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1 – 10 of 95Mugdha Vinod Dani, Aradhana Vikas Gandhi and Anshu Sharma
Innovation is a process that enables organizations to sustain and prosper in a competitive business environment. This study aims to understand the key drivers of innovation within…
Abstract
Purpose
Innovation is a process that enables organizations to sustain and prosper in a competitive business environment. This study aims to understand the key drivers of innovation within organizations from the lens of employees.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a grounded theory approach based on semi-structured in-depth interviews of 20 professionals working in information technology (IT) firms. Judgmental sampling was adopted to select the respondents. Open coding, inductive analysis was conducted on the interview transcripts to generate relevant themes.
Findings
Emerging themes indicate that innovation within organizations can be triggered as a response to client requirements or the employees’ inherent urge to innovate. Certain factors such as user engagement, formal organizational processes and practices, informal collaborative practices, the role played by experts and leaders and upskilling were seen to enable innovative outcomes within organizations.
Practical implications
Findings from this study will allow leaders to activate the identified drivers by designing suitable organizational processes and strategies to nurture a successful innovation culture within their teams.
Originality/value
This grounded theory-based study looks at drivers of innovation within IT organizations from the perspective of employees.
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Anshu Sharma and Tanuja Sharma
This paper aims to explore the role of human resource (HR) analytics on employees’ willingness to improve performance. In doing so, the paper examines issues related to the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the role of human resource (HR) analytics on employees’ willingness to improve performance. In doing so, the paper examines issues related to the performance appraisal (PA) system which affect employees’ willingness to improve performance and how HR analytics can be a potential solution to deal with such issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper develops a conceptual framework along with propositions by integrating both academic and practitioner literatures, in the field of HR analytics and performance management.
Findings
The paper proposes that the use of HR analytics will be negatively related to subjectivity bias in the PA system, thereby positively affecting employees’ perceived accuracy and fairness. This further positively affects employees’ satisfaction with the PA system, which subsequently increases employees’ willingness to improve performance.
Research limitations/implications
The paper provides implications for both researchers and practitioners in the performance management area for improving employees’ performance by applying HR analytics as a strategic tool in the PA system. It also provides implications for future researchers to empirically test the conceptual framework in different organizational settings.
Originality/value
The paper offers insights into how the use of HR analytics can deal with issues of subjectivity bias in the PA system and positively affects employees’ willingness to improve performance.
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Manu Gupta, Anshu Sharma and Rajesh Kaushik
Shimla is a teeming city, with a population of 140,000. It is located in the north Indian Himalayas, in an area of high seismicity that was rocked by a devastating earthquake a…
Abstract
Shimla is a teeming city, with a population of 140,000. It is located in the north Indian Himalayas, in an area of high seismicity that was rocked by a devastating earthquake a hundred years ago. However, it is oblivious of the ticking time bomb below its foundations. Initiating risk reduction in this fast growing urban economic hub is an enormous challenge. A national non-governmental organisation (NGO) called SEEDS (Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society) started working in the city just before the earthquake centenary, with the aim to identify ways of reducing earthquake risk through actions that could be carried out by the citizens and the local government.
The experience has been unique, and has led to further refinement of the community action planning approach that SEEDS (Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society) has picked up and worked with over the last ten years in different vulnerable communities in the region. What emerges from the experience is a mix of tools for the improvement of technical aspects, community-based working approaches and governance for risk reduction. It is evident that community-local government-NGO partnerships are the key to solving such acute problems as earthquake safety in a resource strapped, vulnerable city. The assessment and planning phases initiate the building of these partnerships in the early stages of the process.
This paper is an attempt to share the experience of developing and testing a community based urban risk reduction approach for a city at extreme earthquake risk.
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Anshu Sharma and Jyotsna Bhatnagar
The paper aims to highlight the role of enterprise social media as an internal workplace tool for employee engagement purposes.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to highlight the role of enterprise social media as an internal workplace tool for employee engagement purposes.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper provides a viewpoint on how social media can be used internally by organizations after considering both academic and practitioner literature in the respective field.
Findings
The paper posits that organizations should move beyond using social networking tools for recruitment and branding purposes and take a step further to use social media tools internally for employee engagement initiatives. It provides practical implications for managers to embrace social media as an engagement tool and to increase employees’ participation on such media.
Research limitations/implications
The paper provides implications for both researchers and practitioners for using social media as a strategic employee engagement initiative and devising appropriate social media and human resource strategies to do so.
Originality/value
The paper offers insights into how enterprise social media can be used as an internal communication tool for engaging employees in this technologically connected era.
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Anshu Sharma, Jyotsna Bhatnagar, Mahadeo Jaiswal and Mohan Thite
The study aims to understand enterprise social media usage at work and explore its impact on employee outcomes, particularly learning behaviors. The scope of the paper is limited…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to understand enterprise social media usage at work and explore its impact on employee outcomes, particularly learning behaviors. The scope of the paper is limited to organizationally facilitated enterprise social media (ESM) used internally for workplace communication and draws upon ESM affordances highlighted by the theory of communication visibility.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a qualitative research design based on Miles and Huberman framework (1994) as the research question was exploratory in nature. Thematic analysis was conducted using QSR-NVivo to arrive at the dominant themes and to understand their relationship between enterprise social media use at work. Each emergent theme was generated from the behavioral indicators labelled as nodes. Drawing on qualitative data, the study explored the lived-in experiences of employees using enterprise social media for workplace interactions.
