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This programme will focus on the inter-disciplinary process of creating successful new products within firms. Participants will be familiarised with methods of initiating, systematising and focus- ing their firm's efforts and budgets towards creating successful new products in the Indian contextmore
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This paper presents an empirically derived model of the process through which industrial firms that lack internal resources in a particular technology area to implement certain research and development (R&D) projects on their own,... more
This paper presents an empirically derived model of the process through which industrial firms that lack internal resources in a particular technology area to implement certain research and development (R&D) projects on their own, initiale nad implement them jointly with not-for-profit research institutions. Such joint R&D projects are typically initiated by smaller, technologically less advanced firms in developing countires, with the underlying objective of training themselves in the relevant technology area and acquiring new technological resources from more advanced local research institutions, while simultaneously and rapidly completing the immediate R&D project. This process model has been developed by drawing from and synthesizing several in-depth case studies of such projects. In developing countries, joint R&D projects of this nature are important, as they can be more effective than formal technology training programmes for not-for-profit research institutions to fulfil their charter by transerni...
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Educational policies and school level interventions are often targeted at average students and inclusive policies meant for students with disability are no exception. How do gifted or high performi...
Research Interests: Psychology and Ableism
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Abstract: Development financial institutions (DFIs) in developing countries regularly face challenges in the micro-level assessment of technology to support their decisions of financing proposed technology development investments by firms... more
Abstract: Development financial institutions (DFIs) in developing countries regularly face challenges in the micro-level assessment of technology to support their decisions of financing proposed technology development investments by firms and technology institutions. These financing decisions are also guided by national technological priorities such as achieving technological self-reliance and addressing energy-environmental concerns. DFIs are therefore well placed to consciously channel technology finance into ...
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Strategic alliances between organisations for R&D, both pure and applied, is a topic of considerable research interest (Farr and Fisher, 1992; Forrest and Martin, 1992; Hladik, 1988; Ouchi and Bolton, 1988; McDonald and... more
Strategic alliances between organisations for R&D, both pure and applied, is a topic of considerable research interest (Farr and Fisher, 1992; Forrest and Martin, 1992; Hladik, 1988; Ouchi and Bolton, 1988; McDonald and Geiser, 1985), both from the field of inter-organisational research (see Borys and Jemison, 1989; Oliver, 1990; Ring and Van de Ven for structuring reviews) and from the field of R&D. Joint R&D has largely been studied between competing firms as the area of collaboration within competition evokes ...
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Abstract This article presents the historical development, structure and process of implementing the Indian Sponsored Research and Development (SPREAD) program, as a successful model of promoting university-industry-government interaction... more
Abstract This article presents the historical development, structure and process of implementing the Indian Sponsored Research and Development (SPREAD) program, as a successful model of promoting university-industry-government interaction and technology collaboration. SPREAD was a technology support program implemented by the Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India, a development financial institution, on behalf of the Government of India. Sponsored as a pilot project by the World Bank in 1991, the ...
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ABSTRACT A grounded process typology of knowledge transfer between academics and practitioners emerged from a synthesis of case study research involving forty interviews of participants involved in twelve university-industry joint product... more
ABSTRACT A grounded process typology of knowledge transfer between academics and practitioners emerged from a synthesis of case study research involving forty interviews of participants involved in twelve university-industry joint product development projects. Initial combinations of contextual and technical knowledge levels of participants in relation to the actual product development project requirements were found to set four different ideal types of knowledge transfer processes in such projects. The term contextual knowledge refers to ...
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ABSTRACT This paper documents the formal and informal project quality assurance modes adopted across organizations within joint R&D projects between firms and technology institutions. It draws data from a diverse set of... more
ABSTRACT This paper documents the formal and informal project quality assurance modes adopted across organizations within joint R&D projects between firms and technology institutions. It draws data from a diverse set of in-depth case studies developed by the author during an earlier process study of such projects.
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Abstract The recent boom in the new economy of internet based commerce has created a large number of firms with a variety of business models that aim to leverage the power of the internet to further their business goals. In this paper we... more
Abstract The recent boom in the new economy of internet based commerce has created a large number of firms with a variety of business models that aim to leverage the power of the internet to further their business goals. In this paper we attempt to provide a conceptual framework for understanding e-commerce business models on a number of important dimensions-nature of consumer activity, nature of e-commerce activity, target customers, targeting strategy, revenue generating modes, procfactfcerwce delivery modes, payment ...
