This paper is an attempt to measure the impact of social media on the vanity level of youngsters ... more This paper is an attempt to measure the impact of social media on the vanity level of youngsters in India. An experimental research was conducted on a controlled group of 40 participants with an average age of 23 years. Netemeyer ’s vanity scale was administered on the participants and their vanity was measured. A month later, the participants in the research were put under controlled conditions for two hours and exposed to social media. They were instructed to log into their social media accounts and instructed to engage into activities like updating their status, uploading new photographs, reading comments and going through the number of likes which had been made on their earlier loaded statuses and photographs. Post two hours, their vanity level was measured. Data was analysed using paired sample t tests as well as confirmatory factor analysis and comparison was made along the factors of Netemeyer ’s Vanity Scale pre and post the exposure to social media activity.
Background and Purpose: India opened its doors to globalization in 1991 and the reference point o... more Background and Purpose: India opened its doors to globalization in 1991 and the reference point of this change through globalization has been the United States of America (USA) which champions the cause of a free economy. The current study attempts to explore the relevance and importance that globalization has brought to India through mapping the shifting pattern of mass media coverage of India by the foreign media and parallely marking the shifting patterns in investments made by foreign financial institutions in India, over the last decade and a half. Design/Methodology/ Approach: Top 25 news articles about India reported by The New York Times (NYT), every year, over a span two decades 1991-2010 was taken from the NYT website. The 500 news reports were filtered and news falling in the category of “Business and Personal Finance” (BPF) were used for content analysis and categorised into three broad types – good; bad or neutral. Similarly the investments made by foreign institutions (FII) in India were noted over the same period to explore a correlation between the BPF media reports and the investments made by FII in India. Since media reports do not often have an immediate impact a lag effect of one year was checked. The data was statistically validated. Findings: The findings indicate an exponential rise in the number of news items which NYT carried about India over a period of two decades. There has been a change in the category of news coverage from ‘Arts and Culture’ to ‘Politics and Business’. The type of news report has changed from neutral to positive and the news reporting is more visually aided with photographs and pictures. A similar pattern is noticed in the foreign investments by institutions which have grown over a period of time. This clearly indicates the existence of a relationship between the positive news coverage by independent media and a rise in the amount of investments made by foreign institutions. Research Limitations/ implications: The study is limited to establishing a relationship between the media representation and investments by foreign institutions but the direction and the intensity of the relationship is not established. A lag effect on one year has been considered. Originality/ Value: Observations and comments about India’s changing position as a potential economic power and a positive prospect for investments have been made which is empirically validated by the study. The study also brings out one of the factors which positively impact investments in a developing nation like India.
Most studies view organizational commitment as an outcome of the social exchange between an organ... more Most studies view organizational commitment as an outcome of the social exchange between an organization and the employee. However, there is reason to believe that perceived socially responsible behavior of the organization toward external parties will also influence the commitment of its employees. Few studies have examined the influence of an organization’s actions toward external parties on the commitment of its internal employees. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) refers to social commitments that organizations have toward stakeholder groups during the course of conducting routine business. We argue, on the basis of social exchange and social identity perspectives, that perceptions of CSR will have a positive influence on the commitment of employees and this relationship will be mediated by job satisfaction of the employees. Possible implications of this model have been identified. Key words: CSR , Organizational Commitment, Social Exchange, Social Identity
This study attempts to explore how due to globalization
framing of India in New York Times became... more This study attempts to explore how due to globalization framing of India in New York Times became relevant and of significance during the period of 1985-2010. An analysis of all the news articles about India was done to find out the change in the space given to India over the three phases of globalization. Later, a content analysis of as many as 450 news reports was done to find out the nature and focus of the news items pre and post globalization period. The findings indicate an exponential rise in the number of news items about India in the postglobalization phase. The nature of news reports changed from neutral to positive and more coverage was given to 'Politics and Business' section when earlier it dealt mostly with 'Arts and Culture' section. The news reporting in the post-globalization phase was more visually aided with photographs. The findings support the notion that when a nation becomes economically strong there is not only an internal positive sentiment generated but external communication agencies also facilitate in strengthening its position by representing it as a nation of consequence. Keywords: India; New York Times; Shift in communication quality and quantity; Globalization
Purpose: To understand the structure and process of mentoring when
formalized in an organization ... more Purpose: To understand the structure and process of mentoring when formalized in an organization and to measure the impact of formalized mentoring in creating a positive work force. Methodology: An organization where formalized mentoring was established as a part of the organization process was identified and data was collected through the use of semi-structured interviews conducted with the human resource manager; executives engaged as mentors and the mentees. The qualitative data was used to develop a case study. Mentees were further met again with a structured questionnaire to measure the impact of mentoring on them and shaping them as a positive workforce. Findings: The case study reflects the structure and the process through which mentoring can be formally established in an organization. Mentoring yielded positive results because the mentees responded to say that the mentoring process made them felt nurtured, guided and integrated in the organization. Implications: The findings reinforce the notion that mentoring can be used as a tool to develop a positive workforce and provide insights into the processes and systems which facilitate in establishing and running mentoring as a program in an organization. Limitations: The findings are limited to an organization and therefore the results cannot be generalized and are specific to the organization The mentoring process and structure detailed in the case study vary may not be applicable to other organizations as mentoring needs and process should be tailored according to the profile of the organization.
The paper explores the relationship between management students‘ academic performance and
soft sk... more The paper explores the relationship between management students‘ academic performance and soft skills. The corporate expects the students to be equipped with the set of managerial skills which their role requires. These skills have been bundled under the label of soft skills for the purpose of this study. One area in which business programs have been unable to meet the expectations of the corporate world is the development of these skills. The ghost of the conventional mindset still haunts management education and therefore the students focus upon academic excellence though the recruiters aim at hiring graduates who have the content (academic understanding of the theories and concepts) and can deliver (possible effectively through soft skills). Keywords: Soft Skills, Academic Performance and Managerial Skills.
