bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sublimational Model of Leadership
Authors: Bhatnagar V R
Published: August 2011

The theory and practice of leadership is evolving and newer dimensions are being realized of this complex topic that has the potential to make a difference to any enterprise. So far each theory has been able to successfully highlight some dimension of leadership, but there were gaps un-addressed. Sublimational Model of leadership is yet another attempt to understand the intricacies that go with this complex subject of leadership and the attempt is to simplify the understanding by focusing on the needs of the led, the ‘abnormality’ of trait in the Leader and the satisfaction that is derived by the led while the needs are fulfilled. The model developed is unique for its universal applicability, irrespective of situations. It focuses on the three dimensions, namely the leaders traits, the needs of the led and the satisfaction derived by the led due to need fulfillment This model has utilized a lot of tenets from psychology, practical experience of exercising leadership by the researcher, observation of leadership by military and industrial leaders and by carrying out structured interviews with them. The model needs to be validated for which carrying out further research becomes imperative.
Predicting Corporate Takeovers in India: An Empirical Analysis
Authors: Sood G S , Kaur S
Published: August 2011

The study attempts to develop a model for predicting corporate takeovers in India. The data comprises of 37 target companies and a matching sample of control companies for the period 1997–98 to 2000–01. The study reveals that the target companies generally show a lower profit margin and ROCE with liquidity concerns being predominant for such firms. Further, such companies are tow on gearing but exhibit high valuation ratios. The model used to predict acquisitions shows moderate rate of success in the Indian context. The study has strong implications for investors and shareholders, corporate raiders and target companies, investment bankers and the regulators.
Protection of intellectual Property Rights for Meeting WTO-Compatibility in Agriculture and Industrial Products
Authors: Sarkar A N
Published: August 2011

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) has assumed a great significance in the International Business Scene, especially in the context of WTO. Rapid growth in Science and Technology, enhanced diffusion of knowledge, IT innovations, e-Commerce, liberalization of trades etc. in post-reforms era has given a true International character to IPR. Various International conventions, legal agreements/Instruments (TRIPS) etc. have come into existence to give a fillip to the ongoing process with a view to protect the intellectual rights and interests of investors, consumers and civil societies at large.

This paper discusses at some length the emerging trends in the growth of agri-business and SME Sector; their perspective and identification of areas of potential growth with which IPR related issues are implicated under WTO regime, with special reference to TRIPS. The status of compliance of TRIPS in India as well as future strategies to implement and comply with IPR provisions and related issues have been highlighted.
Designing Customer Value Index
Authors: Sahay Vinita S
Published: August 2011

The greatest challenge for industries these days is to incorporate customer voice into design of product and service offering so that maximum customer value can be delivered to the customers leading to their satisfaction and positive impact on bottom line. In this paper a model has been proposed to measure customer value. This model involves classification at hierarchical levels of value. Each hierarchical level includes value elements according to the nature of value generators. Levels and value generators are illustrated and value elements are identified. This classification scheme is utilised to compute total customer value and total customer cost to arrive at computed value of customer value index. The strength of the model lies in its flexibility to address complexities for a wide range of customer value index.
Service Quality Perceptions in Banks: A Comparative Analysis
Authors: Bhat Mushtaq A
Published: August 2011

Delivering higher levels of service quality is the strategy that is increasingly being offered as a key to service provider's efforts to position themselves more effectively in the marketplace. Almost all banks perform same functions. Therefore, customer takes into account the relative efficiency while choosing a particular bank. Moreover, banks carry on business with public money and, therefore, customers expect better services from them. Under such circumstances, customer's decision to patronize one and not the other is based on quality service offered to him. Firms, therefore, prosper or decline, depending upon the quality of service they provide to their customers. Because of this widespread belief service organisations have placed service quality at the top of the list of strategic constructs. In view of its strategic importance, an attempt has been made in the present paper to make a comparative study of service quality perceptions in respect of banks, under study, i.e., with the perceptions of their respective customers regarding the quality of service offered by banks, and to offer suggestions to make the overall banking service more effective and efficient. The results of the study lead us to the conclusion that customers perceive that service quality of all banks is below their expectations, and suggests heavy investment on tangibility and improvement in other dimensions of service quality.
Conflict Resolution in Urban and Rural Families: A Factor Analytical Approach
Authors: Kaur Pavleen , Singh Raghbir
Published: August 2011

