Ramanujan International Journal of Business and Research

A Pragmatic Healer with deception: A qualitative study of Servant Leaders

Adya Mishra, Mamata Mahapatra, Chandra Shekhar Sharma — Sat, 30 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Servant Leadership style is characterized by truthfulness, and emotional healing. One may expect that individuals with such behavioral characteristics shall be straight forward and will not indulge in deception. However, studies show that deception is an important ingredient of social interaction and influence strategy. Therefore, the purpose of the present study is to examine how organizational processes demand servant leaders to use deception and explore empirically how servant leaders employ deception in their day-to-day life. The study employs Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis method to explore the lived experiences of the senior executives from various sectors. While the characteristics of their consciousness continues to remain rooted in truthfulness, and concern for the subordinates. The participants faced complex situations at workplace, which made the use of deception inevitable. The participants used deception in diverse forms, such as creating fae, portraying themselves as strict. This study adds a degree of pragmatism to servant leadership style. Findings shows that servant leadership style is not an idealistic attitude but a pragmatic leadership style that not always compromise personal interests to fulfill the interests of others, but acts pragmatically according to the situation.

Colours in Branding: Creating Brand Identity and Influencing Consumer Perception

Deepti Gupta, Ujjwal Dingliwal — Sat, 30 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Marketing is a battle of perceptions, not products. Perception is reality. Everything else is an illusion. And one of the most perceptive tools a marketer can use is colour. Colours are a pervasive source of knowledge. Researchers for decades have concluded that the wise use of colours can help distinguish products from rivals as well as affect perceptions towards products by altering the moods and feelings of the target consumers. This makes colour a key component of perceptual marketing strategies. Hence, marketing professionals have traditionally leveraged this capacity of colours to mould consumer perception and to draw in customers. It affects consumer behaviour and perceptions, stirs up feelings and emotions, and aids businesses in separating themselves from rivals. According to the different synergistic effects of colour, the perception of how well a colour fits a certain brand determines how well a brand could be perceived by the market. It is thus crucial that decision-makers and marketers are truly aware of the value and impact of colour and employ it skillfully in not only logos or products but across the whole brand identity. With the inherent importance of colour in mind, the objective of this research is to explore how crucial the selection and protection of colour is, for a brand and how colour impacts the perceptions of the consumers towards a brand. By the end, after analysing multiple cases and giving supporting instances, the study reaffirms the correlation of colours & consumer perception for decision making and concludes on the vitality of colour.

Three Decades of Scholarly Research on Resource Allocation: A Bibliometric Approach

Navjot Kaur, Balwinder Singh — Sat, 30 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This study conducts a comprehensive bibliometric analysis to illuminate the landscape of resource allocation research over 33 years (19902023). Utilizing a sample of 243 articles from the Scopus database, the research aims to discern developmental trends and underlying patterns in this field. Despite its strategic importance, resource allocation remains relatively understudied, as evidenced by a critical examination of existing literature. This study serves as a pioneering effort to address this gap, shedding light on pertinent patterns that not only contribute to the existing body of knowledge but also guide future research endeavours. Addressing a set of nine research questions, the study investigates publication trends, country-wise contributions, active journals, prominent authors, influential articles, prevalent themes, academic collaborations, international links, and thematic coherence in resource allocation research. By unravelling these dimensions, the research aims to act as a torchbearer, directing future investigations and providing a comprehensive view of the intricate structures governing resource allocation research. In sum, this paper stands as a novel contribution, employing bibliometric analysis to unravel the nuanced aspects of resource allocation, ultimately paving the way for further exploration in this crucial domain. Findings reveal a predominant focus on resource allocation in research and development and advertising, with other areas receiving comparatively less attention. Identifying research gaps and acknowledging study limitations, the paper provides directions for future research, emphasizing the underexplored nature of resource allocation within strategic management research.

Augmenting Innovation: Artificial Intelligence among Women Entrepreneurs

S. AISWARYA, S. Sangeetha — Sat, 30 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Artificial intelligence is the most powerful tool in this decade that augments innovation in all areas of business. It promotes entrepreneurship through automating several processes like demand forecasting, automated bookkeeping, personalized customer experience, innovative marketing strategies, product design, etc. AI has been adopted by women entrepreneurs, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. It helps them improve their sales and reduce their efforts. Still, they are confronting a lot of constraints on AI implementation, like the huge cost of installation, a lack of digital skills, a lack of sufficient resources, etc. (Aiswarya and Sangeetha, 2022). The present study aims to understand the perceptions of women entrepreneurs towards the adoption of AI in their businesses. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire and was conveniently collected from a sample of 250 women entrepreneurs from five different districts in Kerala, India, registered under the District Industries Centre (DIC). Cronbach’s alpha test was conducted to test the reliability of the questionnaire. A three-point and five-point Rensis Likert scale was used for measuring the perception of women entrepreneurs towards AI. Statistical analyses are conducted using weighted averages, measures of dispersion, one-way ANOVA, chi-square tests, and factor analysis. SEM Association between women entrepreneurs’ awareness towards artificial intelligence and its tools, usage of AI in their business, nature of benefits realized (positive impact of AI on their business), and nature of challenges faced by them while implementing AI.