Purpose – To examine the crucial skills required by management students which address the needs o... more Purpose – To examine the crucial skills required by management students which address the needs of corporate in the dynamic global economic world of the 21st Century. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on theory and empirical analysis made through psychometric tests results of management students reflecting their personality profile, juxtaposed against the needs of the corporate world identified through Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), – a report showing results of the global survey of corporate recruiters about employability skills. Findings – The paper highlights the personality traits of management students identified through 16 PF test and elaborates the areas which the ‘real’ business world is focusing upon. The current report of GMAC reflects the need for skills like interpersonal skills and team working; decision making and problem solving while the students score low on extraversion and leadership; creativity and abstract thinking. The educational curriculum still leaves a lot to be desired in being activity based and skill oriented. Practical implications – The paper will show direction to educators of professional courses especially management education regarding curriculum design and trainers regarding training needs of the young workforce such that they are able to provide to the corporate skilled managers who can sustain in the challenging and dynamic global work environment of the 21st Century. Originality/value – Marking out the areas where the professional management and business education need to work into to create skillful managers who need to cater to the demands of MNCs and TNCs. Keywords – Skill sets, personality traits and managerial skills, Management students, young global managers, training needs. Paper type – Research paper
Purpose
The opening up of the Indian Retail Sector has seen a proliferation of the corporate play... more Purpose The opening up of the Indian Retail Sector has seen a proliferation of the corporate players through different retail formats and stores – the majority being in the Food and groceries. This necessitates creating, building and managing differentiated retail store brands, and image differentiation, to attract and retain Shoppers. This research paper attempts to understand whether the Indian consumers differentiate the various store brands and images based on their experiences. Design/methodology/approach The study was conducted in two stages – list of parameters of evaluation of retail store image (developed from the literature), discussed with middle level managers from the retail sector to finalize parameters relevant for store image measurement in the Indian context and a questionnaire evolved for primary data collection, administered to 326 SEC A & B respondents (shoppers of food & grocery from modern retail stores). To assess the store image dimensions perceived by these shoppers, factor analysis was employed and for understanding various store image attributes used for differentiation of store brands one way anova was employed. Findings The results reflect that, Indian shoppers have started identifying the dimensions of retail store image and are differentiating the various stores on the basis of functional attributes. Eventually the stores would have to create differentiation based on psychological attributes. Research limitations/implications The study is limited to the organised modern food and grocery retail stores of Ahmedabad city. . 2 | P a g e Originality/value This study can be helpful to Indian retail store chains to focus on elements to create a differentiated store image. Key words: Store Image, Indian Retail, Exploratory Study, Perception, Retail Store Branding
The philosophy of establishing a corporate mission is still very nascent in India and moreover ve... more The philosophy of establishing a corporate mission is still very nascent in India and moreover very vague in its implications. This study analyses the relationship between mission statement content and stakeholder management actions. Findings indicate that although consumer related issues like product quality, innovation, R&D and communication, that are mentioned in mission statements is significantly associated with behaviors regarding these issues. The study found no relationship between firms with mission statements that mention specific stakeholder groups (employees, environment, and community) and behaviors regarding these stakeholders. This suggests that the inclusion of specific stakeholder groups in missions is likely the result of institutional pressures & creation of a public image while specifying social issues in missions is related to policy decisions.
This paper studies the contribution of corporate social responsibility (CSR) of
the IT sector in ... more This paper studies the contribution of corporate social responsibility (CSR) of the IT sector in India. The IT sector has grown at a high pace in the Indian business environment but it has also been blamed for affecting the environment and the lives of many citizens. The CSR activities in the modern corporate affairs have been identified as a very important practice for Indian companies due to the impact of increased revenue, thanks to the globalization. This study has taken five sectors into consideration - cement, steel, oil and banking along with IT. A comparative analysis was used to find the sector that is involved the most in the CSR initiative and the dimensions, and where companies need to re-assess their CSR strategies.
The paper is focused upon the issue of Job Satisfaction with relevance to the scientific professi... more The paper is focused upon the issue of Job Satisfaction with relevance to the scientific professionals working in the premier government run research and development organizations which are the targeted at indigenous technology development. The organizational structures of most of these organizations are divided into Projects and Facility Group, where the former plays a proactive role in planning and conceiving and the latter providing the deliverables and fulfilling requirements. The scientists in both these groups are engineers and therefore are equally qualified and recruited at the same base salary. Therefore, it made an interesting study to investigate and compare their job satisfaction levels using Paul Spectors‟, Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS) as the measurement instrument. The results showed that as against the common notion that the educated and learned scientists of our country are dissatisfied and are looking towards the careers in the western countries, the scientists are generally a satisfied lot and that beyond salary it‟s the contingent rewards and recognition among co-workers will is the deciding factor for JS among the intellectual and scientific population.
Purpose: The analyse the CSR communication made by the Indian companies operating in the Informat... more Purpose: The analyse the CSR communication made by the Indian companies operating in the Information and Technology (IT) sector in India and to compare them with the MNCs operating in the same sector. Design/Methodology/ Approach: Annual reports are used as a medium of communication and content analysis is employed to analyse the focus and intensity of CSR communication. Annual reports of 100 companies operating in the IT sector were examined. Findings: Both Indian and the MNCs target and lay importance to similar group of stakeholders for their CSR communication but the area of focus for the specific stakeholder varies. For the Human Resource the MNCs address quality of work life more while the Indian companies focus upon the monetary benefits provided. Similarly for customers the focus of the MNCs s the quality of product while the Indian companies focus upon the price as a parameter. Indian outperform the MNCs in their environment related disclosure while society as a stakeholder is least attended to through CSR communication made through annual reports. Research Limitations/ implications: The paper considers annual reports only and no other medium of CSR communication. The study is limited to the companies operating in the IT sector only. Originality/ Value: A comparison of the Indian companies and the MNCs on similar parameters has not been explored and therefore the results help bring out the communication strengths and weakness of the Indian companies and the MNCs. Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), CSR Communication, Annual Reports, Content Analysis, Information and Technology Sector, Indian companies and MNC.
