Search results

The purpose of this paper is to look into the sustainability practices of Indian firms in terms of the quality of disclosure, the impact of corporate sustainability performance (CSP) on firm performance and the appropriateness of the sustainability reporting guidelines followed by the firms.

The present study is based on secondary data collected from annual reports and corporate sustainability reports of 28 listed Indian non-financial firms from 2008-2009 to 2013-2014. Content analysis is used to calculate the score in terms of level (binary coding system) and quality of disclosure (four-point scale). These scores are further used to examine the impact of CSP on firm performance by using an appropriate regression model.

The study finds that the average level of disclosure is 88 per cent, whereas the quality of disclosure is nearly 80 per cent. The influence of CSP (in terms of level and quality disclosure) on firm performance is positive and significant. Moreover, the study also reveals that the Global Reporting Initiatives framework is not sufficient enough to publish the sustainability report of any business concern. The outcomes of the study, thus, indicate that sustainability practices of Indian firms are not myth but approaching toward reality.

It is the first comprehensive study in India to analyze the corporate sustainability reporting practices encompassing different dimensions of sustainability.

The purpose of this paper was to explore the possibility of utilization of Ocimum sanctum Linn (Tulsi) leaf extract as a natural preservative in muscle foods. The products incorporated with Ocimum sanctum leaf extract were assessed for various oxidative stability and storage quality parameters.

The Ocimum sanctum leaf extract was incorporated at 300 mg/kg level in the formulation. Chicken sausages incorporated with Ocimum sanctum leaf extract along with control samples were aerobically packaged in low-density polyethylene pouches and assessed for lipid oxidation, physicochemical, microbiological and sensory characteristics under refrigerated (4 ± 1°C) conditions.

Ocimum sanctum leaf extract showed a significant (p < 0.05) effect on the lipid stability, as the treated products exhibited significantly (p < 0.05) lower thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (mg malonaldehyde/kg) and free fatty acid (% oleic acid) values in comparison to control. A significant (p < 0.05) effect was also observed on the microbiological characteristics of the products, as the treated products showed significantly (p < 0.05) lower values for total plate count, psychrophilic count and yeast and mould count. Significantly, (p < 0.05) higher scores were also observed for various sensory parameters of the treated products.

The paper has demonstrated the use of Ocimum sanctum leaf extract as a potential natural preservative, as it successfully improved the oxidative stability and storage quality of the products during refrigerated (4 ± 1°C) storage and may be commercially exploited as a natural preservative in muscle foods.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the nature of functional involvement in the cross‐functional make or buy decision process.

The paper is based on literature within the areas of cross‐functional make or buy decision processes as well as cross‐functional process research in general. The empirical part of the paper is a longitudinal and in‐depth case study, where the data are collected using interviews, documentation and observations. The data are analyzed using chronological patterns.

Findings indicate a changing pattern between close collaborative integration during decision‐making phases and more interaction‐focused integration during data‐gathering phases. The benefits of this integration pattern mainly lay in the effective use of resources combined with increased decision quality.

The results are based on a large manufacturing company that produces complex products. It can be suggested that the scene researched by the authors may be common for companies in the same environment. However, it is a limited sample and future research would benefit from investigating different environments to establish whether the results are context‐specific or not.

Five phases are found in the make or buy decision process where resources are used differently. Also, different functions have different roles during these phases in order not to drain resources.

The paper helps clarify how functions integrate and use resources during different phases of the make or buy decision process and the cross‐functional benefits and effects. A conceptual model is developed that explains the effect of functional involvement during different types of integration.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the association between capital regulation and risk-taking behavior of Indian banks after incorporating the influence of competition. Further, the study intends to enrich the existing literature by providing empirical evidence on the role of human resources in managing risk along with the influence of other bank specific and macroeconomic variables.

Secondary data on 39 listed Indian commercial banks are collected from “Capitaline Plus” corporate data database for a period of 15 years. Capital is measured by capital adequacy ratio as defined by the regulators, and two definitions of risk – credit risk and insolvency risk – are employed. Competition is measured by Herfindahl-Hirschman deposits index, concentration ratio and H-statistic. The value-added intellectual coefficient model is employed to compute human capital efficiency (HCE). Three-stage least squares technique in a simultaneous equation framework is used to estimate the coefficients.

The study finds that absolute level of regulatory capital and bank risk are positively associated, although the influence of capital on risk is not statistically significant. The influence of competition on risk is negative for all the models, which supports the “competition stability” view. The impact of human capital on bank risk is also negative for all cases.

The findings of the study are useful for the decision makers in several ways based on the inverse influence of competition and HCE on bank risk. Further, the observed positive association between capital and risk indicates that the capital regulation is not sufficient to enhance the stability in the banking sector.

This is the first study in the Indian context that incorporates the competition in the banking industry as an explanatory variable in the extant bank capital and risk relationship.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the relationships between low carbon supply chain practices and their relationships with environmental sustainability (ES) and the economic performances (EP) of firms. The study also includes an examination of the low carbon supply chain practices that are utilized by Indian manufacturing firms.

Through a questionnaire-based survey, the data received from 83 Indian manufacturing firms was analyzed using a variance-based structural equation modeling technique to test the proposed hypotheses.

