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Public Sector Management and Strategy

This case will be useful for courses in information technology (IT) innovation, public–private partnership (PPP) and strategic management. However, the use of the case will differ on the basis of the target audience who could be students of master's course or executive development course. Detailed discussion can be done on co-innovation strategy followed in a public–private partnership and to understand how a PPP can be successful in enterprise solutions. Further, the understanding on how e-procurement and e-tendering solutions work can be gained through this case. This case should be positioned when the discussion for the planning strategy of IT innovation takes place.

SAP was a market leader in enterprise application software and empowered people across the globe to work more efficiently. The e-procurement solution for OILGIAN was managed by SAP LABS India. OILGIAN entrusted SAP with the task to design and implement the e-tendering solution. SAP appointed Ramakrishna Potluri, Lead Consultant, SAP, to manage the design and implementation of the e-tendering module as a part of e-procurement solution for the public sector. The reporting and the security concerns were stated by OILGIAN, and Potluri reassured that his competent team would comply with the needs. The main predicaments that he was going through were that how best he could take the proposition forward. Should he create the innovative solutions in-house or co-create with the customers? Which business models should he follow for this public–private co-innovation to be a predecessor of successful projects?

The case illustrates the following objectives: to discuss the co-innovation strategy followed in a public–private partnership; to understand how a public–private partnership can be successful in enterprise solutions; and to understand how e-procurement and e-tendering solutions work.

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The purpose of t1his paper is to develop an instrument to measure agile services based on dynamic capabilities theory. The paper investigates the service agility through two building blocks service sensing and seizing agility and service responding agility.

The items were generated using existing scales, content analysis and using in-depth interview. The scale was validated using data from Indian services industry.

A pool of 32 items for dynamic service capabilities enabling agile services and 12 items for agile services were proposed. Empirical validation shows that the scale exhibits high levels of reliability.

The new concept of agile services has been introduced, which is of recent interest to both practitioners and academicians alike. The limitations of the study include a low respondent rate.

Organizations need measure the degree of agile services and different capabilities this can facilitate agile services. This scale can act as a foundation for organizations to evaluate their capabilities. This scale will act as a tool for top managers to assess their capabilities and suitably improve the capabilities of their services.

The capabilities enabling agile services are based on the dynamic capabilities framework and a new construct (agile services) is being proposed. This scale will be a theoretical contribution to this literature.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the causal relationship between extent of diversification and performance among Indian companies. The key issue is to find out whether diversification provides irresistible opportunities to increase firm performance or is it the superior profitability that motivates management to diversify.

Product diversification is calculated by using Entropy index measure. To measure joint endogeneity of corporate diversification and firm performance, both variables are treated as endogenous in a simultaneous equation model.

The results report that the association between diversification and performance turn strongly significant and positive after controlling the issue of endogeneity. The study finds a strong two-way relationship between extent of diversification and firm performance. As indicated by the results, the extent of diversification is positively related to performance, thereby implying that diversified firms experience a significant diversification premium. The study also demonstrates a positive relation of performance and total diversification indicating that good performance leads to greater diversification.

Certain variables such as R&D intensity, export intensity and risk could not be included in the analysis for want of data. Inclusion of these independent variables could have strengthened the model and its implications.

The results strongly implicate/recommend the managers of developing countries to adopt the strategy of diversification to overcome institutional inefficiencies prevailing in their domicile environment. Corporate heads must also capture the correct timings/dynamism in environment before pursuing diversification as a strategy of growth. There exists causality between diversification and performance; hence, profitable firms should capitalize synergetic effects of diversification strategy and use it as a medium of growth.

There was hardly any literature available on causal relationship between diversification and performance with respect to emerging countries. There was even a wider gap specifically in relation to India where none of the researchers has so far studied causality between diversification and performance controlling endogeneity.

This study aims to examine the pattern of corporate social responsibility expenditure (CSRE) incurred by Indian companies after the inception of Companies Act 2013. It also highlights the resultant change brought in the corporate social responsibility (CSR) spends of the companies because of COVID-19 pandemic.