Purpose: To understand CSR communication made the use of sustainability reports for this purpose.... more Purpose: To understand CSR communication made the use of sustainability reports for this purpose. Further to compare the CSR communication made by the Indian and Multinational Companies (MNCs) through the sustainability reports. Design/Methodology/ Approach: Examines the sustainability reports of the top 100 companies operating in the Information and Technology sector in India and compares the performance of the Indian and the MNCs in terms of CSR disclosure made through sustainability reports vis-à-vis the guidelines stated by the Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) Findings: The total number of Indian companies in the IT sector publishing sustainability reports is few but quality of reports is of global standards and the international benchmarks stated by GRI is achieved by a larger percentage of the Indian companies as against the MNCs operating in India in the IT sector. Research Limitations/ implications: The paper considers the sustainability reports only and no other medium of CSR communication. The study is limited to the companies operating in the IT sector only. Originality/ Value: Sustainability reports as a medium of CSR communication is highly ignored and therefore the findings will supplement and enhance the understanding of CSR communication Keywords: CSR, CSR communication, sustainability reports, Information Technology Sector, Indian companies and MNC. Paper Type: Research Paper
This study attempts to explore how due to globalization
framing of India in New York Times became... more This study attempts to explore how due to globalization framing of India in New York Times became relevant and of significance during the period of 1985-2010. An analysis of all the news articles about India was done to find out the change in the space given to India over the three phases of globalization. Later, a content analysis of as many as 450 news reports was done to find out the nature and focus of the news items pre and post globalization period. The findings indicate an exponential rise in the number of news items about India in the postglobalization phase. The nature of news reports changed from neutral to positive and more coverage was given to 'Politics and Business' section when earlier it dealt mostly with 'Arts and Culture' section. The news reporting in the post-globalization phase was more visually aided with photographs. The findings support the notion that when a nation becomes economically strong there is not only an internal positive sentiment generated but external communication agencies also facilitate in strengthening its position by representing it as a nation of consequence.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is used as a competitive tool in developing economies and i... more Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is used as a competitive tool in developing economies and it is a reality which faces strong criticism from the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) –business units of small net worth with two striking characteristics –supported and managed by single individuals or his family members and operate in a ‘cluster’. MSMEs grow and flourish in a unique business environment while parameters for effective CSR remains the same for MSME’s and large corporations. Since MSME’s need to compete with the large corporations, CSR adoption is not a choice and therefore the current paper argues that policy makers should consider and create provisions to support, ‘collective corporate social responsibilities, (CCSR) through which a group of MSMEs with similar sustainability needs support and take up socially responsible activities, as a unit. The clusters provide a conducive opportunity to MSME’s to adopt social responsibilities collectively, which will serve the needs of the various stakeholders like workers, community, environment, customers etc. This concept of ‘CCSR’ adheres and corroborates to all the Carroll’s (1991) [1], 4 stages of CSR Pyramid. The results substantiate the earlier work suggesting that the western institutional and management models exported to other regions of the world are not always very successful (Wohlgemuth, Carlsson & Kifle ed, 1998) [2] and understanding and practice of CSR should be socio-culturally framed (Sundar 2000) [3].
The philosophy of establishing a corporate mission is still very nascent in India and moreover ve... more The philosophy of establishing a corporate mission is still very nascent in India and moreover very vague in its implications. This study analyses the relationship between mission statement content and stakeholder management actions. Findings indicate that although consumer related issues like product quality, innovation, R&D and communication, that are mentioned in mission statements is significantly associated with behaviors regarding these issues. The study found no relationship between firms with mission statements that mention specific stakeholder groups (employees, environment, and community) and behaviors regarding these stakeholders. This suggests that the inclusion of specific stakeholder groups in missions is likely the result of institutional pressures & creation of a public image while specifying social issues in missions is related to policy decisions.
The paper is focused upon the issue of Job Satisfaction with relevance to the scientific professi... more The paper is focused upon the issue of Job Satisfaction with relevance to the scientific professionals working in the premier government run research and development organizations which are the targeted at indigenous technology development. The organizational structures of most of these organizations are divided into Projects and Facility Group, where the former plays a proactive role in planning and conceiving and the latter providing the deliverables and fulfilling requirements. The scientists in both these groups are engineers and therefore are equally qualified and recruited at the same base salary. Therefore, it made an interesting study to investigate and compare their job satisfaction levels using Paul Spectors", Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS) as the measurement instrument. The results showed that as against the common notion that the educated and learned scientists of our country are dissatisfied and are looking towards the careers in the western countries, the scientists are generally a satisfied lot and that beyond salary it"s the contingent rewards and recognition among co-workers will is the deciding factor for JS among the intellectual and scientific population.
This paper is an attempt to measure the impact of social media on the vanity level of youngsters ... more This paper is an attempt to measure the impact of social media on the vanity level of youngsters in India. An experimental research was conducted on a controlled group of 40 participants with an average age of 23 years. Netemeyer ’s vanity scale was administered on the participants and their vanity was measured. A month later, the participants in the research were put under controlled conditions for two hours and exposed to social media. They were instructed to log into their social media accounts and instructed to engage into activities like updating their status, uploading new photographs, reading comments and going through the number of likes which had been made on their earlier loaded statuses and photographs. Post two hours, their vanity level was measured. Data was analysed using paired sample t tests as well as confirmatory factor analysis and comparison was made along the factors of Netemeyer ’s Vanity Scale pre and post the exposure to social media activity.
Background and Purpose: India opened its doors to globalization in 1991 and the reference point o... more Background and Purpose: India opened its doors to globalization in 1991 and the reference point of this change through globalization has been the United States of America (USA) which champions the cause of a free economy. The current study attempts to explore the relevance and importance that globalization has brought to India through mapping the shifting pattern of mass media coverage of India by the foreign media and parallely marking the shifting patterns in investments made by foreign financial institutions in India, over the last decade and a half. Design/Methodology/ Approach: Top 25 news articles about India reported by The New York Times (NYT), every year, over a span two decades 1991-2010 was taken from the NYT website. The 500 news reports were filtered and news falling in the category of “Business and Personal Finance” (BPF) were used for content analysis and categorised into three broad types – good; bad or neutral. Similarly the investments made by foreign institutions (FII) in India were noted over the same period to explore a correlation between the BPF media reports and the investments made by FII in India. Since media reports do not often have an immediate impact a lag effect of one year was checked. The data was statistically validated. Findings: The findings indicate an exponential rise in the number of news items which NYT carried about India over a period of two decades. There has been a change in the category of news coverage from ‘Arts and Culture’ to ‘Politics and Business’. The type of news report has changed from neutral to positive and the news reporting is more visually aided with photographs and pictures. A similar pattern is noticed in the foreign investments by institutions which have grown over a period of time. This clearly indicates the existence of a relationship between the positive news coverage by independent media and a rise in the amount of investments made by foreign institutions. Research Limitations/ implications: The study is limited to establishing a relationship between the media representation and investments by foreign institutions but the direction and the intensity of the relationship is not established. A lag effect on one year has been considered. Originality/ Value: Observations and comments about India’s changing position as a potential economic power and a positive prospect for investments have been made which is empirically validated by the study. The study also brings out one of the factors which positively impact investments in a developing nation like India.