This paper makes an attempt to examine the strategies incorporated by members in urban and rural families while trying to resolve conflict(s) at the time of making purchases. It is imperative for marketers to understand dynamics of family decision making process, from which conflicts arise between spouses in the course of decision making as also their resolution, both of which are interlinked, hence need considerable attention. Such an analysis helps marketers in framing their promotional strategies to the member(s) most influential in making purchase decision such that divergence of opinion between members is minimised.
Reflections on Spiritual Foundations of Human Values for Global Business Management
Authors: Saraswat Satya Prakash
Published: August 2011

Recent financial scandals at large multinational corporations such as Enron and WorldCom have brought into focus the need for “ethical” management in multinational corporations. For a deeper understanding of the issues, the spiritual foundation of ethics also need to be included in the academic dialogue and professional practice. In the Western countries, the discussion of spirituality in management is often limited to the Judeo-Christian tradition. With India and China becoming important players in the global economy, their spiritual traditions need to be included in the discourse to make it more comprehensive and relevant.

This paper identifies fourteen principles of ethics from the Bhagavad-Gita and argues that it can be assimilated in the management practices of global corporations from a non-sectarian perspective. It identifies the sources of Hindu spirituality relevant to global business management, adumbrates the architecture of spirituality for business ethics, and provides an intellectual justification for a discussion of Hindu spirituality in relation to management.
Knowledge Generation in Mid Size Entrepreneurial Firms
Authors: Mishra Anurag , Akbar M.
Published: August 2011

Literature on medium sized enterprises (MSEs) is limited both in developed markets and emerging markets. This paper addresses this gap and explores MSEs from a knowledge-based perspective. Grounded in the case based research often MSEs, the paper identifies the knowledge assets employed by highly successful firms. The paper performs a detailed case analysis of three such firms from our sample. We trace the knowledge generation process through a detailed line diagram and based on the case analysis, build a generic model for analyzing the knowledge conversion process in MSEs. The contribution of this work is articulated in the process model that integrates the various classes of knowledge assets in the context of transitional firms in India. The paper also develops a few empirically testable propositions, filling a major gap in existing literature on knowledge management.
Communication Effectiveness: A Case of Narayana Murthy's Resignation from Chairmanship of Bangalore International Airport Limited
Authors: Prasad T.
Published: August 2011

In the month of October 2005, Narayana Murthy, the Chairman of Infosys Technologies Limited resigned from the Chairmanship of Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL). The issue came into focus as the former Prime Minister Devegowda made comments referring to Mr. Murthy's contribution as inadequate for the development of BIAL. As an aftermath, the Finance minister and the state Chief Minister are said to have persuaded Murthy to withdraw the resignation. But Murthy did not change his mind and resigned. Many people were surprised at Gowda's allegations on Murthy who is known for his Values, Principles and Success in business. Omkar Goswami, noted economist posed an open question—Who will history judge as a more capable leader of the people: Narayana Murthy or Devegowda? (Business World, Nov., 2005 pp. 26).

It is unfortunate that a controversy like this involved two such significant individuals. At one level the spat between Murthy and Gowda may be viewed as a personal encounter but considering their status in society, the case has enormous learning potential for one and all. The case, analyzed properly can help us to understand many important issues like leadership in general, role of business leaders in social development projects and communication effectiveness. The present article is focused on the latter- communication effectiveness.

The purpose of the present article is to analyze the effectiveness of Murthy's communication. For this, we analyze the contents of the resignation letter that Murthy had sent to the Chief Minister Dharam Singh. The reason for this is that the resignation letter contained Murthy's mindset and his feelings related to the conflict. Further, the resignation letter is one single most important communication that can make a significant impact on the whole episode. While analyzing the effectiveness of Murthy's communication, no attempt is made to incorporate Devegowda's communication related to the present case. Considering the involvement of a successful business leader like Murthy, the present case is a relatively rare incident in professional management circles. Hence, the present case is considered worth analyzing exclusively from the point of view of Murthy. A copy of Murthy's letter to Chief Minister Dharam Singh is provided below.
Do People Differ in their Preferences regarding Restaurants? — An Exploratory Study
Authors: Upadhyay Yogesh , Singh Shiv Kumar , Thomas George
Published: August 2011

Consumer decision making process has always been a subject of interest for marketers. The present study examines the decision making process in respect of restaurant services in India. Restaurant sector is vibrant due to changing life style of people and composition of Indian families. The study aims to augment the understanding about preferences of selected cross-sections of consumers regarding restaurants and differences within the selected cross-section. This exploratory study attempts to investigate the impact of demographic and ‘reason to visit’ variables on restaurant's preferences. In order to assess the relative importance of various aspects of restaurant selection, customers were asked to rate selected attributes like location, less time in serving, convenient operating time, safety, parking facility etc. The study utilized a self-administered questionnaire to a convenience sample of 300 respondents. The findings of the study suggest how consumers from selected cross-sections evaluate intrinsic and extrinsic cues while evaluating a restaurant. It finally presents the implications for researchers and managers of Indian restaurants.
Media Displacement Effect: Investigating the Impact of Internet on Newspaper Reading Habits of Consumers
Authors: Vyas Richa Sharma , Singh N. P. , Bhabhra Shilpi
Published: August 2011