Findings
The thematic analysis using QSR-NVivo provided qualitative evidence for the phenomenon of enterprise social media use in the form of four emergent themes: patterns of enterprise social media usage by employees, employees' informal learning behaviors, employee social capital and organizational learning capability.
Research limitations/implications
The study provides theoretical insights into the lived-in experiences of employees using ESM at work and unravel thematic behavioral impact on their learning, social capital and organizational learning capability. The findings of this study support recent research work on impact of ESM on knowledge sharing behaviors (see Sun et al., 2019) and other significant work on co-creation of knowledge (see Wagner et al., 2014). Thus, adding to the body of knowledge management literature.
Practical implications
This study provides evidence for the role of enterprise social media in developing organizational learning capability by offering support and platform for employees' informal learning and building their social capital. Thus, organizations should leverage enterprise social media not only a social networking tool but more as a strategic learning resource. Hence, organizational leaders must encourage employees to be involved on such platforms in order to promote their informal learning. Also, this study captures the role of employee social capital in explaining the enterprise social media, informal learning and organizational learning capability relationship. This shows that enterprise social media can help employees to learn informally when they have good relationships. Hence, this study provides implications for both HR and IT managers and consultants who plan to implement technology for collaborative purposes, should not undermine the importance of building employee social capital. Only then can they utilize the potential of ESM as a learning tool. Last, this research may also influence the general attitude towards social media use at work and further impact the design and implementation of organizational social media policies.
Originality/value
The paper is novel as the qualitative investigation offers deeper insights into the impact of ESM usage on employee and organizational learning behaviors. The paper draws on theoretical underpinnings to present useful linkages between emergent concepts and makes valuable contribution to the literature on enterprise social media use and learning at work.
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Anshu Sharma and Jyotsna Bhatnagar
This paper aims to identify the determinants of team engagement emerging as a collective team-level phenomenon under time pressure context. The paper particularly explores how…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify the determinants of team engagement emerging as a collective team-level phenomenon under time pressure context. The paper particularly explores how teams working under time pressure conditions use their social resources to develop into highly engaged teams.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper develops a conceptual framework along with related propositions by integrating diverse literature from the field of team processes, leadership and engagement. The arguments are theoretically embedded into the job demands-resources (JD-R) model to explain the emergence of team engagement under time pressure conditions.
Findings
The suggested conceptual model based on the JD-R model reveal that teams working under time pressure conditions view it as a challenging job demand and, hence, use their social resources as a coping mechanism, thereby developing into highly engaged teams. However, the paper finds that for team engagement to emerge under time pressure, teams require two important determinants. These two main determinants are team leader engaging behaviors and team climate. Engaging team leader’s behaviors include four sub-components: emotional agility, use of humor, efficient delegation and quality of feedback. Team climate constitute three sub-components: open communication, fun at work and compassion within the team. Only teams which have a strong team climate and team leaders’ engaging behaviors tend to have high team engagement under time pressure contexts.
Research limitations/implications
The paper offers implications for both HR and line managers in team-based organizations to promote factors that enhance team engagement, for teams to perform under time pressure situations.
Originality/value
The paper identifies determinants of team engagement under time pressure context and further adds to the understanding of team processes by theoretically exploring how time pressure as a job demand can be channeled in a positive manner for promoting team engagement by using teams’ social resources: team leader’s engaging behaviors and team climate.
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Anshu Sharma, Jyotsna Bhatnagar, Mahadeo Jaiswal and Mohan Thite
With the increasing prevalence of social media in everyday life, scholars have argued the need of exploring enterprise social media (ESM) for workplace outcomes. This study…
Abstract
Purpose
With the increasing prevalence of social media in everyday life, scholars have argued the need of exploring enterprise social media (ESM) for workplace outcomes. This study investigates the relationship between ESM use and organizational learning capability (OLC) by focusing on the mediating role of informal learning (INFL) and the moderating role of social capital (SC).
Design/methodology/approach
The paper developed and tested a mediated moderated model explaining the impact of ESM on OLC. The study used temporally separated data of 281 respondents collected in two waves from firms in India that use organizationally facilitated ESM platforms for internal workplace communication.
Findings
An analysis of temporally separated two-wave data indicates that INFL mediates the relationship between ESM use and OLC. Also, SC is found to moderate the effect of ESM use on INFL, and INFL mediated the moderation effect of SC on relationship between ESM use and OLC such that the relationship will be stronger when employees have a higher rather than lower level of SC.