Most studies view organizational commitment as an outcome of the social exchange between an organ... more Most studies view organizational commitment as an outcome of the social exchange between an organization and the employee. However, there is reason to believe that perceived socially responsible behavior of the organization toward external parties will also influence the commitment of its employees. Few studies have examined the influence of an organization’s actions toward external parties on the commitment of its internal employees. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) refers to social commitments that organizations have toward stakeholder groups during the course of conducting routine business. We argue, on the basis of social exchange and social identity perspectives, that perceptions of CSR will have a positive influence on the commitment of employees and this relationship will be mediated by job satisfaction of the employees. Possible implications of this model have been identified. Key words: CSR , Organizational Commitment, Social Exchange, Social Identity
This study attempts to explore how due to globalization
framing of India in New York Times became... more This study attempts to explore how due to globalization framing of India in New York Times became relevant and of significance during the period of 1985-2010. An analysis of all the news articles about India was done to find out the change in the space given to India over the three phases of globalization. Later, a content analysis of as many as 450 news reports was done to find out the nature and focus of the news items pre and post globalization period. The findings indicate an exponential rise in the number of news items about India in the postglobalization phase. The nature of news reports changed from neutral to positive and more coverage was given to 'Politics and Business' section when earlier it dealt mostly with 'Arts and Culture' section. The news reporting in the post-globalization phase was more visually aided with photographs. The findings support the notion that when a nation becomes economically strong there is not only an internal positive sentiment generated but external communication agencies also facilitate in strengthening its position by representing it as a nation of consequence. Keywords: India; New York Times; Shift in communication quality and quantity; Globalization
Purpose: To understand the structure and process of mentoring when
formalized in an organization ... more Purpose: To understand the structure and process of mentoring when formalized in an organization and to measure the impact of formalized mentoring in creating a positive work force. Methodology: An organization where formalized mentoring was established as a part of the organization process was identified and data was collected through the use of semi-structured interviews conducted with the human resource manager; executives engaged as mentors and the mentees. The qualitative data was used to develop a case study. Mentees were further met again with a structured questionnaire to measure the impact of mentoring on them and shaping them as a positive workforce. Findings: The case study reflects the structure and the process through which mentoring can be formally established in an organization. Mentoring yielded positive results because the mentees responded to say that the mentoring process made them felt nurtured, guided and integrated in the organization. Implications: The findings reinforce the notion that mentoring can be used as a tool to develop a positive workforce and provide insights into the processes and systems which facilitate in establishing and running mentoring as a program in an organization. Limitations: The findings are limited to an organization and therefore the results cannot be generalized and are specific to the organization The mentoring process and structure detailed in the case study vary may not be applicable to other organizations as mentoring needs and process should be tailored according to the profile of the organization.
The paper explores the relationship between management students‘ academic performance and
soft sk... more The paper explores the relationship between management students‘ academic performance and soft skills. The corporate expects the students to be equipped with the set of managerial skills which their role requires. These skills have been bundled under the label of soft skills for the purpose of this study. One area in which business programs have been unable to meet the expectations of the corporate world is the development of these skills. The ghost of the conventional mindset still haunts management education and therefore the students focus upon academic excellence though the recruiters aim at hiring graduates who have the content (academic understanding of the theories and concepts) and can deliver (possible effectively through soft skills). Keywords: Soft Skills, Academic Performance and Managerial Skills.
Purpose – To examine the crucial skills required by management students which address the needs o... more Purpose – To examine the crucial skills required by management students which address the needs of corporate in the dynamic global economic world of the 21st Century. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on theory and empirical analysis made through psychometric tests results of management students reflecting their personality profile, juxtaposed against the needs of the corporate world identified through Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), – a report showing results of the global survey of corporate recruiters about employability skills. Findings – The paper highlights the personality traits of management students identified through 16 PF test and elaborates the areas which the ‘real’ business world is focusing upon. The current report of GMAC reflects the need for skills like interpersonal skills and team working; decision making and problem solving while the students score low on extraversion and leadership; creativity and abstract thinking. The educational curriculum still leaves a lot to be desired in being activity based and skill oriented. Practical implications – The paper will show direction to educators of professional courses especially management education regarding curriculum design and trainers regarding training needs of the young workforce such that they are able to provide to the corporate skilled managers who can sustain in the challenging and dynamic global work environment of the 21st Century. Originality/value – Marking out the areas where the professional management and business education need to work into to create skillful managers who need to cater to the demands of MNCs and TNCs. Keywords – Skill sets, personality traits and managerial skills, Management students, young global managers, training needs. Paper type – Research paper
Purpose
The opening up of the Indian Retail Sector has seen a proliferation of the corporate play... more Purpose The opening up of the Indian Retail Sector has seen a proliferation of the corporate players through different retail formats and stores – the majority being in the Food and groceries. This necessitates creating, building and managing differentiated retail store brands, and image differentiation, to attract and retain Shoppers. This research paper attempts to understand whether the Indian consumers differentiate the various store brands and images based on their experiences. Design/methodology/approach The study was conducted in two stages – list of parameters of evaluation of retail store image (developed from the literature), discussed with middle level managers from the retail sector to finalize parameters relevant for store image measurement in the Indian context and a questionnaire evolved for primary data collection, administered to 326 SEC A & B respondents (shoppers of food & grocery from modern retail stores). To assess the store image dimensions perceived by these shoppers, factor analysis was employed and for understanding various store image attributes used for differentiation of store brands one way anova was employed. Findings The results reflect that, Indian shoppers have started identifying the dimensions of retail store image and are differentiating the various stores on the basis of functional attributes. Eventually the stores would have to create differentiation based on psychological attributes. Research limitations/implications The study is limited to the organised modern food and grocery retail stores of Ahmedabad city. . 2 | P a g e Originality/value This study can be helpful to Indian retail store chains to focus on elements to create a differentiated store image. Key words: Store Image, Indian Retail, Exploratory Study, Perception, Retail Store Branding
The philosophy of establishing a corporate mission is still very nascent in India and moreover ve... more The philosophy of establishing a corporate mission is still very nascent in India and moreover very vague in its implications. This study analyses the relationship between mission statement content and stakeholder management actions. Findings indicate that although consumer related issues like product quality, innovation, R&D and communication, that are mentioned in mission statements is significantly associated with behaviors regarding these issues. The study found no relationship between firms with mission statements that mention specific stakeholder groups (employees, environment, and community) and behaviors regarding these stakeholders. This suggests that the inclusion of specific stakeholder groups in missions is likely the result of institutional pressures & creation of a public image while specifying social issues in missions is related to policy decisions.
This paper studies the contribution of corporate social responsibility (CSR) of
the IT sector in ... more This paper studies the contribution of corporate social responsibility (CSR) of the IT sector in India. The IT sector has grown at a high pace in the Indian business environment but it has also been blamed for affecting the environment and the lives of many citizens. The CSR activities in the modern corporate affairs have been identified as a very important practice for Indian companies due to the impact of increased revenue, thanks to the globalization. This study has taken five sectors into consideration - cement, steel, oil and banking along with IT. A comparative analysis was used to find the sector that is involved the most in the CSR initiative and the dimensions, and where companies need to re-assess their CSR strategies.
