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Research and innovation are a major national priority in India and are conducted across a diverse group of institutions. While Research Management (RM) activities were previously integrated into researcher and other roles in India, there is now recognition that RM services rendered by professionally trained staff can reduce the administrative burden on researchers, thereby enhancing the ease of doing research. This chapter provides context on the complex higher education and research ecosystem in India, outlines the circumstances leading to the development of RM support at Indian institutions, and highlights the contributions of the India Research Management Initiative in creating a community of practice for RM. The chapter concludes with some projections for the future of RM in India.

The purpose of this study was to understand the landscape of Indian research data repositories (RDRs) indexed in the re3data.org. The study analysed the metadata elements of Indian RDRs to identify their disciplinary orientations, typology, standards adopted, foreign collaborations, etc. The study ascertained the current status of the Indian RDRs by visiting their respective websites and tried to identify and map the exact disciplinary orientation of each RDR.

The study used “content analysis” of the metadata elements extracted from re3data.org along with the information analysis of the respective websites of the registered RDRs.

The study identified that only 80% of the Indian RDRs listed by the re3data.org is currently active. Most of the Indian RDRs are hosted by the central and state governments and are almost equally distributed among Life Sciences, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences domains. The data provided by the re3data.org for the Indian RDRs are not complete and up-to-date.

The findings indicate the presence of a good number of inactive RDRs in the re3data.org. The study suggests using a revised version of the DFG subject classification scheme or considering a standard classification scheme for subject indexing.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first of its kind that critically analysed the metadata values extracted and moved further to identify the current status of Indian RDRs.

Emerging market multinational companies have been vigorous in pursuing inorganic growth through cross-border acquisitions (CBAs). The fundamental studies till now have portrayed that rapid internationalization through CBAs tends to create value for these emerging market firms (EMFs) in the short term. However, there is an ambiguity about whether these firms endure better performance in the long term. The purpose of this study is to assess the long-term (ex-post) financial and operating performance of EMFs involved in overseas acquisitions before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world economy.

CBAs completed by Indian and Chinese companies constitute the sample of the study. The performance has been analysed during the pre-COVID period spanning 17 years from 2001 to 2017. A comprehensive set of 14 financial ratios has been used to represent change (improvement/decline) in enterprises’ post-acquisition operating performance; these ratios have been divided into four broad groups: profitability, efficiency, solvency and liquidity ratios.

The performance of Indian companies has deteriorated significantly after the acquisition. However, there has been no change (deterioration/improvement), subsequent to CBAs, in the profitability of Chinese firms.

The findings of the study support that firms from emerging economies exploit CBAs as a “springboard” to obtain strategic assets including intangible resources and brands rather than to achieve synergies through economies of scale and scope. Apparently, outbound acquisitions by emerging economy firms are not driven by cost-reduction or revenue-generation activities.

None of the studies, to the best knowledge of the authors, has carried out performance analysis using a comprehensive set of financial ratios. The comparative study of two emerging economies is another valuable addition to the existing literature. The study holds the potential to serve as the benchmark to assess the performance of CBAs executed after COVID-19.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the moderating effect of the board of directors on the strategic decisions made by family firms, and to understand the board attributes that can alleviate the aversion of family-owned firms toward mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

The study uses a sample of several firms listed in India from 2006 to 2019 with 19,813 firm-year observations. The empirical tests have been performed using logistic and negative binomial regressions. The study also tests for endogeneity with the help of Heckman (1979) two-step treatment effects model.

The study shows that board characteristics like smaller board-size, presence of outside directors, lower intensity of board activity, presence of busier board members and separation of board chair and CEO positions alleviate the inhibition of family firms toward M&A.

The findings imply that investors and policymakers can encourage family firms to have smaller boards, more independent directors, passive boards and CEO nonduality to reduce their aversion toward risky activities. Family-owned firms could consider a board comprising members with multiple directorships who can bring wider knowledge and expertise which can reduce the perceived threat to socioemotional wealth (SEW) and alleviate their aversion toward M&A.

Ownership concentration in family firms posits a unique challenge in terms of their aversion toward M&A. This study is one of the few that highlight the relevance of the monitoring and advisory role of the board in alleviating this aversion in an emerging market like India.

This study aims to determine how to influence the customer journey of mobile food ordering applications (MFOAs) users. It researches how available information could influence customers’ intention to use MFOAs platforms in the prepurchase stage and explores the potential of personalized information to improve customer satisfaction with these services in the postpurchase stage.

This research followed a mixed design, combining qualitative (focus groups) and quantitative (online survey) research and using both content analysis and partial least squares structural equation modeling.

Two types of available information (firm-generated information and online customer reviews) had a positive influence on the behavioral intention to use MFOAs. Additionally, findings showed that different web personalization strategies, namely, content personalization, functional personalization and system-driven personalization, were useful tools to create customer satisfaction with this type of platform.

The study discusses limitations regarding the sample and sampling process, indicator variables and measures.

The present research provides actionable insights for online food delivery providers.

This study addresses a research gap in the literature and provides a novel and richer understanding of customer behavior toward mobile food delivery platforms. Also, it adds to the personalization research by identifying and testing a range of web personalization strategies.

