Kamala Gollakota

History, ownership forms and corporate governance in India

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to trace the evolution and persistence of different forms of business ownership in conjunction with the values and institutions that shaped those forms, and discuss the implications for corporate governance in India.Design/methodology/approach – Research paper analyzing broad historical trends, integrating multiple frameworks.Findings – Many ownership forms exist: family, government, professional, and foreign (multinational firms). In each period, shifts in values resulted in shifts in institutional and legislative frameworks, which, in turn, gave rise to different forms of business ownership. The end result, however, has been an amalgamation of diverse co‐existing ownership models, with evidence of evolution towards more balanced values.Research limitations/implications – Comparative research involving other national contexts will help broaden our understanding of the origins and persistence of different forms of governance. Exploration of other governance mechanism...

Case study: ICT use by businesses in rural India: The case of EID Parry's Indiagriline

This case presents the experience of EID Parry, a major sugar manufacturer based in India. The vision behind this initiative was to increase the livelihood of farmers and bridge the gap between rural and urban India by providing a one stop shop for the interchange of goods and information for both farmers and other members of the rural community. The case presents details of how this vision was implemented and the results. The company created kiosks with internet and computer access and developed and maintained a web portal. The portal provided information relating to farming techniques, farm business information, general information on weather, etc., and access to the firms ERP system. The business model was to franchise all kiosks to local entrepreneurs. The company found that the franchise model was not financially viable in all locations and the company had to intervene with company-owned kiosks. Further, it was observed that information alone was not sufficient to help farmers-a firm has to provide structural and financial solutions. There was a need for intermediaries in the learning system. The ERP system was vital.

Using technology to alleviate poverty: use and acceptance of telecenters in rural India

The preponderance of poor people worldwide live in rural areas. Since they cannot afford, and are not educated sufficiently to take full advantage of contemporary knowledge-based technologies, alternative approaches are necessary. A major business model to do so involves setting up a rural telecenter that provides computer and internet technology as a shared model or highly subsidized. Despite the potential and availability of telecenters, research suggests that telecenters have low usage. In this research, we explore the reasons for the low usage of telecenters using a framework for use and acceptance of rural telecenters. The framework we use builds on prominent IT theories and has the following four dimensions: (a) perceived outcomes, (b) perceived effort, (c) social influence, and (d) facilitating factors. We use this framework to formulate six research questions. The study in general has the goal to identify reasons for low use of telecenters and test it with an exploratory study of information and communication technology users and non-users from rural India. Implications are discussed at the village and provider levels. Ramiro Montealegre is the accepting Associate Editor for this article.