The paper is focused upon the issue of Job Satisfaction with relevance to the scientific professi... more The paper is focused upon the issue of Job Satisfaction with relevance to the scientific professionals working in the premier government run research and development organizations which are the targeted at indigenous technology development. The organizational structures of most of these organizations are divided into Projects and Facility Group, where the former plays a proactive role in planning and conceiving and the latter providing the deliverables and fulfilling requirements. The scientists in both these groups are engineers and therefore are equally qualified and recruited at the same base salary. Therefore, it made an interesting study to investigate and compare their job satisfaction levels using Paul Spectors‟, Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS) as the measurement instrument. The results showed that as against the common notion that the educated and learned scientists of our country are dissatisfied and are looking towards the careers in the western countries, the scientists are generally a satisfied lot and that beyond salary it‟s the contingent rewards and recognition among co-workers will is the deciding factor for JS among the intellectual and scientific population.
Purpose: The analyse the CSR communication made by the Indian companies operating in the Informat... more Purpose: The analyse the CSR communication made by the Indian companies operating in the Information and Technology (IT) sector in India and to compare them with the MNCs operating in the same sector. Design/Methodology/ Approach: Annual reports are used as a medium of communication and content analysis is employed to analyse the focus and intensity of CSR communication. Annual reports of 100 companies operating in the IT sector were examined. Findings: Both Indian and the MNCs target and lay importance to similar group of stakeholders for their CSR communication but the area of focus for the specific stakeholder varies. For the Human Resource the MNCs address quality of work life more while the Indian companies focus upon the monetary benefits provided. Similarly for customers the focus of the MNCs s the quality of product while the Indian companies focus upon the price as a parameter. Indian outperform the MNCs in their environment related disclosure while society as a stakeholder is least attended to through CSR communication made through annual reports. Research Limitations/ implications: The paper considers annual reports only and no other medium of CSR communication. The study is limited to the companies operating in the IT sector only. Originality/ Value: A comparison of the Indian companies and the MNCs on similar parameters has not been explored and therefore the results help bring out the communication strengths and weakness of the Indian companies and the MNCs. Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), CSR Communication, Annual Reports, Content Analysis, Information and Technology Sector, Indian companies and MNC.
Purpose: To understand CSR communication made the use of sustainability reports for this purpose.... more Purpose: To understand CSR communication made the use of sustainability reports for this purpose. Further to compare the CSR communication made by the Indian and Multinational Companies (MNCs) through the sustainability reports. Design/Methodology/ Approach: Examines the sustainability reports of the top 100 companies operating in the Information and Technology sector in India and compares the performance of the Indian and the MNCs in terms of CSR disclosure made through sustainability reports vis-à-vis the guidelines stated by the Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) Findings: The total number of Indian companies in the IT sector publishing sustainability reports is few but quality of reports is of global standards and the international benchmarks stated by GRI is achieved by a larger percentage of the Indian companies as against the MNCs operating in India in the IT sector. Research Limitations/ implications: The paper considers the sustainability reports only and no other medium of CSR communication. The study is limited to the companies operating in the IT sector only. Originality/ Value: Sustainability reports as a medium of CSR communication is highly ignored and therefore the findings will supplement and enhance the understanding of CSR communication Keywords: CSR, CSR communication, sustainability reports, Information Technology Sector, Indian companies and MNC. Paper Type: Research Paper
This study attempts to explore how due to globalization
framing of India in New York Times became... more This study attempts to explore how due to globalization framing of India in New York Times became relevant and of significance during the period of 1985-2010. An analysis of all the news articles about India was done to find out the change in the space given to India over the three phases of globalization. Later, a content analysis of as many as 450 news reports was done to find out the nature and focus of the news items pre and post globalization period. The findings indicate an exponential rise in the number of news items about India in the postglobalization phase. The nature of news reports changed from neutral to positive and more coverage was given to 'Politics and Business' section when earlier it dealt mostly with 'Arts and Culture' section. The news reporting in the post-globalization phase was more visually aided with photographs. The findings support the notion that when a nation becomes economically strong there is not only an internal positive sentiment generated but external communication agencies also facilitate in strengthening its position by representing it as a nation of consequence.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is used as a competitive tool in developing economies and i... more Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is used as a competitive tool in developing economies and it is a reality which faces strong criticism from the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) –business units of small net worth with two striking characteristics –supported and managed by single individuals or his family members and operate in a ‘cluster’. MSMEs grow and flourish in a unique business environment while parameters for effective CSR remains the same for MSME’s and large corporations. Since MSME’s need to compete with the large corporations, CSR adoption is not a choice and therefore the current paper argues that policy makers should consider and create provisions to support, ‘collective corporate social responsibilities, (CCSR) through which a group of MSMEs with similar sustainability needs support and take up socially responsible activities, as a unit. The clusters provide a conducive opportunity to MSME’s to adopt social responsibilities collectively, which will serve the needs of the various stakeholders like workers, community, environment, customers etc. This concept of ‘CCSR’ adheres and corroborates to all the Carroll’s (1991) [1], 4 stages of CSR Pyramid. The results substantiate the earlier work suggesting that the western institutional and management models exported to other regions of the world are not always very successful (Wohlgemuth, Carlsson & Kifle ed, 1998) [2] and understanding and practice of CSR should be socio-culturally framed (Sundar 2000) [3].
The philosophy of establishing a corporate mission is still very nascent in India and moreover ve... more The philosophy of establishing a corporate mission is still very nascent in India and moreover very vague in its implications. This study analyses the relationship between mission statement content and stakeholder management actions. Findings indicate that although consumer related issues like product quality, innovation, R&D and communication, that are mentioned in mission statements is significantly associated with behaviors regarding these issues. The study found no relationship between firms with mission statements that mention specific stakeholder groups (employees, environment, and community) and behaviors regarding these stakeholders. This suggests that the inclusion of specific stakeholder groups in missions is likely the result of institutional pressures & creation of a public image while specifying social issues in missions is related to policy decisions.
The paper is focused upon the issue of Job Satisfaction with relevance to the scientific professi... more The paper is focused upon the issue of Job Satisfaction with relevance to the scientific professionals working in the premier government run research and development organizations which are the targeted at indigenous technology development. The organizational structures of most of these organizations are divided into Projects and Facility Group, where the former plays a proactive role in planning and conceiving and the latter providing the deliverables and fulfilling requirements. The scientists in both these groups are engineers and therefore are equally qualified and recruited at the same base salary. Therefore, it made an interesting study to investigate and compare their job satisfaction levels using Paul Spectors", Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS) as the measurement instrument. The results showed that as against the common notion that the educated and learned scientists of our country are dissatisfied and are looking towards the careers in the western countries, the scientists are generally a satisfied lot and that beyond salary it"s the contingent rewards and recognition among co-workers will is the deciding factor for JS among the intellectual and scientific population.
