Can the Post-COVID FDI Boost the Indian Economy?

Ever since the liberation of trade policies in India, Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) has been crucial in the growth of the economy, both at the macro as well as sector level. The association between FDI and economic growth is an area of interest globally. The investment decisions are affected by several national and international events that add to the volatility of the number of inflows. COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted the intensity of FDI inflows. But the strong resilience by our government manifested in crucial policy reforms and proactive decision-making minimized the impact. This article examines the potential impact of FDI on crucial macroeconomic variables using the Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) Model. Introducing the policy shock of $90 billion into the model, an increase of 5.68% per annum in GDP is estimated. Findings indicate that the impact of FDI shall be favourable to a large number of sectors mainly metals, construction, motor vehicle, computers, and electronics in terms of increased output, exports, and employment opportunities. The study offers logical implications for the policymakers to continue strengthening their moves to attract FDI.

Variation of Political Skill Dimensions Across Different Industries

The purpose of this study to ascertain if there is any variation in political skill dimensions ((a) social astuteness, (b) interpersonal influence, (c) networking ability and (d) apparent sincerity) exhibited by employees in India’s seven industry sectors. In this study, the Political Skill Inventory (PSI) is used to examine such variations. Five hundred fifty survey respondents are employed in seven sectors viz. automobile, education, finance, fast moving consumer goods, health, information technology and telecom. The results exemplify that statistically significant differences are exhibited in these political skill dimensions by the employees in different industry sectors chosen for this research. Since these differences are reflected on four dimensions of the political skill, this study makes a unique contribution by developing an understanding of individual dimensions of political skill, thus, enabling greater insight into skill enhancement at various levels. Further, this study contributes by furnishing insights on skills useful for practitioners to understand dominance and lack of industry-specific skills within PSI inventory. The implications of this study could be in the areas such as personnel selection, framing skill development tools and programmes, enhancing job performance, achieving organizational goals and improvising organizational culture.

Managing Technological Innovations at Deki Electronics

Deki Electronics was a Noida based capacitor manufacturing firm. By virtue of being a technology-based manufacturing firm, it was susceptible to risks of technology obsolescence. The company got a major shock when the lighting industry shifted from CFL to LED-based lighting within a very short span of time. Innovation was the only key to their survival. The case explores how they learnt to manage technological innovations and explores the question that how to avoid such technological shocks.

Market Reaction to Dividend Announcements During Pandemic: An Event Study

This study analyses the difference in stock market reactions to dividend announcement during the pandemic. The thirty constituent stocks of Sensex, the index of Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), is used for analysis. This allows cross-industry comparison of the market reaction. The study examines stock market reactions covering 44 days around the dividend announcement dates. The primary objective of this study is to understand whether the price adjustment linked to the dividend announcement news during the pandemic was different from the earlier years. This empirical study employs the conventional event study methodology using abnormal returns (ARs) to examine the stock market reaction to dividend announcement. The market reaction to dividend announcement was increasingly positive during the pandemic, compared to previous years. The statistical pooled t-tests showed there was a significant relationship between the pandemic and ARs. The findings also indicate that the difference in the market reaction to dividend announcement was more prominent in services stocks than that in manufacturing. Further, the results also verify the weak-form of efficiency of Indian stock exchange.

Information Management Capacity and Supply Chain Performance: Mediating Effects of Supply Chain Practices, Competencies and Concerns

The present study aims to identify the impact of the information management capacity (IMC) of an organization on its supply chain performance (SCP). Also, this study attempts to understand the mediating role of the various components of supply chain management, namely, practices, competencies and concerns. A survey instrument was used to collect primary data from 250 SMEs which were selected randomly. Structural equation modeling (SEM) technique is used to test the hypotheses using SmartPLS. The final model indicated that information management capacity significantly influences the supply chain performance and supply chain management components, namely supply chain competence, practices and concerns mediate the relationship between information management capacity and supply chain performance. The results of this study provide a significant contribution to the theory of resource-based view. The number of managerial perspectives for improving operational capabilities was explained in this study.

