saw firms as “employers for life”: in such a context, voluntary turnover was extremely rare. Further, in the early legal context, it was hard for any private firm to “fire” an employee. Therefore, involuntary turnover was close to nil as well. Things began to change post-liberalization when the Indian scene was dominated by an influx of private players. The Indian mind too accepted turnover to be a part of the corporate life. In the present chapter, the authors provide a snapshot of what, why, and how of employee turnover in the Indian context. The authors specifically focus on what motivates employees to remain with the organization or why do they leave the organization. The authors close the chapter with insights relevant to both academicians and practitioners.
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Avvari V. Mohan and K.N. Krishnaswamy
This paper seeks to report the findings of a survey aimed at understanding the marketing programmes (MP) for industrial products in different phases of the product life cycle…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to report the findings of a survey aimed at understanding the marketing programmes (MP) for industrial products in different phases of the product life cycle (PLC).
Design/methodology/approach
The study is an exploratory one, conducted in a sample of 63 Indian organisations manufacturing general‐purpose machinery. Data pertaining to a total of 191 product lines in four phases of the PLC (42 in introduction, 59 in growth, 53 in maturity and 37 in decline phase) were collected using a specially developed questionnaire.
Findings
The results of the descriptive analysis revealed that the marketing programme variables emphasised in different PLC were different. In the Introduction phase decisions about product attributes, physical performance of the product, direct mail advertising, quality improvements and differentiation by design were emphasized. In Growth phase: feature additions, improvements in product styling, quality and service and market segmentation. In maturity and decline phases re‐tailoring products, sales force efforts were some of the marketing variables emphasised. The results support the views in literature about MP being different in different phases of the PLC. Based on a discriminant analysis, marketing variables that discriminate the different phases of the PLC were also obtained.
Research limitations/implications
The study is done in the machine‐building industry in one country (India) – this limits the generalizability of the findings.
Practical implications
The results can be useful to marketing managers to anticipate the type of strategic MP in future and this in turn can help in planning activities of other management functions like manufacturing and R&D.
Originality/value
This study adds to the body of literature, which proposes to plan marketing and business strategies differently at the different PLC phases.
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Tarun Nanda, Himanshu Gupta, Tejinder P. Singh, Simonov Kusi-Sarpong, Chiappetta Jose Charbel Jabbour and Adriana Cherri
Technology and knowledge have become the buzzwords of the new millennium. Technological changes and demanding customers are creating a more knowledge intensive, turbulent, complex…
Abstract
Purpose
Technology and knowledge have become the buzzwords of the new millennium. Technological changes and demanding customers are creating a more knowledge intensive, turbulent, complex and uncertain environment. Organizations, which are able to continually build faster and cheaper new strategic assets than their competitors, create long-term competitive advantages. Thus, the growth of companies is directly associated with innovativeness and technological development, especially for small organizations that are more vulnerable to dynamic changes in market place. Organizations need a strategic framework that can help them to achieve the goal of technology development and competitiveness. The purpose of this paper is to develop such strategic framework for small organizations for their technology development and, hence, survival in marketplace.
Design/methodology/approach
Options field methodology, options profile methodology, analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and fuzzy set theory are utilized to generate various options and profiles to propose a conceptual framework for technology development.
Findings
The results from the study showed that “mixed approach,” “strategic simulation approach” and the “regulatory environment approach,” in this order, emerged as the top three important options for the strategic technological development of small manufacturing enterprises.
Originality/value
This result can provide an original and more accurate implementation pathway toward technological innovative development in emerging economies. The proposed framework can provide valuable guidelines and recommendations to practicing managers and analysts for policy development to promote innovative and technological developments.
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Himanshu Gupta and Mukesh Kumar Barua
Innovation is a prerequisite for economic and technological growth of any organization. Identifying enablers of innovation can help managers accelerate the process of economic…
Abstract
Purpose
Innovation is a prerequisite for economic and technological growth of any organization. Identifying enablers of innovation can help managers accelerate the process of economic growth. The purpose of this paper is to identify the prominent enablers of innovation in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that can help overhauling organizations and benefit them economically.
Design/methodology/approach
A comprehensive literature review and expert’s opinions have been applied to identify enablers of innovation. A case of automotive component supplier is considered for conducting the research. A coalescence of Grey and DEMATEL methodologies has been incorporated to first rank the enablers of innovation based on their importance and then identify the causal relationship among these enablers by characterizing enablers into causal and effect groups.
Findings
A few important enablers, namely, entrepreneur traits, knowledge management, resources for innovation, and linkage capabilities, have been identified as prominent enablers for successful innovation in SMEs.