Research limitations/implications
The study theoretically contributes and extends the literature on ESM and learning in organizations. The study provides important practical implications to support and institutionalize learning at work. The results of the study provide evidence that ESM are not just networking tools but a platform for learning. Findings of the study suggest that ESM can be one such tool to promote and capture employee INFL. The results also show that SC plays a critical role in predicting the extent to which employees learn informally using ESM, thereby building OLC. This result suggests that organizations should make conscious and concerted efforts to build employee SC. The above findings also have interesting implications for learning and development (L&D) and information technology (IT) managers who wish to implement technology for collaborative purposes.
Originality/value
Addressing the underlying processes that explain how ESM positively influence OLC was highlighted as a critical research gap that needs attention. The paper is novel in its approach as it provides empirical evidence for the relationship between ESM and its impact on employee outcomes, an area pertinent in today's digital economy, however, received sparse attention by management scholars so far. It also provides empirical grounds toward a meaningful shift in the social media discourse – transition from being traditionally viewed primarily as “a networking platform” to “a learning platform.”
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Anshu Sharma and Aradhana Vikas Gandhi
This study aims to explore the adoption behaviour of consumers towards innovative technology products and services (ITPS).
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the adoption behaviour of consumers towards innovative technology products and services (ITPS).
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative study using semi-structured in-depth interviews was conducted with 47 respondents. Their lived experiences across 50+ ITPS were studied. A grounded theory approach was used to develop a theory with reference to consumer adoption of ITPS.
Findings
Themes emerged across the adoption process, such as triggers for adoption (pressing need, making life more pleasurable, urge to acquire and forced initiation); hesitancies faced by consumers during evaluation (value alignment, utilization, ecosystem, risks with new technology and price); and factors that help in overcoming the hesitancies (word of mouth, de-risking schemes and self-devised strategies).
Practical implications
Innovators must understand customer triggers and design offerings that activate the same – addressing a pressing need or making lives more pleasurable. Users driven purely by an urge to acquire can be a source of early word of mouth for radical innovations. Innovations must be designed and communicated to minimize hesitancies. Mitigating schemes such as equated monthly installment and return policy can be offered to empower customers to overcome hesitancies. Factors such as price, risk, beliefs, traditions and nationalistic values assume importance, specifically in an emerging economy.
Originality/value
This study based on grounded theory keeps the user at the centre and explains the innovation adoption phenomenon for a wide variety of 50+ ITPS in the context of an emerging economy.
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Anshu Sharma, Anju Kumari Dhiman and Surekha Attri
This study aims to encapsulate the crude carotene pigment isolated from waste portion of Cucurbita maxima with the help of different encapsulating agents through lyophilization to…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to encapsulate the crude carotene pigment isolated from waste portion of Cucurbita maxima with the help of different encapsulating agents through lyophilization to transform crude pigment into stable form for further utilization.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper opted for encapsulation of extracted carotene pigment by lyophilization using various carrier materials such as maltodextrin 20 dextrose equivalent (DE), maltodextrin 10 DE and tapioca starch along with emulsifier polysorbate-80. After encapsulation of crude carotene pigment, prepared encapsulated powder was subjected to chemical analysis. The data was analysed statistically by a complete randomized design.
Findings
Maximum encapsulation efficiency, carotene content, antioxidant activity and water solubility index were achieved when 0.06% of crude carotene pigment was emulsified with same quantity of polysorbate-80, followed by encapsulation with 20% of maltodextrin 20 DE during lyophilization.
Originality/value
Even though few researchers have worked on the encapsulation of colour pigments, no researcher has reported encapsulation of carotene pigment extracted from waste of C. maxima.
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Anshu Sharma, Anju Kumari Dhiman and Surekha Attri
Internal fluffy portion along with fibrous strands of ripe pumpkin is considered as waste in processing industries though it contains sufficient amount of ß-carotene pigment. The…
Abstract
Purpose
Internal fluffy portion along with fibrous strands of ripe pumpkin is considered as waste in processing industries though it contains sufficient amount of ß-carotene pigment. The purpose of this paper is to use the leftover fluffy portion of ripe pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima) after the use of its flesh for the purpose of processing.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were analyzed statistically by following a complete randomized design (CRD). All analysis were performed using the software OPSTAT.
Findings
One hour pre-enzymatic treatment before solvent extraction showed significant improvement in extraction yield in comparison to the isolation of ß-carotene pigment through solvent only. Temperature time combination was optimized as 40°C for 2 h during solvent extraction to obtain maximum yield irrespective of the type of extraction method used.
Practical implications
Extracted carotene pigment can further be used as a natural food colorant in processed food products not only to enhance the color appeal but also it improves the nutritional value of the product as ß-carotene acts as a precursor of vitamin A.
Social implications
Coloring agents of natural origin are becoming famous among society due to their health benefits. Consumers are becoming reluctant to use synthetic colors because of the undesirable allergic reactions caused by them, so carotene bio-pigment produced is a natural coloring compound with wide application in the food sector.
Originality/value
Even though few researchers have worked on the extraction of carotene pigment from pumpkin, but no researcher has reported the use of a waste fluffy portion of C. maxima for extraction of ß-carotene pigment.
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