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Papers by Ruchi Tewari
participants with an average age of 23 years. Netemeyer ’s vanity scale was administered on the participants and their vanity was measured. A month later, the participants in the
research were put under controlled conditions for two hours and exposed to social media.
They were instructed to log into their social media accounts and instructed to engage into activities like updating their status, uploading new photographs, reading comments and
going through the number of likes which had been made on their earlier loaded statuses and photographs. Post two hours, their vanity level was measured. Data was analysed
using paired sample t tests as well as confirmatory factor analysis and comparison was made along the factors of Netemeyer ’s Vanity Scale pre and post the exposure to social
media activity.
Design/Methodology/ Approach: Top 25 news articles about India reported by The New York Times (NYT), every year, over a span two decades 1991-2010 was taken from the NYT website. The 500 news reports were filtered and news falling in the category of “Business and Personal Finance” (BPF) were used for content analysis and categorised into three broad types – good; bad or neutral.
Similarly the investments made by foreign institutions (FII) in India were noted over the same period to explore a correlation between the BPF media reports and the investments made by FII in India. Since media reports do not often have an immediate impact a lag effect of one year was checked. The data was statistically validated.
Findings: The findings indicate an exponential rise in the number of news items which NYT carried about India over a period of two decades. There has been a change in the category of news coverage from ‘Arts and Culture’ to ‘Politics and Business’. The type of news report has changed from neutral to positive and the news reporting is more visually aided with photographs and pictures. A similar pattern is noticed in the foreign investments by institutions which have grown over a period of time. This clearly indicates the existence of a relationship between the positive news coverage by independent media and a rise in the amount of investments made by foreign institutions.
Research Limitations/ implications: The study is limited to establishing a relationship between the media representation and investments by foreign institutions but the direction and the intensity of the relationship is not established. A lag effect on one year has been considered.
Originality/ Value: Observations and comments about India’s changing position as a potential economic power and a positive prospect for investments have been made which is empirically validated by the study. The study also brings out one of the factors which positively impact investments in a developing nation like India.
Key words: CSR , Organizational Commitment, Social Exchange, Social Identity
framing of India in New York Times became relevant and of
significance during the period of 1985-2010. An analysis of all
the news articles about India was done to find out the change in
the space given to India over the three phases of globalization.
Later, a content analysis of as many as 450 news reports was
done to find out the nature and focus of the news items pre and
post globalization period. The findings indicate an exponential
rise in the number of news items about India in the postglobalization
phase. The nature of news reports changed from
neutral to positive and more coverage was given to 'Politics and
Business' section when earlier it dealt mostly with 'Arts and
Culture' section. The news reporting in the post-globalization
phase was more visually aided with photographs. The findings
support the notion that when a nation becomes economically
strong there is not only an internal positive sentiment generated
but external communication agencies also facilitate in
strengthening its position by representing it as a nation of
consequence.
Keywords: India; New York Times; Shift in communication
quality and quantity; Globalization
formalized in an organization and to measure the impact of formalized
mentoring in creating a positive work force.
Methodology: An organization where formalized mentoring was
established as a part of the organization process was identified and data
was collected through the use of semi-structured interviews conducted
with the human resource manager; executives engaged as mentors and
the mentees. The qualitative data was used to develop a case study.
Mentees were further met again with a structured questionnaire to
measure the impact of mentoring on them and shaping them as a
positive workforce.
Findings: The case study reflects the structure and the process through
which mentoring can be formally established in an organization.
Mentoring yielded positive results because the mentees responded to
say that the mentoring process made them felt nurtured, guided and
integrated in the organization.
Implications: The findings reinforce the notion that mentoring can be
used as a tool to develop a positive workforce and provide insights into
the processes and systems which facilitate in establishing and running
mentoring as a program in an organization.
Limitations: The findings are limited to an organization and therefore
the results cannot be generalized and are specific to the organization The mentoring process and structure detailed in the case study vary
may not be applicable to other organizations as mentoring needs and process should be tailored according to the profile of the organization.
soft skills. The corporate expects the students to be equipped with the set of managerial skills
which their role requires. These skills have been bundled under the label of soft skills for the
purpose of this study. One area in which business programs have been unable to meet the
expectations of the corporate world is the development of these skills. The ghost of the
conventional mindset still haunts management education and therefore the students focus upon
academic excellence though the recruiters aim at hiring graduates who have the content
(academic understanding of the theories and concepts) and can deliver (possible effectively
through soft skills).
Keywords: Soft Skills, Academic Performance and Managerial Skills.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on theory and empirical analysis made through psychometric tests results of management students reflecting their personality profile, juxtaposed against the needs of the corporate world identified through Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), – a report showing results of the global survey of corporate recruiters about employability skills.
Findings – The paper highlights the personality traits of management students identified through 16 PF test and elaborates the areas which the ‘real’ business world is focusing upon. The current report of GMAC reflects the need for skills like interpersonal skills and team working; decision making and problem solving while the students score low on extraversion and leadership; creativity and abstract thinking. The educational curriculum still leaves a lot to be desired in being activity based and skill oriented.
Practical implications – The paper will show direction to educators of professional courses especially management education regarding curriculum design and trainers regarding training needs of the young workforce such that they are able to provide to the corporate skilled managers who can sustain in the challenging and dynamic global work environment of the 21st Century.
Originality/value – Marking out the areas where the professional management and business education need to work into to create skillful managers who need to cater to the demands of MNCs and TNCs.
Keywords – Skill sets, personality traits and managerial skills, Management students, young global managers, training needs.
Paper type – Research paper
The opening up of the Indian Retail Sector has seen a proliferation of the corporate players through different retail formats and stores – the majority being in the Food and groceries. This necessitates creating, building and managing differentiated retail store brands, and image differentiation, to attract and retain Shoppers. This research paper attempts to understand whether the Indian consumers differentiate the various store brands and images based on their experiences.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was conducted in two stages – list of parameters of evaluation of retail store image (developed from the literature), discussed with middle level managers from the retail sector to finalize parameters relevant for store image measurement in the Indian context and a questionnaire evolved for primary data collection, administered to 326 SEC A & B respondents (shoppers of food & grocery from modern retail stores). To assess the store image dimensions perceived by these shoppers, factor analysis was employed and for understanding various store image attributes used for differentiation of store brands one way anova was employed.
Findings
The results reflect that, Indian shoppers have started identifying the dimensions of retail store image and are differentiating the various stores on the basis of functional attributes. Eventually the stores would have to create differentiation based on psychological attributes.
Research limitations/implications
The study is limited to the organised modern food and grocery retail stores of Ahmedabad city.
.
2 | P a g e
Originality/value
This study can be helpful to Indian retail store chains to focus on elements to create a differentiated store image.