The emergence of internet has many effects on the availability of news and information. It expands the reach of news, information and discussion forums to the public and forces traditional news media to reorient themselves in competitive situations. The newspaper/print media companies have understood this trend and have come out with new plans. Most of them have developed their on-line portals or websites that provide news as well. This study has been conducted with a view to capture impact of Internet on changes in consumer behavior, with respect to reading news on internet. The study was conducted in two phases. The first phase comprised of an exploratory research that gave the insight about the issues. It is followed through a detailed questionnaire to conduct the descriptive study. Target population considered was one who has Internet access. It was divided in two segments namely working professionals and students. The responses were collected through e-mail. It was found that Internet has not much affected the newspaper business. It has come out as complimentary to the newspapers. Further, Internet is found more popular in case of business/stock news, sports news and international news.
Parenting Advantage in Business Groups of Emerging Markets
Authors: Mishra Anurag , Akbar M.
Published: August 2011

The concept of parenting was originally proposed by Campbell et al (1995) in the context of conglomerates in developed economies. In contrast to the divisional structure of conglomerates in developed countries, business groups as found in most emerging consist of a network of affiliated yet independent firms. This difference in the structure of multi-business firms in developed and emerging markets solicits a revisiting the concept of parenting as originally proposed by Campbell et al. (1995). Does ‘parenting advantage’ exist in emerging markets? If so, what are the sources of ‘parenting advantage’? Given the multi-firm, multi-business group affiliated setup how does ‘parenting’ differ in emerging markets when compared to conglomerates of developed economies? How does the business group structure and associated managerial practices impact ‘parenting advantage’ of firms affiliated to a business group in emerging market? This paper examines some of these critical yet unanswered questions. The contribution made in this work is threefold… One, we redefine the concept of ‘parenting’ as relevant to business group structure found in emerging markets like India. Two, we articulate the drivers of parenting value for affiliate firms bound in a business group structure. Three, the paper discusses the nuances of parenting and its advantages in an emerging market, in contrast to its conceptualization in developed economies. Finally, extending the parenting literature to a wider context of an emerging market is an important outcome of this work.
Tests of Technical Analysis in India
Authors: Sehgal Sanjay , Gupta Meenakshi
Published: August 2011

The study evaluates the economic feasibility of technical analysis in the Indian stock market. It discusses that technical indicators do not outperform Simple Buy and Hold strategy on net return basis for individual stocks. Technical indicators seem to do better during market upturns compared to market downturns. However, technical based trading strategies are not feasible vis-à-vis passive strategy irrespective of market cycle conditions. Technical indicators also do not provide economically significant profit for industry as well as economy based data. Combining fundamentals with technical information, we find, that technical indicators are more profitable for small stocks compared to big stocks and for high value stocks compared to low value stocks. However, the economic feasibility of fundamentals' based technical strategies is still questionable. Our results seem to confirm with the efficient market hypothesis.
A Study on the Role of Demographic and Psychographic Dynamics in Food and Grocery Retailing
Authors: Prasad Ch. J. S. , Reddy D. Raghunatha
Published: August 2011

The Indian food and grocery retail sector is in the transformation mode for various reasons like strong macro-economic fundamentals and the changing socio-economic scene are driving what were once traditional and small scale retail outlets into organised retail formats aimed at catering to the evolving tastes and needs of the discerning consumers. But the very fast changing trends in food and eating habits of consumers have contributed immensely to the growth of ‘Western’ format typologies such as convenience stores, departmental stores, supermarkets, specialty stores and hypermarkets. This has happened for various conspicuous reasons namely demand and supply, socio-cultural, demographic, psychographic, economic and technology advancements like a large segment of young population, a rapidly expanding middle class, rising income levels, growing literacy, increasing number of working women and nuclear family structures which in turn have created an enormous demand for consumer goods and paved way for modern retail formats. The ever changing consumer's psychographic variables like activities, interests, opinions, values and lifestyles have also completely changed the formats namely convenience stores, supermarkets and hypermarkets etc. are the crystal clear reflections of tectonic shifts in demographic and psychographic changes of consumers. However, little is known about its actual influence and contribution to the organised retailing in food and grocery sector from an empirical analysis. Thus, understanding of demo-psychographic dynamics has become an imperative in designing modern food and grocery retail formats based on the purchase patterns. The study is purely based on primary data and necessary secondary data to reinforce the model. A total of 200 retail customers in Hyderabad actively participated in the survey. Findings, various managerial and marketing implications are extensively discussed.
The Indian CEOs: Competencies for Success
Authors: Spencer Signe M. , Rajah Tharuma , Mohan Sheetharaman , Lahiri Gaurav
Published: August 2011

