A longitudinal examination of HRM in a human resources offshoring (HRO) organization operating from India

Human resources offshoring (HRO) forms a significant part of the Indian business process offshoring (BPO) market. This paper assesses HRM in the emergent HRO sector. Longitudinal case-study research enables an in-depth examination of the development of HRM practices in an HRO organization where offshored HR services are delivered from two different cities in India. The paper highlights the development of HR activities focused on extrinsic incentives, rewards and penalties to influence employee behaviour. These practices are mediated by indigenous traditions, the nature of the service offering; management style and an aspiration to ‘role model’ systematic HR practices.     

A nonsymmetric responding logistic model for forecasting technological substitution

This article presents a simple model of technological substitution termed as nonsymmetric responding logistic (NSRL). Based on the theory that substitution is an imitation process, the model can accommodate different patterns of technological substitution by allowing the imitation effect to vary over time systematically. It allows the S-curve to be symmetrical as well as nonsymmetrical, with the point of inflection responding to the substitution process. Data from four medical innovations are analyzed to illustrate the generality of the model.     

Innovation diffusion: A deterministic model of space-time integration with physical analog

This paper extends a fundamental temporal diffusion model to integrate space and time dimensions of the diffusion of innovation. The analogous developments in physical sciences are compared and it is demonstrated that the proposed model may be the first step in linking the concept of catalysts in physical science diffusion processes to the role of change agents in social science systems.     

Remittances and child labour in Ghana: Does the gender of the household head matter?

This study investigates the effect of remittance income on child labour and the role of gender in Ghana. Data were sourced from the Ghana Living Standards Survey Round 6. In order to solve the issue of endogeneity, we adopt the instrumental variable approach. The study finds evidence that, irrespective of whoever is the head of the household, the total effect of remittances on child labour is negative. However, the negative effect is much higher for female-headed households. It is recommended that more mobile money transfer outlets be established and the cost of transferring money be reduced to the barest minimum so as to enable households to maximise the benefits of the remittances they receive. Furthermore, financial transfers should be given to female household heads upon the condition of school attendance by their children so as to reduce child labour.     

In the Name of Merit: Ethical Violence and Inequality at a Business School

Journal of Business Ethics - This study examines how meritocracy as a collective social imaginary promoting social justice and fairness reproduces class and caste inequalities and fosters ethical...     

Computer assisted purchasing

Today's supermarket shoppers need information on the “best” buys in terms of low prices, shopping convenience, and traveling cost. A survey of literature shows that there is no existing system which provides this information to the shoppers. In this paper we propose an urban supermarket shopping information system. First, a design program for the development of such a system is delineated. Then, two “shopper strategy models” are developed. The first model gives the best strategy to buy predetermined food items for weekly shopping. The second model is shopper activated and allows specification of food items, preference for stores and constraint on shopping time.     

Adaptive technological substitution models

This article demonstrates the use of feedback estimation approaches to develop self-adaptive innovation diffusion models for forecasting technological substitution. Data from three innovations are analyzed, and limitations of the proposed procedures are discussed.     

Weekend gold returns in bull and bear markets

This study examines the weekend effect in gold returns during bull and bear markets over the period 1975 through 2011. It shows that gold returns from close on Friday to close on Monday are significantly lower than returns during the rest of the week. This result is due largely to gold returns during bear markets. During gold bull markets, gold weekend returns are not significantly different from weekday returns. The study shows that the effect has substantial economic implications for gold investors. The effect is shown to be related to a significantly negative skewness in the weekend returns.     

Culture,industrialisation and multiple domains of employees' job satisfaction: a case for HR strategy redesign in India

This paper explores the link between cultural behavioural traits, the potential effect of industrialisation and multiple domains of job satisfaction, utilising survey data collected from public and private service sector employees in Shillong, the capital city of Meghalaya in the North East Region (NER) of India. Results from ordered probit regressions demonstrate a statistically significant impact of both, extrinsic and intrinsic moderating factors on Indian employees' job satisfaction. In view of India's widely reported collectivistic cultural traits, which are assumed to emphasise primarily the importance of extrinsic job aspects, our findings are surprising. They suggest that in the wake of India's significant economic developments the impact of intrinsic job rewards has played ‘catch-up’ with that of their extrinsic counterparts. As such, the study provides evidence in support of embracing human resource management (HRM) practices that incentivise Indian employees not only through their traditional methods aimed at extrinsic job rewards but also by explicitly addressing individual ambitions, needs and aspirations.