The CSR index provided by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs under Companies (CSR Policy) Rules 2014, is adopted to measure the extent of CSRE made by top 30 Indian companies listed on Bombay Stock Exchange. To study the pattern of CSRE in various domains mentioned in the CSR index, the study is conducted over four points of time. Three alternative years since the commencement of the Companies Act 2013 i.e. 2014–2015, 2016–2017 and 2018–2019 have been taken up. Additionally, the financial year 2019–2020 is included as it marks the inception of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The findings show that the CSRE made by companies is increasing every year over all points of time taken in the study. In addition to this, Indian companies have voluntarily contributed a substantial amount towards COVID-19 relief over and above the required mandatory limits.

The gradual increase in CSR contributions even above the mandated amount and voluntary contribution towards COVID-19 relief by Indian companies implies that the nature of CSR in India is still philanthropic.

The study contributes to the CSR literature after the implementation of the mandatory CSR provisions in India and in the wake of the global pandemic caused by COVID-19 as so far there is no such study available in the extant literature.

This paper aims to examine and compare the nature and extent of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting practices of companies in developing (BRICS [Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa]) and developed (the USA and the UK) countries.

Content analysis is conducted on the annual reports and websites of 325 companies listed on stock exchanges of developing markets and of developed markets (Brazil – IBrX 100, 46 companies; Russia – Broad Market Index, 50 companies; India – BSE 100, 50 companies; China – SSE 180, 29 companies; South Africa – FTSE/JSE All Share index, 50 companies; the USA – NYSE 100, 50 companies; the UK – FTSE 100, 50 companies). Descriptives are used to calculate company wise and item wise scores. T-test analysis is applied to check for significant differences between mean scores of developing and developed countries.

The findings of the study reflect that developed countries have higher CSR disclosure scores than developing countries. Overall, mean CSR disclosure score of developed countries is 53.5%, followed by that of the developing countries at 49.4%. Developed countries take lead in CSR disclosure for all the five categories, namely, human resources, community, environment, customer and product and others. The results of independent sample T-test suggest that mean disclosure score of developing nations is significantly different from developed nations.

As suggested by the results, the gap in the CSR disclosure scores between developing and developed group of countries is not an alarming one. However, developing countries should practice CSR in spirit and not just in letter. Focus should not be on just filling the pages in black and white, rather the essence of CSR should be attained for balanced development of the country. For instance, though developing country like India has high score of CSR disclosure in contrast to each of the developed country taken in the sample, yet the country is still battling with several issues such as poverty, over-population, corruption, poor standard of working conditions for the employees and environmental conservation. Sustenance should focus upon renewable sources of energy; efforts of employees should be acknowledged offering flexible working hours; consumer trust should be built by communicating authentic and accurate information about the product. As developing countries encounter several social and environmental problems, companies must endeavor to build a healthy nation keeping in mind the welfare of all stakeholders by practicing CSR.

This study overcomes the limitations of prior cross-country studies by taking a better representative sample with greater number of countries belonging to identifiable group of “developing” and “developed” nations and thus attempts to improve generalization and authenticity of results.

By a thorough bibliometric examination of the area through time, this paper analyses the research landscape of metaverse in education. It is an effort that is focused on the metaverse research trends, academic production and conceptual focus of scientific publications.

The Web of Science (WoS) database was explored for information containing research articles and associated publications that met the requirements. For a thorough analysis of the trend, thematic focus and scientific output in the subject of metaverse in education, a bibliometric technique was used to analyse the data. The bibliometrix package of R software, specifically the biblioshiny interface of R-studio, was used to conduct the analysis.

The analysis of the metaverse in education spanning from 1995 to the beginning of 2023 reveals a dynamic and evolving landscape. Notably, the field has experienced robust annual growth, with a peak of publications in 2022. Citation analysis highlights seminal works, with Dionisio et al. (2013) leading discussions on the transition of virtual worlds into intricate digital cultures. Thematic mapping identifies dominant themes such as “system,” “augmented reality” and “information technology,” indicating a strong technological focus. Surprisingly, China emerges as a leading contributor with significant citation impact, emphasising the global nature of metaverse research. The thematic map suggests ongoing developments in performance and future aspects, emphasising the essential role of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and virtual reality. Overall, the findings depict a vibrant and multidimensional metaverse in education, poised for continued exploration and innovation.

The study is among the pioneers that provide a comprehensive bibliometric analysis in the area of metaverse in education which will guide the novice researchers to identify the unexplored areas.