The paper presents findings of an empirical study, to determine the competencies required to be a successful CEO in India, undertaken by Hay Group and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. under the aegis of the Public Enterprises Selection Board. It is based on competency research methods pioneered by Dr. David McClelland of Harvard University. The 18-month study commenced by focusing on public sector leaders but enlarged its scope to include large Indian businesses. The sample comprised of well-respected CEOs from some of the best-performing and best-run companies in India (from both public and private sectors) who were compared to each other as well as a sample of outstanding CEOs from Europe, North and South America, and Asia Pacific (representing some of the best-performing companies in the world). In addition more than 50 influential leaders and experts from government, media and academia (Indian – origin faculty at Harvard Business School) were consulted. The findings have been validated by prominent leaders from government and industry. The study makes significant contributions for selection, succession planning and leadership development for successful CEO's position.
Do the Governance, Strategic and Organisational Practices Differ in Indian Family and Professionally Managed Firms?
Authors: Akbar M.
Published: August 2011

The professional firms suffer from exogenous problems whereas the private family firms suffer from endogenous problems. This latter category is more common in the family firms of emerging markets. Based on a sample of 157 firms we examine the key characteristic differences in the managerial practices of family firms and professional firms and relate them to the possible agency problems. We present the typology of the firms based on ownership and control and further divide the issues into strategy, organisation and governance issues. The family firms themselves definitionally vary depending upon the ownership and control-based classification.

We classify all firms into four categories, but we compare only professional firms on one hand and all hues of family firms as one block on the other owning to a relatively smaller sample size and lack of clear distinctions made by the respondents. However, the conclusions distinguish only on a few dimensions. But owing to institutional and economic context both family and professional firms look alike in more respects than they look different. This highlights the major impact of institutional influence on the behaviours of the firms. The analysis indicates that family firms suffer from the size, age and transparency disadvantages as compared to professional firms, but the strategic, organisational and governance practices do not differ very widely from each other.
Investment in Small Scale Forestry Enterprises: Opportunities and Constraints for India
Authors: Dubey Parag
Published: August 2011

Many timber enterprises in India walk a narrow path between profitability and bankruptcy. Such cases are several. This paper examines the reasons for poor investments in forests in India, and draws policy implications on how to overcome these obstacles. In India, many international funding agencies are supporting several forestry projects; however, the government's enthusiasm for pursuing forestry activities can largely be explained by its concern for attracting greater external funding. The Indian timber import bill increased eight-fold from 1991 to 2006. The domestic and export demand for processed wood products offer scope for value-added exports from India. Traditionally, forests have not been viewed as an industry, and therefore resource mobilisation has always been limited, perhaps because of inappropriate prioritisation. One of the largest and least-addressed obstacles constraining the expansion of the sustainable forestry sector in India is the industry's lack of integration into the capital markets, and consequently its poor access to the mainstream private capital. In order to achieve the target of raising forest cover from 21% now to 33% by 2012, the government of India is promoting public-private partnerships in forestry. The challenge for policymakers in India is to find the best mix of policies and incentives to attract private investment that can partner with the communities.
Selecting an Advertising Agency: A Multi-Criteria Decision Making Approach
Authors: Faisal Mohd. Nishat , Khan Bilal Mustafa
Published: August 2011

Indian economy is evolving day by day, and with an upswing spending power of its inhabitants advertising has been emerging as one of the most effective tools for the companies to reach out to their customers. Best advertisement agencies create value through giving the product personality, developing an understanding of product/service, creating an image or memorable picture of that product and above all trying to distinguish the product apart from its competitors. Today, advertising budgets of companies are rising and thus there are numerous agencies in the market vying for their shares. But there exists no method, which can take into account numerous criterions and their impact simultaneously under consideration while selecting a best advertisement agency.