This study aims to investigate the Malaysian Mah Meri Indigenous tourism entrepreneur’s personality, experience, sense of community traits and current challenges in community-based tourism (CBT)-related businesses.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gather data from 10 Indigenous tourism entrepreneurs. Data were analysed using the NVivo 11 software.

The qualitative content analysis found three broad themes. Firstly, the authors found that the Mah Meri community possesses unique self-efficacy personality characteristics, significantly predicting their unsustainable entrepreneurial behaviours. Secondly, they are willing to share their values, beliefs and interests in their business offerings, which reflect their sense of community. Even with considerable entrepreneurial experience through learning from local wisdom and upskilling efforts by the government, the authors found that the community limitation mainly concerns the lack of early education, uninventive entrepreneurship practices and financial assistance.

This study provides an improved understanding of the Indigenous business environment for policymakers and Indigenous entrepreneurs. We found entrepreneurial personality, experience, sense of community determine and structure their CBT entrepreneurial activities.

This study provides a new perspective on Indigenous tourism entrepreneurs’ personalities, experiences, sense of community traits and challenges. The study also suggests encouraging sustainable Indigenous entrepreneurship practices for economic development, self-determination and community sustainability.

This study aims to investigate the interaction effect between offering supply chain finance (SCF) programmes and sustainability ratings on the liquidity performance of buyers and suppliers.

The study uses a unique sample of buyers that each have an SCF programme. The sample is complemented with financial information and sustainability scores. The data is analysed through a random effects model.

Aligning with recent advances in SCF literature, the results confirm a tendency for SCF programmes to favour buyers over suppliers. However, the relationship between SCF programme adoption and liquidity performance for buyers and suppliers is positively moderated by the strong sustainability performance of both parties.

Buyers and suppliers are advised to implement and adopt effective SCF programmes that are beneficial for both parties. For buyers, the authors suggest leveraging on SCF programmes as incentives to foster sustainable behaviour among suppliers. For suppliers, the authors recommend caution before joining programmes offered by buyers that do not perform well on sustainability.

Enhancing sustainability within global supply chains and fostering favourable payment practices towards suppliers are crucial for policy development and regulation. The findings clarify the connection between both components, offering valuable insights for policymakers in this domain.

The study is built on a manually picked, unique database of buyers offering SCF programmes to their suppliers. This allows, across a large sample, an evaluation of the differences between buyers that offer SCF programmes and those that do not.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss changes in the roles of librarians against the backdrop of emerging technologies.

Through reflection on practice drawn from the author’s 30 years in librarianship, this paper explores the evolving role of librarians in the constantly developing technological environment and demonstrates how librarians can combine information resources, technology and research assistance in these constantly changing spaces. It also explores how technology enhances the role of the librarian, with specific reference to ChatGPT.

The author stressed the need for library courses for credit to allow for feedback, assessment and critical thinking. The need for continuing professional development for librarians was highlighted. Additionally, areas such as Scholarly Publishing, Metrics and Analytics, Academic Integrity and Intellectual Property were identified as areas of focus for the 21st century Librarian.

This study is limited to changes in roles as a result of emerging technologies which impact librarians. It is set in the Caribbean.

This paper is relevant for librarians, regardless of their geographical location, who are also required to be fluid, keep on the cutting edge, adapt and adopt to deliver service in the face of constantly advancing technology.

This paper is a reflection on an original experience from a Caribbean territory. it also explores recent developments in technology, more specifically ChatGPT, and its impact on the roles of librarians. It provides contributions to the ongoing discourse on the evolving role of the librarian from a different perspective.

This research aims to conduct a literature review of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) in the Indian context and related research publications and apply bibliometric analysis and the author's visualization to map research trends in this area.

This article conducts a bibliometric analysis of LSS-related research in the Indian context using data gathered from Scopus and Web of Science databases from 2011 to 2022. The review provides information on LSS-related research in the Indian context and evaluates performance based on primary sources, authors, keywords, countries, affiliations, and documents. The analysis employs the Biblioshiny app and Bibliometrix R-tool for data analysis and scientific mapping.

The results of the bibliometric analysis indicate that the LSS culture has widely spread in India. The International Journal of Lean Six Sigma and Production Planning and Control were found to be the most productive sources for publishing LSS-related research articles. Antony J. was identified as the most active author in this field, contributing the most over the years. Among all organizations, NITs have conducted the most comprehensive research on LSS, indicating their significant investment of resources and efforts in studying this methodology and its applications in India. Additionally, the study examined the intellectual, social, and conceptual structures to identify implicit gaps and future research opportunities.

The findings of this study can inform academicians, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers about the state-of-the-art and the specifics of the most prolific studies. This study will facilitate their exploration of emerging research areas in LSS.

To the best of the authors knowledge, this is the first bibliometric analysis of LSS in the Indian context, providing an overview of relevant publications published between 2011 and 2022. This study analyzed 194 articles on LSS in India, which can help researchers and academics identify emerging research areas, suitable collaborators, and relevant journals for future publications.