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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 27 December 2021

Carla A.J. Bastiaansen and Celeste P.M. Wilderom

After deciding to become agile, many information technology (IT) units struggle; they underestimate the needed managerial expertise to alter their current culture toward an agile…

3021

Abstract

Purpose

After deciding to become agile, many information technology (IT) units struggle; they underestimate the needed managerial expertise to alter their current culture toward an agile one, particularly when cross-cultural (f)actors are involved. Given that work values are the key to an organizational culture, the study derived a set of agile work values of culturally diverse IT professionals together with a set of well-known generic work values. Consequently, the authors illustrate that managers in charge of the transition to an effective agile culture must pay serious attention to the specific value constellations of its often highly diverse workforce.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature review resulted in an initial list of agile work values. Then, mainly through a Delphi round, 12 agile-specific work values were established. These were survey rated, along with the validated set of 18 generic work values, by 102 British and Indian IT professionals in a digital service and consulting firm that was requested by its client to become agile. The observations made in 14 feedback group-interview-type dialogs enriched the surveyed data further.

Findings

In the current exploratory study, four generic value dimensions were complemented by two agile-specific ones: team communication and shared responsibility. Among the British and Indian (on-site and offshore) workers, only 2 of the 30 current work values were shared while 7 significant value differences were found, explaining the noted employee bitterness, productivity losses and client disengagement. This situation was reflected in the many discrepancies between the professionals' ideal agile way of working and how their unit was currently functioning.

Originality/value

The multi-method study shows an over-optimistic approach to becoming agile in a common cross-cultural context; insights are gained on how to optimize agile ways of organizing IT work when British IT workers collaborate with Indian IT workers. It may benefit many agile practitioners and managers working with(in) cross-culturally mixed and partly remote teams.

Details

Journal of Strategy and Management, vol. 15 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-425X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 October 2008

Saikat Banerjee

Behavior of a consumer largely depends on interplay between inner self and outer stimuli. Consumption decisions made in the market cannot be viewed as an independent event – it is…

21376

Abstract

Purpose

Behavior of a consumer largely depends on interplay between inner self and outer stimuli. Consumption decisions made in the market cannot be viewed as an independent event – it is closely related with values and social relationship and cultural allegiance. With globalization, culture becomes predominantly important strategic issue in market that has to be faced and properly managed. But, in different settings, management of cultural diversity could be seen as a threat, or an opportunity. As culture and values vary country to country, a close insight about country‐specific culture and core values is almost essential for a smooth sailing in any market. The purpose of this paper is to discuss overall fundamental dimensions of Indian culture and core values and resultant marketing implications.

Design/methodology/approach

The major task is to identify specific culture and core values at the time of marketing in a cross‐cultural setup. In this backdrop, an attempt has been made in this paper to discuss overall fundamental dimensions of Indian culture and core values with the help of a verbal model. The model has further been examined with the help of empirical marketing evidences from Indian market with an objective to help marketers to address those cultural and value dimensions at the time of their brand marketing in India.

Findings

Inputs about Indian culture and value dimensions can be of immense use to brand managers to strategies their marketing road map to minimize chances of erroneous decision‐making. A table summarizing the aspects that have to be considered at the time of building brands in India has been proposed to facilitate useful marketing decisions to penetrate the Indian market. At the time of starting its journey in a new country like India, the best approach a firm can adopt is to accept major issues involved with culture and values.

Practical implications

The verbal model about core culture and values of India, and proposed strategic roadmap, facilitate marketers to devise more accurate marketing strategies for India.

Originality/value

This paper presents a country‐specific approach that may be useful to marketers busy with consumer marketing in India. A verbal model of “Culture and Value Dimensions of Indian consumer” is of immense help in charting marketing strategies to win over Indian consumers.

Details

Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, vol. 15 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1352-7606

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 September 2014

Arpita Khare

The purpose of this paper is to examine affect of cosmopolitanism and consumers’ susceptibility to interpersonal influence on Indian consumers’ fashion clothing involvement…

3696

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine affect of cosmopolitanism and consumers’ susceptibility to interpersonal influence on Indian consumers’ fashion clothing involvement. Moderating effect of demographics was studied.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey technique through self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection in both metropolitan and non-metropolitan cities in India.

Findings

Utilitarian, value expressive factors of normative influence and cosmopolitanism influence Indian consumers’ fashion clothing involvement. Type of city, income, and education moderated influence of normative values and cosmopolitanism on fashion clothing involvement.

Research limitations/implications

One of the major limitations of current research was that it had a large number of respondents in the age group of 18-40 years. Future research can attempt to reduce age biasness.

Practical implications

The findings can prove helpful to international apparel brands marketing luxury and fashion clothing in India. However, since conformance to social norms was important for Indians, clothing manufacturers should use reference groups, opinion leaders, and celebrities to generate awareness. A blend of global and local lifestyle should be used. International luxury brands can customize their products to combine ethnic tastes.