Predicting the likelihood of Financial Statement Fraud through Financial Distress in India

Sonia Mudel, Shital Jhunjhunwala — Sat, 30 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The objective of the paper is to illuminates the intricate relationship between financial distress and the probability of financial statement fraud. The profound implication of the financial distress on the probability of the financial statement fraud within emerging economies like India is presented through this study. The research employs a dataset consisting of 3198 firms listed on NSE and BSE, comprising 36,947 firm-year observations spanning from 2006 to 2022. Panel regression analysis is applied to evaluate the study’s findings, with data sourced from the CMIE Prowess database. The Beneish M-score serves as a robust tool for quantifying instances of financial statement fraud, while the Altman Z-score stands as a stalwart metric utilized to assess the levels of financial distress, providing valuable insights into the solvency and stability of a company’s financial health. The study reveals a substantial positive relation among financial distress and the probability of financial statement fraud. In credit markets featuring financially distressed firms, this connection highlights an underlying agency problem. Consequently, when a firm experiences financial distress, the probability of financial statement fraud escalates, as it creates pressure to resort to such measures. The study is helpful to policymakers, academic researchers, and regulators with the predictive probabilities of financial statement fraud and financial distress. Policy makers and regulators can restructure the financial distressed firms to reduce the chances of financial statement fraud.

Examining Perceived Barriers to Entrepreneurial Behaviour: A Mixed-Method Study

Pushpendra Singh, Amit Mookerjee — Sat, 30 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The various obstacles to entrepreneurship include economic, social, and institutional issues that prevent people from engaging in entrepreneurial pursuits. Potential entrepreneurs are frequently discouraged from implementing their ideas due to economic constraints, regulatory restrictions, fear of failure, and complicated legal processes. In this pursuit, the present study examined entrepreneurship students’ perceptions regarding barriers with the help of a mixed-method approach. Firstly, in a qualitative study, two focused group discussions were conducted. The thematic analysis enlists five common barriers: subjective norms, attitude towards entrepreneurship, perceived behavioural control (PBC), policy support, and perceived financial risk. Secondly, the relationships between these five barriers to entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial intention, and entrepreneurship behaviour were studied with the help of a quantitative study. A sample of 412 students revealed that five barriers significantly abrupt the entrepreneurial intentions of budding businessmen. Also, a statistically significant positive association was reported between entrepreneurial intention and entrepreneurship behaviour.

Perceived Workplace Spirituality and Contextual Performance: With Mediating Role of Constructive Deviance in Select Higher Educational Institutions

Ankita Turka, Sanjay Kaushik — Sat, 30 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Academicians and practitioners are paying much more attention to workplace spirituality. Despite this attention, its relationship with several constructs like constructive deviance and contextual performance in the workplace is mostly overlooked and needs to be investigated. The present research, however, has empirically looked at the relationship of perceived workplace spirituality (PWS) with constructive deviance (CD) and contextual performance (CP). Moreover, the current study tests the mediating role of CD in the connection between WS and CP. The data was gathered from 206 Assistant Professors of higher educational institutions in Haryana, Punjab, and Chandigarh. The predicted relationships were tested using SPSS and AMOS software. The outcomes showed that PWS is positively related to both CD and CP. Further, the results depicted no mediating impact of CD on the linkage between perceived WS and CP. Additionally, managerial and societal ramifications are discussed, as well as potential study directions. Higher educational administrators should encourage disagreements, reporting of wrongdoings and two-way communication to improve overall performance. The practical implication advocates daily gratitude and visualization practice and personalized meditation treatment by HR managers to transmit spirituality at the workplace. Moreover, the societal implications of the study suggest vitalizing spirituality in individuals and rewarding whistle-blowers to encourage constructive deviance.

Business Strategies: An Approach to Earnings Analysis

Anshika Agarwal, Purushottam Kumar Arya — Sat, 30 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This study attempts to analyse Indian firms sustainability of earnings. Investors, security analysts, and managers focus on firms earnings. Therefore, concerns about Earnings quality arise. Low-quality earnings are more likely to decay in future and vice-versa (Penman and Zhang 2004). Firms were classified into two strategy groups: revenue growth group and non-revenue growth group (which is also the cost-reduction strategy group). Further, these groups are divided into an operating earnings measures group and a non-operating earnings measures group. To analyse the sustainability of earnings of Indian Firms, Panel data regression methodology has been applied. Panel data captures both cross-sectional and time-series dimensions. Also, various assumptions have been tested, and robust regression analysis has been applied to deal with heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation. The study is done for a period from 2001 to 2021. The study included 223 firms as a sample size. This study finds that in the Indian scenario, operating earnings and non-operating earnings do impact the sustainability of earnings. Most studies pertain to the developed nations. Indian firms were analysed for the sustainability of Earnings by modifying and calculating various variables from the firms financial statements. Security Analysts, Assets Management Companies, and consultants could use this study to pick various stocks for their clients. Also, managers could use it to frame policies for the prospective future of the firm.