The Psychology of Green Entrepreneurship: Environmentally Sustainable Organizational Climate in Small-scale Companies in India

This study explores the psychology of green entrepreneurship and the role of the founder in establishing a green climate in organizations. The study examined the process of founding an environmentally sustainable organizational climate in small-scale auto ancillary companies in India. Focus group interviews were conducted, and questionnaires were distributed in the field; subsequently, the founders participated in an in-depth follow-up interview to explore the evolving elements of the green climate. Thematic analysis revealed that the founders’ environmental focus had different origins, indicative of four motivational categories: opposition, frugality, activism and idealism. The founders played a crucial role in influencing green employee behaviour through both supervision and direct behavioural instructions. Moreover, the participants frequently mentioned the practical aspects of the environmental focus, while values and strategies were generally tacit. The findings indicate that the founders’ motivational position determined the trajectory of developing a green climate.

Does Firms’ Working Capital Efficiency Matter in Dividend Payout: Empirical Evidence from India

The objective of this study is to assess the impact of working capital efficiency (WCE) (proxied by net trade cycle ( NTC)) on the dividend payout (proxied by dividend payout ratio ( DPR)) of the listed non-financial Indian firms. This study addresses the research gap in the literature about the influence of WCE on firms’ earnings distributed to equity shareholders as dividends in the Indian market. We have used secondary data of 150 firms that were listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange for the period 2012–2018 and analysed the data of the sample firms using the Tobit regression model. Our results indicate a negative and significant relationship between the NTC and the DPR of the sample firms. However, the beta coefficient of NTC was found to be very small, suggesting that the lower NTC may not inevitably generate a higher DPR of firms in the Indian context.

Barriers Prioritization of the Indian Steel Industry Supply Chain: Applying AHP and Fuzzy AHP Method

This study seeks to identify possible key barriers in the supply chain of the Indian steel industry. Each of these hindrances has a significance in serving the store network and refining the economy of India. The study is a mix of theoretical and useful structures, which would zero in on those critical barriers in the steel supply chain. It includes a theoretical examination of the barriers in the Indian steel industry and ranking of these barriers using multicriteria methods, that is, analytical hierarchical process (AHP) and fuzzy analytical hierarchical process (FAHP) approaches. The main finding is the identification of key barriers in the Indian steel industry supply chain and prioritizing them according to the severity of their impact. Eleven potential key barriers have been considered in the study for analysis. There can be more barriers in the Indian steel industry. This study exposes the application of both methods, that is, AHP and FAHP, for ranking identified barriers.

Role of Family Management in R&D Investments: Indian Evidence

The purpose of the present study is to examine the influence of family management on R&D investments of Indian companies. Panel regression analysis is undertaken on the data of top 200 Indian companies (the final sample got reduced to 179 companies) listed on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) over a period of 5 years from 2015 to 2019. The results reveal that family management supports R&D investments. The presence of family members on top management positions have a significant positive influence for both capital R&D expenditures and revenue R&D expenses. Given the restructuring of Indian corporate governance system, the findings recommend continual of family management as Indian way of management as it actively supports research and development investments thereby significantly influencing growth of the firm. The non-family members must support the strategic envision of family managers as the latter are more emotionally linked with the firm. The study contributes to the existing literature by examining the impact of family management on capital R&D expenditures and revenue R&D expenditures separately to gain meaningful insights about the attitude of family owners towards R&D investment decisions.

Factors Affecting Digital Visibility of Small and Medium Enterprises in India

This study sketches the importance of social media, integrated marketing communication, social customer relationship management and its transformation in the small and medium enterprises (SME). These factors can increase interaction and communication of SMEs with its customers. This study incorporates empirical method to elaborate how SMEs can increase visibility and reachability by gaining value through the usage of social media. Findings of the study highlight the challenges faced by SMEs with respect to visibility, examines the usage of different digital platforms by Indian SMEs which can resolve these difficulties and its impact on the business for improved visibility of SMEs when competition is hitting hard on all businesses.