Originality/value

Fashion clothing market promises immense growth opportunities in India. There is limited research to examine influence cosmopolitanism on Indian consumers’ consumption behaviour. Knowledge about influence of global lifestyle, brands, mass media, and services on Indian consumers’ behaviour can help in targeting them effectively.

Details

Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, vol. 18 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1361-2026

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2001

Colin M. Fisher, Raj Shirolé and Ashutosh P. Bhupatkar

Concerns the stances that Indian and UK managers take towards ethical issues at work. This topic is part of the broader cross‐cultural research agenda on managerial values. Makes…

4981

Abstract

Concerns the stances that Indian and UK managers take towards ethical issues at work. This topic is part of the broader cross‐cultural research agenda on managerial values. Makes a contribution to the subjects of business ethics and corporate citizenship. The responses of samples of Indian and UK managers to ethical issues were classified, using a research instrument called Redundancy, by eight ethical stances that are defined in a conceptual framework presented. The results are used to clarify issues that arise from the literature about Indian and UK managers’ values. The tentative findings are that Indian managers’ ethical stances were similar to those of Western managers but that, compared with the UK respondents, they were more likely to experience ethical tension between their personal, espoused, stances and those they took at work. The preference for a pragmatic, ethical puzzle, approach to issues, that was reported by both Indian and UK samples, is seen as a problem in developing good corporate citizenship. Presents an agenda for future research.

Details

Personnel Review, vol. 30 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0048-3486

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1997

Suresh Gopalan and Joan B. Rivera

India's emergence in the international business arena presents challenges to Western‐trained expatriate managers assigned there. These expatriates are familiar with management…

2005

Abstract

India's emergence in the international business arena presents challenges to Western‐trained expatriate managers assigned there. These expatriates are familiar with management theories and practices based on value orientations very different from those in India. Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck's Value Orientations Framework is used to provide an overview of the different types of cultural values an expatriate manager will confront in Indian society. The impact of Indian values on various management practices, including team composition, leadership, motivation, and human resource management functions is also discussed It is hoped that this examination of the dominant value orientations of Indian employees will facilitate the successful transfer of Western expatriates to India.

Details

The International Journal of Organizational Analysis, vol. 5 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1055-3185

Article
Publication date: 23 August 2011

Pritam Singh, Asha Bhandarker, Sumita Rai and Ajay K. Jain

There exists limited research directly highlighting the relationship between value preference and its association with people's expectations from the workplace. Studying personal…

5322

Abstract

Purpose

There exists limited research directly highlighting the relationship between value preference and its association with people's expectations from the workplace. Studying personal value preference is important because a substantial body of research indicates that a specific pattern of value orientations predicts world views, and, hence, it may predict behavior in the workplace. Based on the above‐mentioned assumptions, the present study aims to explore the impact of value preferences on the meaning of workplace, across MBA‐ and non‐MBA graduates and Indian and non‐Indian graduates. It is proposed that value preferences will have a significant impact on meaning of workplace and values preferences are likely to differ across national culture.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on qualitative research, a pilot study and survey research design. Data were gathered from a sample of 312 graduates, consisting of 231 management students and 81 non‐management students. Of these 245 are Indians and 67 non‐Indians studying in India, the USA, and the UK.

Findings

Results of exploratory factor analysis helped the authors to derive ten significant factors from the meaning of workplace scale and four factors from the values scale. Results of stepwise multiple regression analysis have shown significant positive impact of value preference on the choice of preferred workplace. More specifically, higher progressive orientation has been found to positively influence the intrapreneurship factor of meaning of workplace factor. Values of personal growth, self‐fulfillment, and community development have explained a large amount of variances in work‐life balance and physical ambience.

Research limitations/implications

The literature on workplace design and the meaning of workplace is limited and a comprehensive list of variables of psychological climate is not available. Thus, extensive future research needs to be carried out in this direction. Knowing the employer's perspective about the evaluations of the workplace attributes may provide a different perspective of the meaning of workplace. Finally, this study could be expanded by using qualitative interviews along with quantitative techniques to get more in‐depth data and probe further in the factors that the graduates take into consideration while rating the extent of desirability of different environmental attributes.

Originality/value

This paper is important in that knowledge about the values of potential employees can be used to make sure that the organization recruits employees whose perceptions match the psychological environment existing in the company. Furthermore, organizations can use such information to design work environments in such a way that they meet the expectations of newer generations of workers. The study reveals cross‐cultural differences between perceptions and values. These are particularly important in the case of multinational corporations, which consider the impact of cultural and societal values while designing work environments and processes in different countries, as well as while recruiting employees with different cultural backgrounds.

Details

Facilities, vol. 29 no. 11/12
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-2772

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 August 2015

Madhavan Parthasarathy, Vicki Lane and Mary Lee Stansifer

This paper aims to document changes in values of young Indian consumers over a 10-year period from 2004 to 2014. Given increases in per-capita income and living standards and…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to document changes in values of young Indian consumers over a 10-year period from 2004 to 2014. Given increases in per-capita income and living standards and, particularly, the tremendous increase in exposure to global products and ideals via media advertising, and greater one-to-one interaction with Americans and other English-speaking people from individualistic cultures (India has over 250 million Internet users who communicate in the English language), it was proposed that young Indian consumers would adopt values associated with self-enhancement and individualism, forsaking self-transcendence-related ideals such as benevolence and universalism.