Key words:
Store Image, Indian Retail, Exploratory Study, Perception, Retail Store Branding
the IT sector in India. The IT sector has grown at a high pace in the Indian business
environment but it has also been blamed for affecting the environment and the lives of many
citizens. The CSR activities in the modern corporate affairs have been identified as a very
important practice for Indian companies due to the impact of increased revenue, thanks to the
globalization. This study has taken five sectors into consideration - cement, steel, oil and
banking along with IT. A comparative analysis was used to find the sector that is involved the
most in the CSR initiative and the dimensions, and where companies need to re-assess their
CSR strategies.
Design/Methodology/ Approach: Annual reports are used as a medium of communication and content analysis is employed to analyse the focus and intensity of CSR communication. Annual reports of 100 companies operating in the IT sector were examined.
Findings: Both Indian and the MNCs target and lay importance to similar group of stakeholders for their CSR communication but the area of focus for the specific stakeholder varies. For the Human Resource the MNCs address quality of work life more while the Indian companies focus upon the monetary benefits provided. Similarly for customers the focus of the MNCs s the quality of product while the Indian companies focus upon the price as a parameter. Indian outperform the MNCs in their environment related disclosure while society as a stakeholder is least attended to through CSR communication made through annual reports.
Research Limitations/ implications: The paper considers annual reports only and no other medium of CSR communication. The study is limited to the companies operating in the IT sector only.
Originality/ Value: A comparison of the Indian companies and the MNCs on similar parameters has not been explored and therefore the results help bring out the communication strengths and weakness of the Indian companies and the MNCs.
Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), CSR Communication, Annual Reports, Content Analysis, Information and Technology Sector, Indian companies and MNC.
Design/Methodology/ Approach: Examines the sustainability reports of the top 100 companies operating in the Information and Technology sector in India and compares the performance of the Indian and the MNCs in terms of CSR disclosure made through sustainability reports vis-à-vis the guidelines stated by the Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI)
Findings: The total number of Indian companies in the IT sector publishing sustainability reports is few but quality of reports is of global standards and the international benchmarks stated by GRI is achieved by a larger percentage of the Indian companies as against the MNCs operating in India in the IT sector.
Research Limitations/ implications: The paper considers the sustainability reports only and no other medium of CSR communication. The study is limited to the companies operating in the IT sector only.
Originality/ Value: Sustainability reports as a medium of CSR communication is highly ignored and therefore the findings will supplement and enhance the understanding of CSR communication
Keywords: CSR, CSR communication, sustainability reports, Information Technology Sector, Indian companies and MNC.
Paper Type: Research Paper
framing of India in New York Times became relevant and of
significance during the period of 1985-2010. An analysis of all
the news articles about India was done to find out the change in
the space given to India over the three phases of globalization.
Later, a content analysis of as many as 450 news reports was
done to find out the nature and focus of the news items pre and
post globalization period. The findings indicate an exponential
rise in the number of news items about India in the postglobalization phase. The nature of news reports changed from neutral to positive and more coverage was given to 'Politics and Business' section when earlier it dealt mostly with 'Arts and Culture' section. The news reporting in the post-globalization phase was more visually aided with photographs. The findings support the notion that when a nation becomes economically strong there is not only an internal positive sentiment generated but external communication agencies also facilitate in strengthening its position by representing it as a nation of consequence.
participants with an average age of 23 years. Netemeyer ’s vanity scale was administered on the participants and their vanity was measured. A month later, the participants in the
research were put under controlled conditions for two hours and exposed to social media.
They were instructed to log into their social media accounts and instructed to engage into activities like updating their status, uploading new photographs, reading comments and
going through the number of likes which had been made on their earlier loaded statuses and photographs. Post two hours, their vanity level was measured. Data was analysed
using paired sample t tests as well as confirmatory factor analysis and comparison was made along the factors of Netemeyer ’s Vanity Scale pre and post the exposure to social
media activity.
Design/Methodology/ Approach: Top 25 news articles about India reported by The New York Times (NYT), every year, over a span two decades 1991-2010 was taken from the NYT website. The 500 news reports were filtered and news falling in the category of “Business and Personal Finance” (BPF) were used for content analysis and categorised into three broad types – good; bad or neutral.
Similarly the investments made by foreign institutions (FII) in India were noted over the same period to explore a correlation between the BPF media reports and the investments made by FII in India. Since media reports do not often have an immediate impact a lag effect of one year was checked. The data was statistically validated.
Findings: The findings indicate an exponential rise in the number of news items which NYT carried about India over a period of two decades. There has been a change in the category of news coverage from ‘Arts and Culture’ to ‘Politics and Business’. The type of news report has changed from neutral to positive and the news reporting is more visually aided with photographs and pictures. A similar pattern is noticed in the foreign investments by institutions which have grown over a period of time. This clearly indicates the existence of a relationship between the positive news coverage by independent media and a rise in the amount of investments made by foreign institutions.
Research Limitations/ implications: The study is limited to establishing a relationship between the media representation and investments by foreign institutions but the direction and the intensity of the relationship is not established. A lag effect on one year has been considered.
Originality/ Value: Observations and comments about India’s changing position as a potential economic power and a positive prospect for investments have been made which is empirically validated by the study. The study also brings out one of the factors which positively impact investments in a developing nation like India.
Key words: CSR , Organizational Commitment, Social Exchange, Social Identity
framing of India in New York Times became relevant and of
significance during the period of 1985-2010. An analysis of all
the news articles about India was done to find out the change in
the space given to India over the three phases of globalization.
Later, a content analysis of as many as 450 news reports was
done to find out the nature and focus of the news items pre and
post globalization period. The findings indicate an exponential
rise in the number of news items about India in the postglobalization
phase. The nature of news reports changed from
neutral to positive and more coverage was given to 'Politics and
Business' section when earlier it dealt mostly with 'Arts and
Culture' section. The news reporting in the post-globalization
phase was more visually aided with photographs. The findings
support the notion that when a nation becomes economically
strong there is not only an internal positive sentiment generated
but external communication agencies also facilitate in
strengthening its position by representing it as a nation of
consequence.
Keywords: India; New York Times; Shift in communication
quality and quantity; Globalization
formalized in an organization and to measure the impact of formalized
mentoring in creating a positive work force.
Methodology: An organization where formalized mentoring was
established as a part of the organization process was identified and data
was collected through the use of semi-structured interviews conducted
with the human resource manager; executives engaged as mentors and
the mentees. The qualitative data was used to develop a case study.
Mentees were further met again with a structured questionnaire to
measure the impact of mentoring on them and shaping them as a
positive workforce.
