Muneesh Kumar

Company Characteristics and Common Stock Returns: The Indian Experience

The paper examines the relationship between selected company characteristics and common stock returns. The empirical results suggest that there is a strong size effect in the Indian stock market using both market-based as well as non-market based measures of company size. We also detect a weak value effect on stock returns, especially when E/P ratio is employed as a relative distress proxy. The study further finds that the present stock classification system in India fails to differentiate in returns on different categories of stocks. We recommend an alternative stock classification system based on company size and relative distress. The proposed classification procedure will provide better insights to investors about the risk-return characteristics of common stocks.

Bank efficiency measurement using alternative techniques of frontier analysis: evidence from India

Banks need to target enhanced levels of efficiency in order to survive and grow in the present economic conditions. A quantitative assessment of the efficiency of banks in an economy proves to be crucial for formulating strategies for efficiency enhancements. The alternative techniques of efficiency measurement in banks are distinct in terms of construct and approach and thus may offer different results. The difference in the results may be considerable in the case of banking systems in emerging economies. This paper examines the efficiency in the Indian banking sector during the post reforms period 1991-1992 to 2006-2007 using two popular frontier analysis techniques, namely data envelopment analysis (DEA) and stochastic frontier analysis (SFA), as alternative techniques of efficiency measurement. The paper offers evidence in support of conflicting results provided by the two techniques, though both indicate efficiency gains in the period of study.

Integrating E-Business Models for Government Solutions: Citizen-Centric Service Oriented Methodologies and Processes

As the use of the Internet spreads, the private sector has been developing strategies and tools to supply citizens with high quality online services. Citizens who enjoy various online applications are expecting the same from governmental websites and from online public services. E-government models, however, are slow to respond to citizens’ needs and expectations. Insufficient and inefficient strategies make the public sector fail. The public sector should thus revise its policies in order to achieve more successful e-government applications. The editors of this book have described this situation well. They note the need for academic research, as well as, proposals to improve the existing e-government models and they compiled studies from globally distributed authors who have suggested integrating business models into e-government applications for better results. The book consists of three sections that each contains five chapters. The first section is entitled “Integrated e-Business Models for Government Solutions.” This section is focused on the e-government supply side. The chapters’ in this section focus on the transformation in e-government that results from integrating ebusiness, collaborative e-government networks, government computerization, interoperability, and e-government enterprise architecture. The second section, entitled, “Towards Citizen-Centric Services for Government,” explores the demand side. The chapters in this section focus on the citizen, with topics on citizens’ e-readiness, Integrating e-Business Models for Government Solutions: Citizen-Centric Service Oriented Methodologies and Processes

Building Trust in E-Commerce through Web Interface

The emergence of Internet has revolutionalized the way businesses are conducted. The impact of e-commerce is pervasive, both on companies and society as a whole. It has the potential to impact the pace of economic development and in turn influence the process of human development at the global level. However, the growth in e-commerce is being impaired by the issue of trust in the buyer-seller relationship which is arising due to the virtual nature of e-commerce environment. The online trading environment is constrained by a number of factors including web interface that in turn influences user experience. This article identifies various dimensions of web interface that have the potential to influence trust in e-commerce. The empirical evidence presented in the article is based on a survey of the web interfaces of 65 Indian e-Marketplaces.

Trust and Technology in Inter-Organizational Business Relations

The emergence of inter-organizational system has facilitated easy and fast flow of information among the trading partners. This has affected the business relations among the trading parties involved. Though the inter-organizational systems have helped a lot in improving the business relations, the vulnerability and the virtual environment of such systems raise the issues of trust that may affect the long-term business relations. This article makes an attempt to empirically examine the relationship between the levels of assurance with regard to deployment and implementation of relevant technology tools in addressing the identified technologyrelated trust issues and ultimately enhancing the perceived level of trust in inter-organizational business relations. The empirical evidence presented in this article is based on a survey of 106 Indian companies using inter-organizational systems for managing their business relations.

