Business model innovation: How the international retailers rebuild their core business logic in a new host country

Although research into the business model has received increasing attention, few studies have so far been conducted on business model innovation in an international context. The purpose of the study is to identify different patterns of business model innovation which enables international retailers to rebuild their core business logic in new host countries. On the basis of comparing and contrasting the business model changes of 15 international retailers from various home countries to one single host country (China), our study provides an in-depth understanding of business model innovation in the context of international business. By looking at the firms’ capabilities in rebuilding their core logic in the setting of a host country, we reveal six routes of retail business model innovation. Utilizing the lens of organizational learning theory and internationalization, we identify three patterns of resource deployment by international companies in the process of developing business model innovations. Our study, therefore, provides insights and guidance for multinational companies in general, international retailers in particular, as for how to successfully adapt their business model from home country to host country.     

Investor Sentiment and Stock Market Volatility: Evidence from India

In this article, the authors probe the role of irrational investor sentiment in the determination of Indian stock market volatility. The authors developed a new irrational aggregate sentiment index (IASI) to examine the issue. The conditional volatility is extracted from the nonlinear univariate models for the market indices and the IASI. The vector autoregression (VAR) is carried out to analyze the relationship between the volatility of irrational aggregate sentiment index and stock market volatility. The authors find a unidirectional causality from sentiment to stock market volatility, and their findings highlight the significance of sentiment in explaining the stock market volatility in India.     

The relationship between innovation culture and innovation outcomes: exploring the effects of sustainability orientation and firm size

Being sustainability‐oriented has become a key strategy for many firms. Equally, innovation culture and innovation outcomes have long been recognized as important contributors to the growth of firms. However, the literature on sustainability and innovation provides limited understanding of the important relationship between sustainability orientation, innovation culture and innovation outcomes. Given that large firms and small firms differ in building and employing their strategic assets, firm size matters in understanding the relationship. Through the lens of resource‐based view, we develop a theoretical model embedding the four components and test it using data from a global survey: the 2012 Comparative Performance Assessment Study. Our research contributes to sustainability literature and innovation theory by providing an integrated framework to explicate the mechanism through which the innovation culture of the firm impacts on innovative performance through the sustainability orientation of the firm. The findings advance our understanding of the extent to which sustainable orientation can explain the relationship between innovation culture and innovation outcomes. Our evidence shows that the innovation culture of a firm facilitates the sustainability orientation of the firm and that the converse also applies. The research also contributes to our knowledge of the differences between large and small firms in leveraging their strategic assets in terms of innovation culture and sustainability orientation to facilitate superior innovation outcomes. Although firm size moderates the relationship between innovation culture and innovation outcomes, the research shows that this no longer holds when sustainability orientation is included in the relationship. A strong sustainability orientation can be a competitive advantage for firms in the R&D Management delivery of superior innovation outcomes.     

Is There Long Memory in Indian Stock Market Returns? An Empirical Search

The issue of long memory, though has important theoretical and practical implications, has not received much attention in India. This article examines the issue of long memory in mean of the stock returns by employing a set of sophisticated time-series tests including a bias reduced log periodogram test of Andrews and Guggenberger. The study used daily values of 29 major indices including sectoral indices traded on the National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange from April 2003 to March 2012, which provide insights into relation between composition of indices and long memory. The findings of the study suggest significant presence of long memory in mean returns of the medium- and small-sized indices and weaker evidences for large cap indices. Further, the study identifies a relationship between presence of long memory and market structure variables. The use of linear models in the presence of long memory would result in incorrect inferences, and this calls for investigation of appropriate long memory model to generate profits in Indian stock market.     

Investigating the implications of business and culture on the behaviour of customers of international firms

For many years international firms have been leveraging from the consistent growth rate of the Indian economy and, considering forecasts, will continue to do so in the future. This study identifies factors that influence the behaviour of business customers of international firms in emerging markets such as India. Based on the extant literature and in-depth personal interviews with practitioners, combined with a field survey, the authors have tried to understand the impact these factors have on the behaviour of business customers of international firms. The data were useful for testing the model developed using regression analysis and were found to be significant. The model demonstrates that the behaviour of local firms as customers of international firms in emerging markets is governed by factors such as business risk and a propensity to business sustainability. The model will be useful for international firms who wish to operate in emerging markets through local business firms that seek to associate with international firms.     

Changes in social and environmental reporting practices in an emerging economy (2004–2007): Exploring the relevance of stakeholder and legitimacy theories

We examine social and environmental reporting (SER) practices of listed companies in the island economy of Mauritius. Based on a content analysis of annual reports, quantitative and qualitative changes in SER were analyzed in light of recent developments in corporate governance and with regard to the prevailing social and political contexts of this emerging economy. We find a significant but selective increase in the volume and quality of SER over the period under review (2004–2007). We rely on Suchman's (1995) conceptualizations of legitimacy to argue that the changes in SER are related to a need for companies to demonstrate an affiliation to pro-social objectives (moral legitimacy) and, to a lesser extent, are motivated by the need to manage specific stakeholders (pragmatic legitimacy). More specifically, the increase in ethical disclosures reflects an attempt at gaining procedural legitimacy in response to criticisms of corruption and unfair/unethical business practices. Furthermore, the increase in social disclosures can primarily be seen as a mechanism to gain consequential legitimacy in response to concerns that local companies are not sufficiently contributing to the country's social development. We suggest that future empirical research should devote more attention to the specific characteristics of emerging economies (such as levels of corruption and unethical business practices and the level of corporate governance) and examine whether these can explain patterns of corporate SER in a given national context or on a cross-country basis.     

1974: World population year

In December 1970, the General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1974 as World Population Year. Herewith, the Assembly was giving recognition to the growing involvement of the United Nations System in the population field and to the need for focussing international attention on different demographic aspects.     

Structural model for analysis of key performance indicators for sustainable manufacturer–supplier collaboration: A grey-decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory-based approach

With growing competition in the market and dire need for sustainability, it has become imperative for companies to build long-term relationship with their supply chain partners through sustainable collaboration. Among these, the supplier–manufacturer relationship is crucial for improved organizational, business and sustainable performance. Sustainable collaboration with suppliers involves crucial decision-making processes such as continuous supplier monitoring and supplier development. Hence, a critical challenge that a company faces is to identify the key performance indicators (KPIs) for assessing the performance of a supplier for sustainable collaboration. In this regard, this study focuses on identification of KPIs for an Indian home appliance company through exhaustive discussions involving multiple decision-makers. Further, a grey-based decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) model is proposed in the study for analysing the importance levels among the fifteen KPIs based on multiple stakeholder perspectives. The results of the grey structural model indicate seven KPIs as influencing KPIs and eight KPIs as influenced KPIs. The KPI ‘Information disclosure’ has been identified as the most influential KPI for the evaluation of suppliers for sustainable collaboration. The implications drawn from the result analysis model can provide meaningful insights to managers for identifying strategies towards strengthening the supplier–manufacturer relationship and achieving organizational and market competence.