Practical implications
This paper identifies enablers of innovation in SMEs and the causal relationship between these enablers. The identified enablers and the causal relationship between these enablers will help managers of small organizations in selecting the enablers that need to be focused on, which, in turn, can drive other enablers of innovation, thus saving time and resources of the organizations.
Originality/value
This paper uses a novel Grey–DEMATEL methodology to identify the causal relationship among enablers and also contributes to the literature on innovation by identifying enablers of innovation in SMEs.
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Caroline T.W. Chan and William Sher
There is concern that traditional teaching methods (including lectures and tutorials) do not prepare graduates with the generic employability skills required by the construction…
Abstract
Purpose
There is concern that traditional teaching methods (including lectures and tutorials) do not prepare graduates with the generic employability skills required by the construction industry. This has motivated architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) academics to consider the use of student-centred approaches like collaborative learning. However, the effectiveness of collaborative learning approaches has not been widely examined in AEC education. The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical results on the benefits and barriers of collaborative learning from AEC students’ perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
From a questionnaire survey conducted with Associate Degree students who studied in four AEC programmes at a university in Hong Kong, 621 valid responses were received. Descriptive statistics were used to test these data for any significant agreement or disagreement between respondents.
Findings
All AEC students agreed that collaborative learning benefited them in building their academic knowledge and generic skills. However, the degree of agreement about their generic skills development differed between programmes. The findings of this study highlight the effectiveness of collaborative learning as a means of developing students’ employability skills.
Research limitations/implications
First, the analysis of the benefits of collaborative learning is based on students’ perceptions rather than objective measures of learning gains. Although research suggests that self-reported measures of learning are valid indicators of educational and skill gains, the possibility of individual's bias or peer influence in the responses cannot be discounted. Second, the study does not take into account the teachers’ instructional skills that may affect the effectiveness of collaborative learning. To minimize the impact of different tutors on students’ learning experiences, standardized delivery mode and course materials were adopted in the surveyed courses.
Practical implications
From the findings presented, collaborative learning is a viable tool which assists in improving both the technical and generic employability skills of students. To allow students to appreciate collaboration in a practical context, multi-disciplinary collaborative assignments can be integrated in AEC curricula. Through collaboration with other disciplines, students can understand the ways of working with other professionals. At the same time, AEC educators can apply collaborative learning to strengthen specific collaborative skills. To maximize the benefits of collaborative learning, teachers should arrange regular meetings and counseling sessions with students to ensure participation from each individual.
Social implications
The findings contribute practical insights about collaborative learning and, in particular, the learning attitudes and perceptions of Chinese students and engineering students. Whilst the findings are different to some studies which describe Chinese students as being influenced by the Confucian Heritage culture, and preferring competitive rather than collaborative learning, more detailed studies about collaborative learning dynamics among students from different ethnic backgrounds should improve the design of collaborative learning environments for the students.
Originality/value
The findings provide confidence to AEC academics to incorporate collaborative learning activities in their courses. Mapping students’ generic skills development between programme of study provides indicators that highlight the use of collaborative learning for different generic skills development in different AEC programmes. The results of this study provide useful information for AEC teachers, assisting them to design multi-disciplinary collaborative learning curricula.
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Debarun Chakraborty and Wendrila Biswas
Today, the employees stand firm as an integral part of the organization and are a precious asset. They are willing to learn, accept challenges and strive hard to deliver their…
Abstract
Purpose
Today, the employees stand firm as an integral part of the organization and are a precious asset. They are willing to learn, accept challenges and strive hard to deliver their level best. The role of the employees has become pronounced and significant, and it is no more conventional. They are now taking up responsibilities in strategic planning and development of the organization. Thus, HR department plays a profuse role in planning for the human resource of the firm to optimize the utilization of their potentials that would help support and meet the business as well as strategic goal of the firm. These HR planning programs ensure managing people within a planned framework and make them develop their performance that becomes a source of sustained competitive advantage for the firm. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
A descriptive research has been conducted with cross-sectional survey through a formalized questionnaire. Multistage sampling has been used in the study. Primary data have been collected from different manufacturing industries of India. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis have been conducted on the hypothesized research model. Structural equation modeling has been done to specify the relation between the measured and latent variables.
Findings
The HR planning programs, namely, staffing plan and succession plan, yield a better result in addressing the strategic goal of the company. Succession plan, staffing plan and talent management strategies augment the efficacious performance of the firm. Effectual performance aids in gaining a competitive advantage for the firm in a substantial way. Job analysis and design have no impact in achieving the strategic intent of the organization.