Design/methodology/approach

Data pertaining to the Rokeach value scale (RVS) were collected in New Delhi in 2004 and 2014 and tested using MANOVA.

Findings

The results strongly support the contentions, save a couple of surprises. Implications of this dramatic change in values in a relatively short period are discussed from a marketing perspective.

Originality/value

This is the first paper that empirically measures changing consumer values in India.

Details

Journal of Indian Business Research, vol. 7 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-4195

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 February 2018

Ashok Ashta, Peter Stokes and Paul Hughes

Within the globalized commercial context, Japanese business activity in India has increased significantly. The purpose of this paper is to highlight common attitudinal traits that…

1242

Abstract

Purpose

Within the globalized commercial context, Japanese business activity in India has increased significantly. The purpose of this paper is to highlight common attitudinal traits that would facilitate orientation of Indian executives towards Japanese management methods through, for instance “reverse adaptation”, using an approach other than cultural dimensions that have emerged in recent decades and consider how these play out in change management contexts.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature review was undertaken which found significant parallels between traditional Indian philosophy and modern Japanese management methods, inter alia long-term orientation, equanimity and Nemawashi (pre-arranged participative decision making) and shared spiritual dimensions. The paper employed a methodology of participant observation and semi-structured interview approaches contextualized through lived experience methodology (Van Manen, 2015). These events are described and analysed narratively using a blend of qualitative participant observation and reflexive critical incident review.

Findings

The findings, by examining the confluence of Indian and Japanese management, provide an innovative avenue of research and theory for change management.

Research limitations/implications

The research employs an inductive methodology which employs vignettes to examine Indo-Japanese contexts. The limits to generalization are recognized within the study. The paper offers important implications on Indo-Japanese collaboration and change management.

Practical implications

These findings have important practical implications for Indian and Japanese managers who will be able to engage better within the dynamics of the Japanese work environment in Japanese subsidiaries in India. These same insights could also potentially facilitate wider examples of working in Japanese environments, either in Japan or outside Japan. At a more general level, the findings are relevant to all foreign investors in India for enhanced employee engagement by providing insights into spiritual values of Indian managers and their impact on change management situations.

Social implications

There is emerging research on how traditional Indian philosophy tenets can be found in modern (western) management. This paper provides reasons, based in the extant literature, to believe that modern Japanese methods can trace their origin in Buddhist Indian philosophical thought and offer important implications for managing change.

Originality/value

The paper offers in-depth original insights into Indo-Japanese collaborative contexts.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 31 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2012

Beverlee B. Anderson

The purpose of this paper is to explore linkages between Confucian‐based Asian cultural values and Michael Porter's model of national competitiveness. The cultural values of Indian

688

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore linkages between Confucian‐based Asian cultural values and Michael Porter's model of national competitiveness. The cultural values of Indian students are compared with Asian American students’ cultural values, to explore alignment with economic growth and development factors.

Design/methodology/approach

Relationships between culture and economic development are conceptualized based on previous research and literature. Using an Asian Cultural Values Scale, Indian students enrolled in a Master’s of International Business program were surveyed. These data are compared with data collected from Asian American college students on the same items. The results are interpreted based on conceptualized relationships.

Findings

Indian students tend to exhibit greater conformity, emotional self‐control and collectivism values while Asian American students tend to place greater value on family recognition through achievement. The Indian student values appear to align more with the synthesis model of business development, while Asian American student values focus on success.

Research limitations/implications

There is a small sample size of 69 in India.

Originality/value

This is the first study that assesses Indian student orientation toward Asian values compared with those of Asian Americans. The relationship of values and sustainable economic development is explored.

Details

World Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, vol. 8 no. 2/3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-5961

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 2001

C.A.L. Pearson and S.R. Chatterjee

Societal values are emerging as critical variables in providing context relevance to extending international management research. A hallmark of the 1990s was the widespread…

Abstract

Societal values are emerging as critical variables in providing context relevance to extending international management research. A hallmark of the 1990s was the widespread adoption of market cultures in Asian nations that embraced large‐scale reform and restructuring. These programmes brought about dramatic changes at organisational level, but the links between the societal upheavals of economic transformation and micro level changes have yet to receive sufficient academic attention. For instance, similarity or dissimilarity about held societal values of managerial groups, within an organisation, as identified by gender, age, educational qualification or family upbringing, or even by the size of the company in which they work, requires comprehensive scrutiny if these reform programmes are to succeed. Since 1991 the Indian economy has embraced economic reform to move towards more empowerment for individual organisations in all spheres. The study reported in this paper explores managerial social orientations in the context of micro‐level organisational functioning. The results of this study, with 421 senior Indian managers, demonstrate that in a relatively short time the fundamental attributes of a competitive market economy have subjugated societal qualities reinforced over hundreds of years and thought to be unchangeable.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 28 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

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