Selecting an advertisement agency is a multiple criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem that requires considering large number of complex factors as multiple evaluation criteria. A robust MCDM method should consider the interactions among criteria. Analytic network process (ANP) is a relatively new MCDM method which can deal with all kinds of interactions systematically. This paper proposes an ANP based methodology for the selection of advertisement agencies. ANP is capable of measuring the relative importance that captures all indirect interactions in a network required to be considered in an advertisement agency selection and also their interactions. Additionally, the proposed model is evaluated for a case company.
Study of Customer Relationship Marketing Practices in Organised Retailing in Food and Grocery Sector in India: An Empirical Analysis
Authors: Prasad Ch. J. S. , Aryasri A. R.
Published: August 2011

The fast changing trends in lifestyles, food and eating habits of consumers have contributed largely to the growth and development of organised food and grocery retail formats in India. But, this sector is predominantly (99.2 percent) dominated by the traditional kirana stores, which have strong relationships with the customers for various technical and functional quality benefits extended to them. This posed a great challenge to the organised retailers for customer acquisition and retention of loyal customers in this fierce competition. The paradigm shift in marketing practices from the traditional marketing to reactive marketing and then to relationship marketing have reiterated the significance of leveraging firm–customer relationship for reaping mutual benefits. Thus relationship marketing has come to the fore and occupied centre stage as one of the strategic tools for organised retailers to develop ways for attracting and motivating potential customers to remain staunch loyalists forever However, little is known about the actual influences of the cornerstones of relationship marketing on relationship quality and customer loyalty from an empirical analysis in the context of changing trends in food and grocery retailing. This study seeks to investigate the influence of relationship marketing cornerstones viz., Customer Satisfaction, Trust, Commitment, Communication on Relationship Strength which further explore the affect on attitudinal outcomes like relationship quality and behavioural outcomes such as customer loyalty. The study further examines an influence of the relationship quality on customer loyalty. This study is purely based upon the primary data and necessary secondary data to reinforce the model. A total of 150 retail customers in Hyderabad actively participated in this survey. The findings from the study indicated that customer satisfaction has emerged as a significant factor followed by commitment and trust for managing relationship quality and customer loyalty. Various managerial and marketing implications are extensively discussed.
Predicting Patient Loyalty and Service Quality Relationship: A Case Study of Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad, India
Authors: Chahal Hardeep
Published: August 2011

Purpose: In an era of heightened competition to sustain patient loyalty, quality of interpersonal experiences with the staff, operational quality of hospital operations and overall satisfaction and quality of the healthcare services, in general are to be understood in-depth in both public as well as private organisations. The concept of service quality has led to the growing research on various concepts such as total quality management, market orientation, learning orientation, strategic orientation along with invigorating focus on the customer loyalty and relationship management. The outcomes of service quality (customer relationship management and loyalty), end means for the organisational success, are most significant performance measurement tools in the present competitive market. The present study is an effort in this regard to identify the factors in sustaining customer longevity. Till today few studies in the developing settings were conducted to understand the types of relationship that exists between patient-loyalty and service quality. This study analyses the suitability of customer loyalty concept in the government hospitals through using a case study of one of the biggest hospitals operating in India.

Methodology and Tools Applied: The research work is the case study of Civil Hospital Ahmedabad. The data is collected from 205 indoor patients of four departments namely general medicine, orthopedic, pediatrics, obstetric and gynecology. Inter and intra relationship among the measures of service quality and patient loyalty were analysed by using relevant statistical tools to draw out inferences.

Findings: Among the three patient loyalty components, using provider again for the same services is found to be more significant followed by using provider again for different services and recommending providers to others in relation to overall service quality as dependent variable, and beta values are figured out as 0.15, 0.12 and 0.09 respectively The 35% R Square value for the model service quality – patient loyalty model indicate weak predictive power of this model. However at the same juncture the study found that no significant difference in the patients' perceptions with respect to patient loyalty and quality and per se, may be concluded that both are identical measures. Alternatively the more satisfied the patients are with the quality of their interactions with staff, the more likely they are going to take treatments for similar and different medical problems and would recommend the provider to their relatives and friends.
Consequences of Power Distance Orientation in Organisations
Authors: Khatri Naresh
Published: August 2011