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ABSTRACT This paper presents an empirically derived model of the process through which firms, that typically lack the resources and/or expertise in a particular technology area to implement certain strategic R&D projects of... more
ABSTRACT This paper presents an empirically derived model of the process through which firms, that typically lack the resources and/or expertise in a particular technology area to implement certain strategic R&D projects of their interest on their own, initiate and implement them in the form of technology training ventures jointly with not-for-profit technology institutions. These firms are keenly interested in training themselves and acquiring the resources required for future R&D in that technology area and do so simultaneously and ...
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Research Interests: Business, Entrepreneurship, Information Technology, Economics, Emerging Economies, and 13 morePolicy, Technology Assessment, New Technology, Technology Policy, Business and Management, Absorptive Capacity, Financial Institutions, a. Strategic Management and Business Policy, Technology and Innovation, Capital Market, Innovation, Data Gathering, and Strategy and organisation
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the allied dunbar charitable trust was born out of UK-based Allied Dunbar Assurance’s founder’s commitment at its inception in 1971 to provide 1.25 % of its pre-tax profits towards community develop-ment, as a way of giving back to the... more
the allied dunbar charitable trust was born out of UK-based Allied Dunbar Assurance’s founder’s commitment at its inception in 1971 to provide 1.25 % of its pre-tax profits towards community develop-ment, as a way of giving back to the com-munity for drawing from its resources. Although initially the committed fund was released by the firm directly on a need or request basis to several community devel-opment organisations in the UK, the Allied Dunbar Charitable Trust was subsequently formed in 1974 and charged with manag-ing these funds more effectively towards community development. Allied Dunbar is reported to have given more than £28 mil-
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Generalizability is a concern in qualitative research as qualitative research may not offer sufficient data for statistical generalization. Analytical generalization is possible with richer qualitative evidence. I show that a case-based... more
Generalizability is a concern in qualitative research as qualitative research may not offer sufficient data for statistical generalization. Analytical generalization is possible with richer qualitative evidence. I show that a case-based discussion can enable doctoral students to understand the scope and limits of analytical generalizability of qualitative research beyond the context studied. The case was an ethnography of the socialization of U.S. medical school students, where the author uncovered three insights about their life and priorities. Doctoral students were tasked to analytically generalize these insights beyond the medical student group studied. Students succeeded in generalizing insights to other medical students in that U.S. medical school, other medical schools in the U.S. and medical students in other countries with similar medical education. They faced logical limits in generalizing to practicing doctors, other life-saving professions, and non-medical students. This...
Customer self-service options reduce the delivered cost of products and enable customers to customize their product during final assembly. Cost reduction by self-service is clearly higher in developed countries given lower labor... more
Customer self-service options reduce the delivered cost of products and enable customers to customize their product during final assembly. Cost reduction by self-service is clearly higher in developed countries given lower labor availability and higher labor costs and their customers are often more adept in the use of self-service. In contrast, developing country customers can use cheap local labor, are less adept in the use of self-service and are unlikely to favor self-service options unless they are significantly cheaper. Lower literacy and inability to follow written instructions can make usual self-service options unviable in many developing countries. However, the cost savings in moving final assembly to customers can be significant even in developing countries as compact packing can significantly reduce packaging costs, transit damage and transport costs. We identify a set of generic self-service options for developing countries that leverage such cost reductions and low cost...
1. IntroductionResearch methods are an 'intricate set of ontological and epistemological assumptions that a researcher brings to his or her work' (Prasad 1997 quoted in Mir and Watson 2000). Strategy-as-practice research subsumes... more
1. IntroductionResearch methods are an 'intricate set of ontological and epistemological assumptions that a researcher brings to his or her work' (Prasad 1997 quoted in Mir and Watson 2000). Strategy-as-practice research subsumes a plurality of interests and research methods mainly with the lens of sociology (Jarzabkowski 2004; Whittington 2007). It draws upon sociological and philosophical developments related to practice theory, such as the well known works of Bourdieu, de Certeau, Giddens, Schatzki, Sztompka and others (see Jarzabkowski 2004 for an overview). Johnson et al. (2007) believe that the pragmatist tradition of philosophy, in highlighting the importance of the practical, is winning attention (Egginton and Sandbothe 2004 quoted in Johnson et al. 2007) in recent years. Basically, strategy-as-practice simply requires one to "go out and look" so as to find ways to capture such activity as it occurs, so that it can be examined closely and understood, simila...