Trust and Technology in B2B E-Commerce: Practices and Strategies for Assurance

Muneesh Kumar is a Professor, at Department of Financial Studies, University of Delhi (India). His responsibilities include teaching banking and information systems related courses to students of Masters in Finance and Control (MFC) programme and supervising research. He has published several articles in international journals and presented papers in several international conferences. He has also authored three books and co-edited three books. He is associated with the several expert committees appointed by Government of India such as expert committee for IT projects of India Post and Market Participation Committee of Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). Muneesh Kumar (University of Delhi, India) and Mamta Sareen (University of Delhi, India)

Impact of Technology-Related Environment Issues on Trust in B2B E-Commerce

The virtual environment of B2B e-commerce interactions has been considered to be a barrier in building trust of trading partners. There is adequate empirical evidence that supports the relationship between various trust related technology issues such as security, privacy, authentication, etc. However, there is dearth of evidence confirming the causal relationship between environment related trust issues such as social-cultural characteristics, technology standards, and regulatory framework. Based on a survey of 106 Indian companies using inter-organizational systems, this paper makes an attempt to identify specific attributes of these three environment-related issues that have the potential to influence trust in B2B e-commerce.

Problems in planning for inter-organisational systems

An empirical survey across 149 large-sized organisations in India revealed that a significant proportion of the companies do not find that the inter-organisational system (IOS) plan has been fully effective in their organisation. The weak performance of IOS planning has been primarily due to the problems and challenges of IOS planning. Though the literature offers some insights into the problems of IS planning in general, the problems in the context of IOS seems to have not been studied. This paper offers a framework for identification of the problems in planning and implementation of the IOS. It uses the framework for categorisation of problems in information systems planning suggested by Lederer and Sethi. The study identifies five problems that significantly affect the extent of implementation of IOS plans. Though, the study is based on data collected from large-sized companies in India, the learning may be useful to information system managers and practitioners in other countries, as well.

Domestic and International Information Linkages for Indian Commodities Market in the Pre- and Post-CTT Periods:

This article investigates the impact of commodity transaction tax, in effect from 1 July 2013, on the information linkages for the Indian commodity market. We use daily data on five sample commodities—gold, aluminium, copper, zinc, and crude oil from 1 May 2010 to 31 August 2016. MCX has been used as a reference commodity exchange for India, while we use COMEX and DGCX for gold, LME and SHFE for base metals, and NYMEX and ICE for crude oil for international comparison. Price discovery has been evaluated using static and dynamic cointegration procedures, while volatility spillover has been evaluated based on BEKK-GARCH and Diebold Yilmaz models. We find that CTT imposition has weakened the price discovery and volatility spillover process, thus reducing the price and hedging efficiency of the Indian commodities market. For gold and crude oil, the information linkages have been severely hampered, owing to their international character. For base metals, MCX takes greater time for information transmission. International information linkages seem to have been more adversely impacted, owing to lower cost competitiveness of Indian commodities market. The findings of the study are pertinent for the policymakers, commodity exchanges, and other stakeholders.

Should CTT Be Retained or Removed in India? An Empirical Analysis Based on Economic Consequences and Market Micro-Structure Impacts

This paper examines the economic consequences of Commodity transaction tax (CTT) for the Indian commodities market. We use daily data on 5 sample commodities, namely gold, aluminum, copper, zinc and crude oil from 1st May 2010 to 31st August 2016. MCX has been used as a reference commodity exchange for India, while we use COMEX and DGCX for gold, LME and SHFE for base metals and NYMEX and ICE for crude oil for international comparison. We find that CTT imposition has weakened the price discovery and volatility spillover process, thus reducing the price and hedging efficiency of the Indian commodities market. International information linkages seem to have been more adversely impacted, owing to lower cost competitiveness. CTT has also substantially decreased commodity market liquidity and increased return volatility. Analysing the impact of CTT on total tax revenue, involving transaction tax, income tax and service tax, we conclude that CTT has been revenue negative. Additionally, CTT is found totally unjustified on the grounds of market parity and curbing speculation. Based on the economic and market related arguments, the study suggests a phased withdrawal of CTT, which would not only boost the growth and development of Indian commodities market but also imply greater fiscal revenues besides bringing in economic competitiveness among commodities stakeholders.