The cultural milieu has a profound influence on employee behaviour in the organisations. In an increasingly diverse workplace and in a more globalised business world, managers, to be effective, need to appreciate behavioural implications of cultural values that employees, organisations, and societies hold. One of the most cited frameworks to understand behaviour of people across the national cultures was proposed by Hofstede (2001). In this paper, we take a look at the behavioural implications in the organisations of power distance (status differences), which is one of the five cultural dimensions in Hofstede's framework. Specifically. we explore the impact of power distance orientation on employee participation, nature of job descriptions, organisational communication and decision-making, discipline and control, deference to senior employees, management development, and organisational structuring and adaptation. We conclude that: (1) employees in a high power distance context are unwilling to participate in decisions and are content with their managers making decisions and giving them instructions, which they follow passively. (2) jobs are narrowly and tightly specified, giving the employees limited discretion. (3) communication takes place vertical downwards, with no or little horizontal communication. Overall communication is anemic. A large communication gap exists between superiors and their subordinates because it is hard for the subordinates to air their views. (4) power distance gives managers unlimited power and control over subordinates. Employees, in turn, have an unquestioning, submissive attitude. (5) older and senior employees get respect from junior employees not because of former's competence but because of age and long tenure in the organisation. (6) in a high power distance culture, decisions are made by a few at the top autocratically Further, because of little resistance from lower level employees, decisions are made and implemented faster in a high power distance organisation. However, because of lack of input from lower level employees as well as poor communication and information sharing, quality of decisions is poorer in a high power distance organisation. (7) high power distance organisations are prone to unethical behaviour. This is because top managers have not to justify or defend their decisions to lower level employees or to the larger organisation. Unethical behaviour gets covered up or goes undetected. And (8), in a high power distance organisation, managers tend to micromanage and even minor decisions go to the top. Thus, higher level managers are inundated with routine decisions.
Investor Sentiment in India: A Survey
Authors: Sehgal Sanjay , Sood G. S. , Rajput Namita
Published: August 2011

In this paper we examine definitional aspect of Investor Sentiment, the key economic, market and regulatory factors that influence investor sentiment and the relationship between investor sentiment and market performance. There seems to be no clear consensus on the concept of investor sentiment and hence any meaningful definition ought to be inclusive and fluid. The important economic factors highlighted in the work are: Real GDP, Corporate Profits, Rate of Inflation, Level of Interest Rate, and Liquidity in the Economy. The market based factors that can be linked to Investor Sentiment are: Put Call Ratio, Advance Decline Ratio, Earning Surprises, P/E Ratio, and Price to Book Value. The regulatory framework of a financial market does seem to have a strong bearing on investor sentiment especially the legal provisions relating to corporate governance and Grievance Redressal Mechanism. Most respondents believe that investor's sentiment and market returns are bilaterally co-related. Our findings are largely in conformity with recent studies for other capital markets. These findings can be used to develop a comprehensive Investor Sentiment Index for India and hence have significant implications for investors, market intermediaries and financial regulators.
Gender Influence on the Innovativeness of Young Urban Indian Online Shoppers
Authors: Handa Meenakshi , Gupta Nirupma
Published: August 2011

The objective of this paper is to study the influence of gender on consumer innovativeness of college going young online shoppers of urban India. Open processing innovativeness is measured by adapting the scale developed by Joseph and Vyas (1984) while the domain specific innovativeness is measured by using the scale developed by Citrin (2000) for Internet shopping. Survey of 150 young online shoppers reveals that gender has no influence on the innovativeness of online shoppers. Both males and females have a higher score for domain specific innovativeness as compared to the open processing innovativeness. They are not very innovative in general but, nevertheless are experimental with respect to new retail websites. They surf new retail websites but are hesitant to shop from new online retailers. Based on our research findings, we have suggested the measures by which marketers can encourage young shoppers to visit and shop more frequently from new retail websites. The recommendations in this paper will be of value to the online marketers, consumer researchers and academicians.
Uttarakhand State Cooperative Federation: Can it Help the Horticulture Farmers?
Authors: Modi Pratik , Mishra Debiprasad , Gulati Hariom , Murugesan K.
Published: August 2011

Uttarakhand state had a unique advantage of hilly weather that was suitable for cultivation of some fruits and vegetables, which were in great demand in plains during off-seasons there. Out of the total net margin accruing to the entire supply chain of these fruits and vegetables, only 25% went to the farmers despite they bearing disproportionately high market risk and the entire production risk. The Uttarakhand State Cooperative Federation (UCF) was created with a mandate to strengthen the cooperative structure in the state. The organisation had to decide a course of action that would improve the returns for the fruits and vegetable farmers in the state. The managing director of the federation had identified three alternative courses of action: first, to take up the primary value addition activity of an aggregator; second, to take up the higher value addition activities of processing fruits and vegetables; and third, to take up retailing of fruits and vegetables on behalf of the farmer members. The chairman of the federation was wondering which alternative was appropriate; or was there some other option too.
Effect of Employer Brand Image on Application Intentions of B-School Undergraduates
Authors: Agrawal Rakesh Kumar , Swaroop Pragati
Published: August 2011