Social entrepreneurial leaders are persons who create and manage innovative entrepreneurial organisations or ventures whose primary mission is the social change and development of their client group. The social enterprise's activities... more
Social entrepreneurial leaders are persons who create and manage innovative entrepreneurial organisations or ventures whose primary mission is the social change and development of their client group. The social enterprise's activities and its client groiq>'s activities can primarily be, either economic or non-economic, but the mission is social change and development This paper examines research prospects in social entrepreneurial leadership and its relevance to mainstream entrepreneurship research and proposes useful cross-fertilisation opportunities. In doing so it covers the common characteristics and differences of the two types of entrepreneurial leaders, and then examines features of social entrepreneurial leadership behaviour in terms of motivations, risk taking abilities, background, experience, cultural impact, societal impact, abilities, roles, networks, external relations and careers. It also covers issues of partnership formation, innovation, competition, invo...
In the increasingly competitive environment in India, the development and launch of new products have become an important competitive tool. In a crowded marketplace, there is greater need for differentiation; in markets that tend to be... more
In the increasingly competitive environment in India, the development and launch of new products have become an important competitive tool. In a crowded marketplace, there is greater need for differentiation; in markets that tend to be stagnant there is pressure to create excitement. The development and launch of new products helps in both situations.
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ABSTRACT Recent literature on evolution of economies proposes that nations can turnaround their development trajectory by adopting inclusive institutions. This proposition assumes that inclusive institutional innovation creates positive... more
ABSTRACT Recent literature on evolution of economies proposes that nations can turnaround their development trajectory by adopting inclusive institutions. This proposition assumes that inclusive institutional innovation creates positive feedback for the economy. Using narrative analysis and econometric modeling, we test a set of hypotheses linking path dependence, institutional change and economic performance for explaining feedback in the context of transfer of an inclusive institutional innovation to an under-developed region in India. We find that despite adoption of inclusive institutional innovation in an under-developed region, the mental model of economic actors and their behavior are still locked-in with the prior institutional norms, that such lock-ins sustains an incentive structure that negatively reinforce sustenance of benefits created through adoption of inclusive institutional change, and that sustenance of benefits from inclusive institutional innovation is better when adaptive efforts follows such institutional change.
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ABSTRACT Customer self-service options reduce the delivered cost of products and enable customers to customize their product during final assembly. Cost reduction by self-service is clearly higher in developed countries given lower labor... more
ABSTRACT Customer self-service options reduce the delivered cost of products and enable customers to customize their product during final assembly. Cost reduction by self-service is clearly higher in developed countries given lower labor availability and higher labor costs and their customers are often more adept in the use of self-service. In contrast, developing country customers can use cheap local labor, are less adept in the use of self-service and are unlikely to favor self-service options unless they are significantly cheaper. Lower literacy and inability to follow written instructions can make usual self-service options unviable in many developing countries. However, the cost savings in moving final assembly to customers can be significant even in developing countries as compact packing can significantly reduce packaging costs, transit damage and transport costs. We identify a set of generic self-service options for developing countries that leverage such cost reductions and low cost local labor to enable greater market penetration through lower prices. We draw insights from several industries in India that have created viable product-service combinations that leverage cheap local labor to create “last mile” customization. These self-service options have high potential as developing country markets are highly price sensitive and yet require robust and customized products.
Page 1. Int. J. Technology Management, Vol. 18, Nos. 3/4, 1999 207 Copyright © 1999 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. Managing research collaborations as a portfolio of contracts: a risk reduction strategy by pharmaceutical firms Ganesh N.... more
Page 1. Int. J. Technology Management, Vol. 18, Nos. 3/4, 1999 207 Copyright © 1999 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. Managing research collaborations as a portfolio of contracts: a risk reduction strategy by pharmaceutical firms Ganesh N. Prabhu ...