Originality/value
The study gives a comprehensive scenario of the HR planning programs that can help the organization to meet and uphold their strategic goals. The study provides a model that can solidify and bind the organization toward securing organizational intent and leading a steadfast business process in this dynamic competitive marketplace.
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Michael Möhring, Barbara Keller, Rainer Schmidt and Scott Dacko
This paper aims to investigate actual tourist customer visiting behavior with behavioral data from Google Popular Times to evaluate the extent that such an online source is useful…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate actual tourist customer visiting behavior with behavioral data from Google Popular Times to evaluate the extent that such an online source is useful to better understand, analyze and predict tourist consumer behaviors.
Design/methodology/approach
Following six hypotheses on tourist behavior, a purpose-built software tool was developed, pre-tested, and then used to obtain a large-scale data sample of 20,000 time periods for 198 restaurants. Both bi-variate linear regression and correlation analyzes were used for hypothesis testing.
Findings
Support was established for the hypotheses, through an analysis of customer reviews, timing effects, the number of pictures uploaded and price segment information provided by tourists to a given restaurant. Also, a relationship to average duration time was found to be positive. The findings demonstrate that data provided through Google Popular Times matches theoretical and logical assumptions to a high degree. Thus, the data source is potentially powerful for providing valuable information to stakeholders (e.g. researchers, managers and tourists).
Originality/value
This paper is the first to both conceptually and empirically demonstrate the practicality and value of Google Popular Times to better understand, analyze and predict tourist consumer behaviors. Value is thereby provided by the potential for this approach to offer insights based behavioral data. Importantly, until now such an approach to gathering and analyzing this volume of actual customer data was previously considered far less practical in terms of time and expense.
目的 (Purpose)
本研究旨在用谷歌热门时段(Google Popular Times)的行为数据来探讨游客的实际访问行为, 以评估此种线上资源对理解、分析和预测游客消费行为的实用程度。
设计/方法学/方式 (Design/methodology/approach)
基于对游客访问行为的六个假设, 本研究开发并前测一种专用软件工具, 用其收集198家餐厅中20,000个时间段的大规模数据样本。双变量线性回归(bi-variate linear regression)和相关性分析(correlation analyzes)均用于检验假设。
发现(Findings)
研究结果支持本文假设, 包含顾客评论数量、时间影响、图片数量以及价格区间等资讯對特定餐厅游客平均数量之預測; 同时亦发现与平均持续时间的正向关系。研究结果证明, 谷歌热门时段所提供的数据很大程度上符合理论与逻辑假设。因此, 其具备潜在强大功能, 能为利害关系人(如研究者, 管理者, 游客)提供高价值的资讯。
原创性/价值(Originality/value)
本研究是第一个从概念与实证上证明谷歌热门时段的实用性和价值, 进而深入理解、分析和预测游客消费行为。此方式透过行为数据来提供深入的见解并创造价值; 重要的是, 在此之前, 这种收集与分析大量实际顾客数据的方法被认为缺乏时间与成本效益。
Propósito
El presente documento tiene como objetivo investigar las conductas de visita de los clientes turísticos reales con datos de comportamiento de Tiempos populares de Google (Google Popular Times) para evaluar el grado en que dicha fuente online es útil para comprender, analizar y predecir mejor las conductas de los consumidores turísticos.
Diseño/metodología/enfoque
Siguiendo seis hipótesis sobre el comportamiento de los clientes turístico visitante, se desarrolló una herramienta de software especialmente diseñada, probada con anterioridad y posteriormente se utilizó para obtener una muestra de datos a gran escala de 20.000 períodos de tiempo para 198 restaurantes. Se utilizaron tanto la regresión lineal bi-variante como los análisis de correlación para probar las hipótesis.
Hallazgos
Se apoya la hipótesis que incluyen la cantidad de comentarios de los clientes, los efectos de tiempo, el número de imágenes y la información del segmento de precios sobre la cantidad de turistas que visitan un restaurante determinado en promedio. Además, se encuentra una relación positiva con el tiempo de duración promedio. Los hallazgos demuestran que los datos proporcionados a través de Google Popular Times coinciden en alto grado con las suposiciones teóricas y lógicas. Por lo tanto, la fuente de datos es potencialmente eficaz para proporcionar información valiosa a los interesados (por ejemplo, investigadores, administradores, turistas).
Originalidad/valor
Este ensayo es el primero que demuestra conceptual y empíricamente la practicidad y el valor de Google Popular Times para entender, analizar y predecir mejor el comportamiento del consumidor turístico. Por lo tanto, el valor es proporcionado por el potencial de este enfoque para ofrecer datos de comportamiento basados en la comprensión. Es importante señalar que hasta ahora ese enfoque para reunir y analizar ese volumen de datos reales sobre los clientes se consideraba menos práctico en términos de tiempo y gastos.