Effective recruiting can help an organisation gain competitive advantage by attracting and retaining the best talent from the campuses. In this paper, the authors draw upon marketing literature to examine how employer brand image can effect the application intentions of business school undergraduates. Based on the analysis of data collected from 125 students from five different business schools located across India, the authors find that attitudes of the prospective candidate about an organisation is an important predictor of intent to apply. Amongst the job attributes, the students' application intentions are influenced by their perceptions of the responsibility and empowerment inherent in the job, as well as on compensation and locational considerations. Prior work experience moderates the relationship between the responsibility and empowerment dimension of employer brand image and application intentions. Implications of the findings and directions for future research are also discussed.
Correlates of Entrepreneurial Performance in a Less Developed Region: Evidence from Assam
Authors: Khanka S. S.
Published: August 2011

Most researches on the entrepreneurs hip development have so far been carried on the individual traits of entrepreneurs. However, the correlates of entrepreneurial performance, as powerful and driving force of entrepreneurship development, have so far not been researched especially in the North Eastern region of India that requires entrepreneurship development more for solving the twin problems of poverty and unemployment which have literally stalked this region badly. The present paper is based on the field data and investigates into how different context-specific correlates affect the entrepreneurial performance in a less developed region like Assam. The study brings forth the fact that context-specific correlates influence entrepreneurial performance not necessarily the manner these affect entrepreneurial performance elsewhere in a different contextual setting. This finding underlines the need for and significance of studying context-specific correlates of entrepreneurial performance for better understanding of phenomenon of entrepreneurship.
Role of HR Architecture on Intellectual Capital
Authors: Choudhury Jyotirmayee , Mishra B. B.
Published: August 2011

HR configurations facilitate flow of knowledge, which leads to sustainable competitive advantage. HR practices have a central importance in knowledge intensive industries because they have immediate effect on the organisation's key resources. HR practices are especially important in attracting, retaining and developing the skills and knowledge of employees. HR strategy drives the long term strategy of the business. So HR practices must be deliberately chosen and used strategically to maintain strong organisational boundaries, to promote high levels of organisational and professional identity more specifically it encourages the retention of staff in a highly competitive industry. The study concentrates on, how the firms configure the entire HR system so that enhancement and exploitation of knowledge embedded in their people and in other forms of intellectual capital can be facilitated. A contingent configurational perspective is adopted in the study and hypothesised that the performance impact of HR configurations depends on the variables like human, social, or organisational capital. The study proposes a holistic HR practice and focuses on configurations of multiple HR activities that is vital for intellectual capital management.
Moderating Effect of Personality Variable on Stress-Effectiveness Relationship: An Empirical Study on B-School Students
Authors: Srivastava Shalini , Pathak Deepti
Published: August 2011

The purpose of the study is to explore the moderating effect of locus of control on relationship between general role stress and personal effectiveness of management graduates. The present study was done on a sample of 186 management students belonging to different management institutes. Variables in the study were assessed using three validated instruments. Descriptive statistics, Pearson product moment correlation and regression analysis were used to analyze the data. It was found that general stress was negatively related to personal effectiveness and locus of control moderates the relationship between the two. Results confirmed the importance of personality dimension as factor affecting personal effectiveness. It shows that the intensity of stress is reduced if the student focuses on locus of control thus making him more effective. By understanding the relationship between these variables the management institute should conduct and deliver training programmes to actively manage the budding managers. This study is the first of its kind to study the moderating effect of locus of control on the relationship between general role stress and personal effectiveness.
Dynamics of the Relationship between Mutual Funds Investment Flow and Stock Market Returns in India
Authors: Mishra P.K.
Published: August 2011

In recent years, the study of causality between mutual funds investment flow and stock market returns has attracted the attention of researchers and academicians world over. But the existing empirical evidence on this issue is rather mixed. Furthermore, there exist a few studies that include the case of India. Thus, this article is an attempt to investigate the dynamics of the relationship between mutual funds investment flow and stock market returns in India for the period January 2000 to May 2010. The application of Toda and Yamamoto approach to the Granger causality tests provides the evidence of unidirectional causality running from the stock market returns to mutual funds investment flow. This indicates that in India increase in stock market activities attract the mutual funds to the capital market. And, hence, necessary steps should be taken by the government as well as monetary authorities to make the capital market less volatile and more efficient.
Re-engineering: The Involute of Leadership
Authors: Sabat Hemant Kumar
Published: August 2011