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ABSTRACT Senior managers face significant operational challenges as well as enjoy significant personal growth opportunities while managing rapid employee growth organizations (defined as doubling employee strength within five years on an... more
ABSTRACT Senior managers face significant operational challenges as well as enjoy significant personal growth opportunities while managing rapid employee growth organizations (defined as doubling employee strength within five years on an initial strength of at least ten thousand employees). How do they impact and modify their rapidly growing organisations and their own development as managers while coping with rapid employee growth? How do they manage the enhanced expectations placed on them due to their expanding roles in these rapidly growing organisations? We draw on anecdotal evidence from medium sized firms in the rapid growth Indian software services industry to develop a set of propositions that address these under-researched questions. The chosen research context is unique as several Indian software services firms have doubled employee strength within five years from a minimum ten thousand base – possibly unmatched in any industry worldwide. We formulate propositions that argue that, faced with rapid employee growth, leadership development practices for senior managers such as classroom programs, multi-source feedback, executive coaching, mentoring, networking, job assignments and action learning will depart significantly from those in normal employee growth firms. Senior managers will face rapidly growing demands and sudden expansion of work roles with lesser time to respond effectively – leading to individual-driven, emergent or opportunistic leadership development. Rapid employee growth also creates an upper level leadership vacuum that provides senior managers opportunities for out-of-turn promotions and rapid job rotations. This accelerates their leadership development enabling them to move faster into upper echelon positions.
Design piracy is potentially lethal for foreign multinationals making products in China, as high cost designs gets pirated with low manufacturing costs at acceptable quality for low priced sales in China and abroad. Two common options of... more
Design piracy is potentially lethal for foreign multinationals making products in China, as high cost designs gets pirated with low manufacturing costs at acceptable quality for low priced sales in China and abroad. Two common options of dealing with piracy are protect and encourage but neither effectively resolve this issue. We therefore suggest two distinct market options. The first option (labelled product enhancement) is to convert products through locally relevant redesign into significantly higher value products that address the small but high potential upper class Chinese who are less likely to seek pirated goods. The second option (labelled service enhancement) is to leverage local low cost services available in China to enhance their products by creating bespoke ethnic Chinese embellishments that appeal to upper-middle class Chinese customers and by creating stronger product-service combinations that lock in the customer. While these options do not prevent piracy, they lead...
We draw on our joint experience of leading a six week management program exclusively for women entrepreneurs every summer since 2004 at a top business school in India, to present an effective method of catalyzing enterprise creation by... more
We draw on our joint experience of leading a six week management program exclusively for women entrepreneurs every summer since 2004 at a top business school in India, to present an effective method of catalyzing enterprise creation by women. Apart from giving soft skills training and covering all functional areas of management, this program also required participants to prepare and present a business plan of their proposed or current enterprise. Aspiring entrepreneurs gained new confidence through the business plan process and found role models, motivators and counsellors within their batch of sixty participants. Visits to businesses of women entrepreneurs, panel discussions with successful women, and group processes within the batch enabled participants to incubate new business ideas. Networking and collaboration was high, with friendships, shared experiences and mutual support developed during the program and continued through a yahoo group process. Alumni across the six batches ...
Free home delivery for immediate vicinity customers is an effective way for small retailers to increase sales and retain local customers against larger retailers that offer better discounts and a wider product range but typically offer... more
Free home delivery for immediate vicinity customers is an effective way for small retailers to increase sales and retain local customers against larger retailers that offer better discounts and a wider product range but typically offer only fee based home delivery. However, with the high operating costs of home delivery in developed countries, many home delivery retailers have failed over the years by (a) undercharging home delivery in the hope of higher sales that are not realized or (b) overcharging home delivery and thus losing on potential customers or (c) enlarging their door delivery area to unviable levels over time. Managing unpredictable demand over the day for home delivery through differential pricing of slots and the effective utilization and control of home delivery workers are also critical to control costs and improve service. Though demand for home delivery is high, retailers must fully recover the cost of home delivery on every order. While large orders have suffici...
