Managing Customer Relations in a Modern Business Environment: Towards an Ecosystem-Based Sustainable CRM Model

The adoption of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) has witnessed tremendous growth across sectors, geographies, and management cultures in the last several decades. The perception of CRM as an IT-based tool has undergone a paradigm shift and is now treated as a strategic indulgence by modern-day businesses where IT is an indispensable enabler. CRM has garnered the interest of both academicians and practitioners over the years. In this article, the authors establish the value of sustainability in CRM and make an attempt at proposing a conceptual framework for modern businesses through its integration with various social networking sites that produces volumes of real-time data. The article also explores the importance of Customer Experience Management (CEM). The authors provide a thorough investigation of CRM models in the period of 1990 to 2016 through a survey of the literature explaining the need for managing experiences and engagement around existing CRM processes. In addition to exploring the intricate relationship between CRM and CEM, the authors also provide an interactive ecosystem-based framework for the creation of a sustainable CRM framework.     

Realities of R&D as a business: MBI's experience

The level of effort in a R&D activity on research or development depends upon whether the R&D activity is basic or applied. In general, the R&D at a university is focused more on the research (R of R&D) whereas the emphasis in an industrial R&D is more on the development (D of R&D) and less on research. In the past, this created a gap difficult to bridge between the R&D needs of an industrial sector and the R&D output from university and governmental laboratories. The recent success in R&D as a business has mainly been due to understanding the critical steps needed to take an idea to a marketplace and, thus, the emphasis on R or D has become a moving target depending upon the need. MBI International, a non‐profit R&D organization, was created to bridge the gap between academic and industrial R&D and to validate, develop and demonstrate technologies having commercial potential in the industrial sector. In the process, MBI developed partnerships with universities, governmental agencies, foundations, and industries to resource innovative technologies, funds, physical facilities and market opportunities to make the R&D business a reality. In this paper, we present MBI's experience in developing and commercializing R&D technologies in several new spin‐off companies, joint ventures, and out‐licensing.     

Regal Hair Salon: Tax and financial reporting of gift cards

Regal Hair Salons Inc., an owner and operator of hair salons across the United States, has enhanced its brand recognition through gift cards and promotions. Using authoritative tax literature, you have to determine the amount and timing of its federal income tax liability for the gift cards of other retailers that Regal has sold, gift cards for its own products and services, and the gift cards that it has issued during a special promotion. You also have an opportunity to determine whether Regal’s financial reporting policies with respect to gift cards are consistent with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAPs), using FASB Accounting Standards Codification. Finally, based on your review of book-tax differences, you are to determine the appropriate current and deferred tax provision. The case provides an opportunity to examine several issues in a real-world setting, strengthen your tax and accounting research capabilities, and develop your critical thinking skills.     

Transactions data tests of efficiency: An investigation in the Singapore futures markets

The aim of this article is to test the profitability of technical trading rules in the intra‐day currency futures market. A wide range of technical strategies are applied to tick data over a two‐year period for two currency futures—Japanese Yen (JY) and Deutschemark (DM)—traded in the Singapore International Monetary Exchange. The study finds that after incorporating transactions costs and testing for the significance of the profits using a bootstrap methodology, none of the technical trading systems produce significant returns. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 20:687–704, 2000     

Power relations and institutional outcomes: A case of pastureland development in Semi-arid Rajasthan

The paper critically examines institutional outcomes in conservation of village commons against the backdrop of rural power relations in two villages of Rajasthan (India). While one of the villages could achieve highest institutional outcome in terms of equity, the other one failed to do so. It failed because renovated institution reproduced same relations of unequal power and authority as a pervasive feature of social relations. The paper shows how the locally renovated institution in the other village sustains while managing its village common pastureland, despite perpetrating discrimination against the subordinates. It, however, does not suggest institutional practices under the authoritarian leadership that might collapse in the context of changing power equations in rural areas. The paper argues that primary condition for equitable entitlement to the improved resource base to emerge, as an institutional outcome is the removal of dependency syndrome of the subordinates on the powerful. It capacitates them to make claims.     

Effectiveness of minimum tax legislation and its effect on corporate financial reporting: A comparative analysis between the United States and India

This paper reports a comparative analysis of the experience of introducing minimum tax legislation in the US and India. Given the differences in the economic and market settings in the two countries, one would expect the impact of the regulation and the corporate response to its introduction to be different. Our empirical analysis, however, indicates that the response to the minimum tax legislation in India is very similar to that in the US. The evidence indicates that the minimum tax legislation is not the best means of achieving horizontal equity among taxpayers, given its significant administrative and compliance costs and the manipulative reporting response it generates from the corporate sector.     

Assessment of behavioural outcomes of financial education workshops on financial behaviour of the participants: An experimental study

The present study attempts to evaluate the behavioural outcomes of financial education workshops on the financial behaviour of participants (homemakers) in the state of Gujarat, India. A series of financial education workshops were conducted for 300 homemakers in November–December 2012. A pre- and post-survey design was used. In the pre-survey, the participants were asked to complete a questionnaire before they were invited to attend the financial education workshops. The follow-up survey data were collected 3 months after completion of the workshops. The effect of the financial education workshops on the financial behaviour of participants was assessed using 22 variables of financial behaviour, including cash, credit, saving and investment behaviour. The data were analysed using paired t-tests. The study finds that there is a positive effect of financial education workshops on the financial behaviour of participants. Specific findings may help financial education providers to design and implement such programmes more effectively and may provide guidelines to assess their impact.     

The day-of-the-week effect in conditional correlation

The day-of-the-week effect in the first and second moments of the return distribution is a well researched area. However, not many studies have attempted to identify this effect in the comovement or correlation of the markets. This paper models the day-of-the-week effect in the returns and the conditional correlation for some Asia-Pacific equity markets. The paper finds a Monday, Wednesday and Friday effects in the returns for some of the markets. The effect is totally absent in the returns for Australia, Japan and Korea. For the fifteen conditional correlation series estimated, a predominant Tuesday effect is detected for five series. Three series exhibit a Monday effect. A Thursday effect is detected between the Singapore market and the markets of Australia, Hong Kong and Thailand. The paper finds no consistent day-of-the-week effect in the returns and the correlations for this region. JEL Classification G15 · G14