This paper probes the essential principles that underlie the success of a leader or an organization in business and management. It looks at the impact of the forces of change effecting the hyper-competitive business environment. It examines the changing role and element of leadership and the influence of corporate culture as source of motivation and integration.
Perceived Value Addition for Branded Items Launched in Commodity Markets
Authors: Kumar V. Sanal
Published: August 2011

The past few years have seen branding of quite a few commodities. Many of these have succeeded but there have been some failures too. Four case studies on branding of commodities examined the reasons for consumer preference of branded items over unbranded ones. The hypotheses based on these case studies were tested through a survey of the consumers of milk. The findings indicate that successful branding requires a sizeable consumer group that seeks a unique benefit not available from the unbranded items.
Immune alterations in untreated and treated multiple myeloma
Authors: Dasanu Constantin A
Published: August 2011

The incidence of second malignancies was shown to be increased in patients with multiple myeloma. Although a shared genetic predisposition or common environmental carcinogens may account for the occurrence of both myeloma and additional cancers, multiple immune defects encountered in myeloma might play an important role in this regard. This review explores the impairments in both cellular and humoral mediated immunity in multiple myeloma, linking them with increased susceptibility to infections and additional cancers. In addition, the recent therapeutic advances transformed myeloma into a chronic entity, with multiple relapses and salvage therapies, which may result in cumulative immunosuppression. Although recent reports have suggested an increased rate of second cancers in myeloma patients treated with lenalidomide, the true impact of this agent and other novel anti-myeloma therapies on the incidence of additional malignancies remains to be clarified.
Possible anaphylaxis to palonoestron
Authors: Pietkiewicz John M
Published: August 2011

Anaphylaxis related to drug therapy with 5-HT3 antagonists, in particular, palonosetron has not been reported frequently in the literature. Here a case is presented where the patient possibly had an anaphylactic reaction to palonosetron. In this case report, a 40-year-old female with ovarian cancer developed shortness of breath and hypotension after receiving her palonosetron as part of her premedication for chemotherapy. The patient recovered successfully with fluids and supportive care. This case demonstrates that even after successful treatment in the past with palonosetron a patient may later develop a hypersensitivity to the agent.
A white right hand
Authors: Jones Philippa
Published: August 2011

The hand icon apparent on desktop and laptop computer screens is shown to manifest an unexpected cultural history. What may have been taken for granted in the implementation of graphical user interfaces and their associated iconography, is subjected to a semiotic analysis that reveals a basis in blackface minstrelsy. Theories of human interactivity with computers help to explain how this heritage has remained relatively hidden.
On production for digital culture: iPhone Girl, electronics assembly, and the material forms of aspiration
Authors: Perlow Seth
Published: August 2011

In 2008, a British man found that his new iPhone contained photographs of a smiling woman on an iPhone assembly line in China. The photos quickly spread across the internet; the worker was dubbed iPhone Girl; and her factory promised she would not be punished for this ‘beautiful mistake’. New media criticism has a major stake in user-embodiment but has largely neglected this other set of bodies: those that build our electronic gadgets. Attending them can enrich histories of new media and challenge consumerist framings of digital aesthetics. Recent excitement about gestural interfaces suggests that our aspirations for intimacy with computers have informed the design of emergent devices. To idealize gestural control as an escape from technology’s disciplinary effects, we elide the suffering that gesture occasions on the factory floor. Meanwhile, digital culture represents the Asian female as a vessel for fantasies of sex, submissiveness, and adventure. Such fantasies deeply inform the reception of electronics assemblers, including iPhone Girl.
Fluid interaction for information visualization
Authors: Elmqvist Niklas , Moere Andrew Vande , Jetter Hans-Christian , Cernea Daniel , Reiterer Harald , Jankun-Kelly TJ
Published: August 2011

Despite typically receiving little emphasis in visualization research, interaction in visualization is the catalyst for the user's dialogue with the data, and, ultimately, the user's actual understanding and insight into these data. There are many possible reasons for this skewed balance between the visual and interactive aspects of a visualization. One reason is that interaction is an intangible concept that is difficult to design, quantify, and evaluate. Unlike for visual design, there are few examples that show visualization practitioners and researchers how to design the interaction for a new visualization in the best manner. In this article, we attempt to address this issue by collecting examples of visualizations with ‘best-in-class’ interaction and using them to extract practical design guidelines for future designers and researchers. We call this concept fluid interaction, and we propose an operational definition in terms of the direct manipulation and embodied interaction paradigms, the psychological concept of ‘flow’, and Norman's gulfs of execution and evaluation.