Findings: The case study reflects the structure and the process through
which mentoring can be formally established in an organization.
Mentoring yielded positive results because the mentees responded to
say that the mentoring process made them felt nurtured, guided and
integrated in the organization.
Implications: The findings reinforce the notion that mentoring can be
used as a tool to develop a positive workforce and provide insights into
the processes and systems which facilitate in establishing and running
mentoring as a program in an organization.
Limitations: The findings are limited to an organization and therefore
the results cannot be generalized and are specific to the organization The mentoring process and structure detailed in the case study vary
may not be applicable to other organizations as mentoring needs and process should be tailored according to the profile of the organization.
soft skills. The corporate expects the students to be equipped with the set of managerial skills
which their role requires. These skills have been bundled under the label of soft skills for the
purpose of this study. One area in which business programs have been unable to meet the
expectations of the corporate world is the development of these skills. The ghost of the
conventional mindset still haunts management education and therefore the students focus upon
academic excellence though the recruiters aim at hiring graduates who have the content
(academic understanding of the theories and concepts) and can deliver (possible effectively
through soft skills).
Keywords: Soft Skills, Academic Performance and Managerial Skills.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on theory and empirical analysis made through psychometric tests results of management students reflecting their personality profile, juxtaposed against the needs of the corporate world identified through Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), – a report showing results of the global survey of corporate recruiters about employability skills.
Findings – The paper highlights the personality traits of management students identified through 16 PF test and elaborates the areas which the ‘real’ business world is focusing upon. The current report of GMAC reflects the need for skills like interpersonal skills and team working; decision making and problem solving while the students score low on extraversion and leadership; creativity and abstract thinking. The educational curriculum still leaves a lot to be desired in being activity based and skill oriented.
Practical implications – The paper will show direction to educators of professional courses especially management education regarding curriculum design and trainers regarding training needs of the young workforce such that they are able to provide to the corporate skilled managers who can sustain in the challenging and dynamic global work environment of the 21st Century.
Originality/value – Marking out the areas where the professional management and business education need to work into to create skillful managers who need to cater to the demands of MNCs and TNCs.
Keywords – Skill sets, personality traits and managerial skills, Management students, young global managers, training needs.
Paper type – Research paper
The opening up of the Indian Retail Sector has seen a proliferation of the corporate players through different retail formats and stores – the majority being in the Food and groceries. This necessitates creating, building and managing differentiated retail store brands, and image differentiation, to attract and retain Shoppers. This research paper attempts to understand whether the Indian consumers differentiate the various store brands and images based on their experiences.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was conducted in two stages – list of parameters of evaluation of retail store image (developed from the literature), discussed with middle level managers from the retail sector to finalize parameters relevant for store image measurement in the Indian context and a questionnaire evolved for primary data collection, administered to 326 SEC A & B respondents (shoppers of food & grocery from modern retail stores). To assess the store image dimensions perceived by these shoppers, factor analysis was employed and for understanding various store image attributes used for differentiation of store brands one way anova was employed.
Findings
The results reflect that, Indian shoppers have started identifying the dimensions of retail store image and are differentiating the various stores on the basis of functional attributes. Eventually the stores would have to create differentiation based on psychological attributes.
Research limitations/implications
The study is limited to the organised modern food and grocery retail stores of Ahmedabad city.
.
2 | P a g e
Originality/value
This study can be helpful to Indian retail store chains to focus on elements to create a differentiated store image.
Key words:
Store Image, Indian Retail, Exploratory Study, Perception, Retail Store Branding
the IT sector in India. The IT sector has grown at a high pace in the Indian business
environment but it has also been blamed for affecting the environment and the lives of many
citizens. The CSR activities in the modern corporate affairs have been identified as a very
important practice for Indian companies due to the impact of increased revenue, thanks to the
globalization. This study has taken five sectors into consideration - cement, steel, oil and
banking along with IT. A comparative analysis was used to find the sector that is involved the
most in the CSR initiative and the dimensions, and where companies need to re-assess their
CSR strategies.
Design/Methodology/ Approach: Annual reports are used as a medium of communication and content analysis is employed to analyse the focus and intensity of CSR communication. Annual reports of 100 companies operating in the IT sector were examined.
Findings: Both Indian and the MNCs target and lay importance to similar group of stakeholders for their CSR communication but the area of focus for the specific stakeholder varies. For the Human Resource the MNCs address quality of work life more while the Indian companies focus upon the monetary benefits provided. Similarly for customers the focus of the MNCs s the quality of product while the Indian companies focus upon the price as a parameter. Indian outperform the MNCs in their environment related disclosure while society as a stakeholder is least attended to through CSR communication made through annual reports.
Research Limitations/ implications: The paper considers annual reports only and no other medium of CSR communication. The study is limited to the companies operating in the IT sector only.
Originality/ Value: A comparison of the Indian companies and the MNCs on similar parameters has not been explored and therefore the results help bring out the communication strengths and weakness of the Indian companies and the MNCs.
Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), CSR Communication, Annual Reports, Content Analysis, Information and Technology Sector, Indian companies and MNC.
Design/Methodology/ Approach: Examines the sustainability reports of the top 100 companies operating in the Information and Technology sector in India and compares the performance of the Indian and the MNCs in terms of CSR disclosure made through sustainability reports vis-à-vis the guidelines stated by the Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI)
Findings: The total number of Indian companies in the IT sector publishing sustainability reports is few but quality of reports is of global standards and the international benchmarks stated by GRI is achieved by a larger percentage of the Indian companies as against the MNCs operating in India in the IT sector.
Research Limitations/ implications: The paper considers the sustainability reports only and no other medium of CSR communication. The study is limited to the companies operating in the IT sector only.
Originality/ Value: Sustainability reports as a medium of CSR communication is highly ignored and therefore the findings will supplement and enhance the understanding of CSR communication
Keywords: CSR, CSR communication, sustainability reports, Information Technology Sector, Indian companies and MNC.
Paper Type: Research Paper
framing of India in New York Times became relevant and of
significance during the period of 1985-2010. An analysis of all
the news articles about India was done to find out the change in
the space given to India over the three phases of globalization.
Later, a content analysis of as many as 450 news reports was
done to find out the nature and focus of the news items pre and
post globalization period. The findings indicate an exponential
rise in the number of news items about India in the postglobalization phase. The nature of news reports changed from neutral to positive and more coverage was given to 'Politics and Business' section when earlier it dealt mostly with 'Arts and Culture' section. The news reporting in the post-globalization phase was more visually aided with photographs. The findings support the notion that when a nation becomes economically strong there is not only an internal positive sentiment generated but external communication agencies also facilitate in strengthening its position by representing it as a nation of consequence.