Ashok Som

Innovative human resource management and corporate performance in the context of economic liberalization in India

The Indian economy was forced to adopt a structural adjustment programme at the beginning of 1991. The structural adjustment programme or liberalization initiated the process of the opening up of an otherwise closed economy of India. Liberalization created a hyper-competitive environment and to respond to this turbulence, Indian organizations adopted innovative changes in their HRM practices. Current research shows that HRM practices are important for enhanced corporate performance but little has been reported on the effect of HRM practices and corporate performance in the context of economic liberalization of India. This study tries to understand the role of innovative HRM practices and specifically questions how HRM practices, such as the role of HR department, recruitment, retraining and redeployment, performance appraisal and compensation, enhance corporate performance during the change process. A multiple-respondent survey of 69 Indian organizations was undertaken to study the impact of innovative HRM practices on firm performance. The survey found that the innovative recruitment and compensation practices have a positive significant relationship with firm performance. It was observed that recruitment, the role of the HR department and compensation practices seem to be significantly changing within the Indian firms in the context of Indias economic liberalization. The synergy between innovative HRM practices was not significant in enhancing corporate performance during the liberalization process.

What drives adoption of innovative SHRM practices in Indian organizations

The crucial role of adoption of innovation in strategic human resource management is becoming increasingly prevalent in both business and academic literature. However, few such studies have been undertaken in a liberalizing country scenario such as that of India. This article attempts to understand the adoption of innovative strategic human resource practices (SHRM) practices in the Indian context. It identifies, analyses and tries to underline the drivers of adoption of innovative strategic human resource SHRM practices in Indian organizations. This study is of critical importance against the backdrop of the liberalization of the Indian economy. Although the liberalization process started in 1991, the effect of the process took a decade for Indian organization to respond to such a structural adjustment. Drawing from SHRM literature, this research report discusses five main propositions of adoption of innovative SHRM practices in Indian organizations. The generalizability, applicability, acceptability and diffusion of practices are discussed.

Organizational response through innovative HRM and re-design: a comparative study from France and India

This paper explores some of the major developments in cross-national, comparative studies of multi-national enterprises (MNEs) through qualitative research in human resource management (HRM) and then highlights the need for more such studies. With exploratory case study methodology, this study tries to understand the role of innovative HRM practices during organizational re-design in France and India. It highlights the necessity of context and builds on with the results of four longitudinal case studies in two industries, namely cement and automobile, in France and India, which attempted to operate in a competitive business environment. The results emphasize that given the context, amidst the backdrop of liberalization, a crucial challenge facing organizations is their ability to respond and manage re-designing their organizations while embracing integrative and innovative human resource (HR) mechanisms that cement these changes. The research setting of two countries helps to dig deeper into the mechanisms that shape innovative HR policies and practices. The article proposes and contributes to the contingency theory and to cross-national, comparative MNE literature.

Building sustainable organisations through restructuring: the role of organisational character in France and India

In todays era of hyper competition and change, one of the crucial challenges facing organisations is to build sustainable competitive organisations. A changing environment necessitates a change in strategic initiatives. The changes in strategic initiatives such mergers and acquisitions, new product and market strategy, joint ventures, strategic alliances, diversification and outsourcing, call for organisational restructuring and the emplacement of an integrative mechanism that cements these changes. Few empirical studies have been done to date regarding the role of organisational character during an organisational restructuring process. Organisational character, which is embedded in the vision, mission, goals, values and leadership, can be explained in terms of history, culture, collective memory, knowledge, politics, habits, emotions and policies of the organisation. An extensive in-depth study of four large, complex manufacturing organisations and market leaders in France and India support our belief that the role of organisational character defined by human resource policies and the linkage between the vision, mission, goals, values and leadership of the organisation are the key success factors during an organisational restructuring process. Based on both specific policies and the actual practices, as perceived by the top management (those who formulate those policies) and middle management (those that implement them), the article presents a contingency framework, which offers valuable insights into the role of organisational character during a restructuring process.

Innovation and R&D in the global environment: the case of group Thalès

This article builds on a detailed case study dwelling on the theories of innovation to develop, discuss and argue the issues related to the professional electronics and arms industry, a sector rarely discussed and not so well-known. Its primary distinctions from earlier models of organisational innovation lie in: the incorporation of an important-yet realistic-role innovation and RD the meta-national nature of the organisation that has its own ethical dilemma due to its multi-domestic strategy and the role of the state in a business that deals in electronics and arms.

The Rise of Indian Luxury Brands

The four BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China), account for approximately 18–22 per cent of the world’s luxury market. The luxury market is growing at a rate of 20–30 per cent annually in these countries, and it is estimated that they will comprise approximately 36 per cent of the global luxury market by 2015, boasting also the largest base of luxury consumers.

Managing R&D Innovation in India and China

Growing number of foreign firms have been launching their R&D operations in China and India. However, in spite of such growing trend of foreign R&D investment in Asia, academic research in this field has largely remained within the domain of Western (and Japanese) MNCs. It is only recently that the interest in R&D investment in China and India has grown. The key research question that we address in this article is the opportunities and dilemmas facing MNCs in managing their R&D in China and India. In particular, we investigate the degree to which opportunities and challenges are different in these countries from those of the Western counterparts. After briefly summarizing some of the conventional wisdom of international R&D management in general, we turn our attention to the uniqueness of China and India as the host countries of R&D localization. We suggest that MNCs should not forget the conventional way of managing their innovative R&D policies but learn and combine their approaches, styles of management and their capabilities in Asia (particularly in India and China). We propose that there is no either/or solution but an orchestrated strategy that might bridge the gap between the different strategies that MNCs are focusing today, which might affect their own rule of the game