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Xiangfei Zeng, Ting Zhang and Yafei Zu
This paper aims to investigate the law and logic mechanism of management control matching pattern and company strategy aggressiveness under different strategies by textual…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the law and logic mechanism of management control matching pattern and company strategy aggressiveness under different strategies by textual analysis, based on the empirical data of Chinese A-share listed companies during the period from 2010 to 2018. Additional analyses further investigate the moderating effect of environmental uncertainty and R&D intensity on the relationship between management control matching type and strategy aggressiveness. The conclusion can help relevant departments to develop management control theory and method system with Chinese characteristics and provide theoretical reference for the matching mode of dual control.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses the text analysis method. The main explanatory variables are analyzed using the computer SQL Server database software through the relevant text of the board of directors report in the company annual report. Other financial data came from the CSMAR database, excluding ST and PT and companies with missing data, and 16,902 samples were finally obtained. This paper conducted statistical analysis through Stata12.
Findings
This paper shows that the matching pattern between formal and informal control is divided into three types. They have different impacts on strategy aggressiveness. Specifically, consistent matching type II significantly positively influences the aggressiveness of offensive strategy. Consistent matching type I significantly positively influences the aggressiveness of defensive strategy. Complementary matching type I significantly positively influences the aggressiveness of analytical strategy. Additional analyses find that compared with non-high-tech companies, high-tech companies have more significant influence on the relationship between management control matching pattern and company strategic aggressiveness. And compared with other two “strategy-control” matching patterns, both environmental uncertainty and product innovation have more significant influence on the relationship between consistent matching II and offensive strategy aggressiveness.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper divides the formal and informal control matching patterns of management control into three categories for the first time. It examines the relationship between the formal and informal control matching of management accounting and the degree of strategy aggressiveness. The conclusion provides new empirical evidence to promote the effective implementation of development strategies for companies. It can help relevant departments to develop management control theory and method systems with Chinese characteristics and provide theoretical references for the matching mode of dual control.
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Ansita Aggarwal and Nisarg Joshi
This article presents a comprehensive analysis of innovation in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in India, focusing on the barriers and facilitators within their…
Abstract
Purpose
This article presents a comprehensive analysis of innovation in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in India, focusing on the barriers and facilitators within their internal and external ecosystems.
Design/methodology/approach
A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from 1430 MSMEs across India, employing Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to analyze the relationships between internal and external factors and innovation adaptation.
Findings
The findings indicate that factors such as top management and organization structure, communication, technological capability and adaptation and organizational culture have a positive impact on innovation adaptation within the internal environment. Conversely, employee and market orientation, as well as financial factors, have a negative influence. Regarding the external environment, industry and competitive analysis, internationalization and partner alliances were found to positively affect innovation adaptation, whereas the country's infrastructure and policies had a negative impact.
Originality/value
The study emphasizes that MSMEs have the potential to leverage their internal and external environments to foster innovation within their organizations.
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Hakeem Ur Rehman, Muhammad Asif, Muhammad Aamir Saeed, Muhammad Asim Akbar and Muhammad Usman Awan
The aim of this case study‐based paper is to study the application of Six Sigma, a breakthrough improvement strategy in the field of cell site construction of a telecom company.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this case study‐based paper is to study the application of Six Sigma, a breakthrough improvement strategy in the field of cell site construction of a telecom company.
Design/methodology/approach
This research provides action research of a Six Sigma project using DMAIC methodology carried out in cell site construction function of a telecom company. The research illustrates how the various Six Sigma tools and techniques were applied in a mutually inclusive manner in one project. The infrastructure department of the company had constructed 900 cell sites last year, out of which 150 were not according to standards and were either disapproved by the operations department or underwent maintenance soon after their use. In 2010, the company spent US$ 0.5 million on rework and maintenance at these sites, thus highlighting the urgency of the problem.
Findings
The paper shows how, after the implementation of the Six Sigma project, the company made savings worth US$ 0.45 million.
Originality/value
Six Sigma as a means of waste reduction has gained popularity among researchers and practitioners. The literature on the methodology of Six Sigma and the management approach towards Six Sigma is burgeoning. While various Six Sigma tools and techniques and their application are discussed in literature independent of each other, the need has arisen to observe their systematic application as they apply in a project; every company can use this breakthrough improvement strategy to improve its processes by reducing waste and deriving the financial benefits.