The study indicates that carbon governance is a strategic imperative for the adoption of low carbon supply chain practices. Similarly, low carbon product and process design (LCPPD), manufacturing and logistics lead to improved ES. In addition, low carbon purchasing is positively related to the adoption of LCPPD, manufacturing and logistics. No significant relationship was found between the adoption of low carbon supply chain practices and the EP of a firm.

The findings of this study may assist manufacturing managers in prioritizing operational practices for the reduction of emissions.

This study provides two major contributions to green supply chain management. First, it provides comprehensive empirical evidence on low carbon supply chain practices that are being followed by Indian manufacturing firms. Second, this study also empirically validated a structural model of low carbon supply chain practices.

This paper aims to examine the association between regulatory capital and risk of Indian commercial banks and the impacts of other relevant variables on them.

The study is based on a secondary data set on Indian commercial banks collected from “Capitaline Plus” corporate database and annual reports of the respective banks. Total 41 major Indian banks (21 public and 20 private sector banks) are considered in this study. Here absolute values of capital and risk are used as dependent variables along with some relevant bank specific explanatory variables in a system of a two-equation model. Based on the nature of interrelationship and identifiability of the equations, three-stage least squares (3SLS) technique is used to estimate the relationship.

Risk and capital of Indian commercial banks are inversely associated. The influence of profitability on both capital and risk is significantly positive. Moreover, human capital efficiency is negatively associated with the undertaking of risk by the banks. In this respect, Indian private sector banks are found to be more efficient in utilizing human capital for reducing credit risk.

It is the first comparative study in India examining the relationship between capital and risk of Indian public and private sector commercial banks covering both Basel I and II periods. Further, the role of human resource in managing risk is considered as a relevant variable in this study.

This study examines the performance between operational variables for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) within the context of interorganizational relationships. Specifically, it investigates the role of information quality and continuous quality improvement and the varying importance that SMEs place on each of these constructs. The sample consists of 134 vendors of a large university in the southwestern region of the United States.The results indicate that there is a positive relationship between information quality and continuous quality improvement with performance in SMEs. Implications for both research and practice, as well as ideas for future research, are discussed.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) is the worst pandemic in recent memory in terms of its economic and social impacts. Deadly second wave of COVID-19 in India shook the country and reshaped the ways organizations functions and societies behave. Medical infrastructure was unaffordable and unsupportive which created high distress in the Indian society, especially for poor. At this juncture, some pharmaceutical firms made a unique social investment when they reduced price of drugs used to treat COVID-19 patients. This study aims to examine how the market and the society respond to the price reduction announcement during the psychological distress of COVID-19.

Market reactions have been analyzed by conducting an event study on stock market data and visual analytics-based sentiment analysis on Twitter data.

Overall, this study finds positive abnormal returns on the day and around the day of event. Interestingly, this study finds that returns during the time of high distress are significantly higher. Sentiment analysis conveys that net sentiment is favorable to the pharmaceutical firms around the day of event and it sustains more during the time of high distress.

This study is unique in contributing to the business and industrial management literature by highlighting market reactions to social responsibility of business during the time of psychological distress in emerging economies.

The purpose of this paper is to test the mediating role of three types of innovation (product, process, and organizational) in the relationship between manufacturing flexibility and performance.

Building on the resource‐based view, the paper examines the indirect effects of manufacturing flexibility on organizational performance considering product, process, and organizational innovation as mediating variables. A sample of 159 Spanish firms is taken to test the proposed theoretical model through structural equations modeling using the partial least squares approach.

The effect on organizational performance of adopting a flexible productive system is mediated by incorporating product, process, and organizational innovation. This paper calls for caution in defending flexible manufacturing systems as universally efficient solutions, and argues that their productivity is linked to the complementary introduction of organizational and technological innovations.

Firms that pursue manufacturing flexibility should develop innovation capabilities to obtain an improvement in organizational performance. Therefore, managers should bear in mind that the mere fact of adopting a flexible manufacturing system will not guarantee improvements in firm performance. If manufacturing flexibility is to help improve company performance, managers should use this flexibility to generate organizational capabilities based on product, process, and organizational innovations, since these are capabilities that can create competitive advantages.

Operations management literature has not reached a consensus about the effect of manufacturing flexibility on organizational performance. This paper helps both academics and managers to gain a better understanding of this question by considering the mediating effect of three types of innovation (product, process, and organizational) in this relationship.

The paper seeks to understand the implications of partner opportunism for project relationships.

Based on the theoretical literature, the paper presents a conceptual model considering the perspective of the organization impacted by partner opportunism.

The model proposes that partner opportunism lowers willingness to engage by creating perception of loss. The undesirable impact of opportunism on perceived loss is less if the partner has made high relation-specific investments. Also, the negative impact of perceived loss on willingness to engage is less if the partner is difficult to substitute.

The model can be tested in the context of information technology (IT) relationships because of scope for opportunism in IT project relationships. Data can be collected through experimental vignettes.

The model contributes by investigating novel aspects of governance, behavioral consequences of opportunism and relation-specific investments in project relationships. The paper suggests that organizations can protect themselves against the ill effects of partner opportunism by enabling their stakeholders to invest substantial time and effort in the relationship and fortify relational quality and bonding.