Indian entrepreneurs have been successful in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over the years and there in growing interest among Indians to not just seek jobs there but also to build new enterprises in the UAE. This interest has been built... more
Indian entrepreneurs have been successful in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over the years and there in growing interest among Indians to not just seek jobs there but also to build new enterprises in the UAE. This interest has been built over time by both favorable policies for foreign startups or foreign entrants in the UAE, as well as the greater comfort of working in a region with a large Indian origin population that may favor being employed in Indian owned companies. Many Indian firms started with taking export orders from the UAE and have over the years taken steps towards establishing sales and service offices for their products that are growing in demand. Also many agribusiness product companies have seen remarkable sales growth in the UAE possibly due to the growing demand for their India brand products among Indians now resident in the UAE. This context provides the opportunity to study the internationalization and entrepreneurship strategies by domestic firms that can lev...
Abstract: While some grassroot innovators in India have been found to freely distribute their sustainable development innovations without seeking commercial gain, a major predicament for many not-so-altruistic innovators can be their... more
Abstract: While some grassroot innovators in India have been found to freely distribute their sustainable development innovations without seeking commercial gain, a major predicament for many not-so-altruistic innovators can be their inability to either commercialize their innovations for profit on their own, or to find the appropriate and interested industrial firms to do so. This inability of innovators can emerge either from a lack of appropriate industrial firm contacts and knowledge for initiating commercial activity or a ...
ABSTRACT Frugal innovations in products are vital in developing countries to reach price sensitive customers that seek robust products at low prices. Similarly frugal service innovations can create larger markets among customers that... more
ABSTRACT Frugal innovations in products are vital in developing countries to reach price sensitive customers that seek robust products at low prices. Similarly frugal service innovations can create larger markets among customers that cannot afford expensive conventional services. While frugal innovations in products are easily identified by expert examination, frugal innovations in services cannot be identified without comprehensive mapping of all service processes. We identify three broad innovation heuristics used to achieve frugality in services: (a) innovatively combining existing materials, processes and resources at hand through bricolage, (b) innovatively reducing wastage of time, materials and human resources and (c) innovating on creating self-service options for users. We use a diverse set of Indian cases of service frugality to identify and analyse the specific techniques used to achieve frugality within these three heuristics. We then synthesize a conceptual frame of innovation heuristics for frugal services. Our framework is of value to service firms attempting to achieve frugality without conceding service quality and reliability. It is also relevant to product firms that can add frugal services to reduce commoditization and enhance value of their products. Finally, the heuristics we identify in creating frugal services can be adapted to achieve frugality in physical products.
ABSTRACT Customer self-service options reduce the delivered cost of products and enable customers to customize their product during final assembly. Cost reduction by self-service is clearly higher in developed countries given lower labor... more
ABSTRACT Customer self-service options reduce the delivered cost of products and enable customers to customize their product during final assembly. Cost reduction by self-service is clearly higher in developed countries given lower labor availability and higher labor costs and their customers are often more adept in the use of self-service. In contrast, developing country customers can use cheap local labor, are less adept in the use of self-service and are unlikely to favor self-service options unless they are significantly cheaper. Lower literacy and inability to follow written instructions can make usual self-service options unviable in many developing countries. However, the cost savings in moving final assembly to customers can be significant even in developing countries as compact packing can significantly reduce packaging costs, transit damage and transport costs. We identify a set of generic self-service options for developing countries that leverage such cost reductions and low cost local labor to enable greater market penetration through lower prices. We draw insights from several industries in India that have created viable product-service combinations that leverage cheap local labor to create “last mile” customization. These self-service options have high potential as developing country markets are highly price sensitive and yet require robust and customized products.
Abstract: I propose a process typology of joint product development projects that are initiated by industrial firms and implemented jointly with technological universities or not-for-profit research institutions. The four ideal types of... more
Abstract: I propose a process typology of joint product development projects that are initiated by industrial firms and implemented jointly with technological universities or not-for-profit research institutions. The four ideal types of university-industry joint product development projects proposed in this typology were synthesizing from in-depth case studies of twelve projects implemented jointly by six firms with seven technology universities or institutions. This paper contributes to research on joint product development by proposing an ...