Lata Dyaram

The goal of this paper is to understand the salient resource bundles and the environmental factors which impact the growth of biotechnology start-ups in India, by adopting a comparative approach to investigate the differences in resources preferred by research and market-oriented biotechnology start-ups. Both primary and secondary sources of information were used for data gathering and synthesis. The theoretical foundation of this study was built upon resource based view of firm growth. The data was obtained by using questionnaire survey responses from 79 biotechnology start-up firms. Partial Least Squares path modelling approach has been used for data analysis. The results of the study distinguish between the two types of environmental factors (research and policy environment) and four types of resources (strategic, financial, physical and human resources) whose systematic interrelation facilitates the uninterrupted growth of biotechnology start-ups. Research oriented biotechnology start-ups attributed their growth primarily to the resources and strategies which strengthened their research capabilities whereas market oriented biotechnology start-ups had a hybrid focus. They attributed their growth to resources and strategies which helped them in entering into the new markets and gaining competitive advantage, while not ignoring the strength of strong R&D base to gain technological advancement. This paper mainly focuses on the essential growth factors which form the backbone for both research and market oriented biotechnology start-ups' growth. However, they might not be the lone conditions or requirements for sustained competitive advantage. This paper provides a thorough understanding of the growth essentials of research and market oriented biotechnology start-ups. It also highlights the need for the collaboration between private and public sector partnership (PPP model) to ensure sustainability of this growing industry, with a clear focus on advancing technological developments and providing necessary mutual financial support. This paper provides meaningful insights to understand the growth process of biotechnology start-ups. It might also serve as a ready-reckoner for a new biotechnology start-up to monitor these necessary elements for a sustained growth.

Several of the world's top performing organizations have acknowledged the merit in embracing and developing global mind-set to compete successfully in international markets. Towards this end, companies across the globe are not only sweating it out through training their leadership teams and high potential performers but also are committed to achieving multicultural competencies. Focus is not only on developing organizational member's knowledge and skills to plan, operate and deliver results globally but also to prepare them with right orientation to develop global mind-set. In this paper, we set out to explore global leadership development approaches adopted by multinational companies (MNCs) in India. A qualitative study was carried out involving semi-structured interviews with business and HR leaders from MNCs, with an attempt to understand global leadership development from emerging countries perspective. Findings provide perspectives on current leadership development approaches adopted in the firms contacted for the study purpose. How leadership development practices have evolved in these firms, their driving factors and top management's role in implementation success is presented. We also discuss limitations in terms of small sample size, potential bias and subjectivity in content analyses and leader's self reporting and presentation. Paper draws insights from contemporary global leadership approaches and some of the best practices across various companies from different sectors.

The rapid changes in the Telecommunication world and the advances in the Information Technology have paved way for a highly competitive market for the Service Providers, where new services and products need to be offered frequently. This paper examines the Order Management aspect of the Communication Providers and the challenges faced by the companies to make the application as agile and flexible as possible to keep up with the pace of changes in the market and competition. After discussing the current solutions provided by the Software Vendors in the market, this paper attempts to provide a new hybrid solution which when implemented would bring in rapid transformation to their OSS/BSS. © 2014 IEEE.

Manual work (labour), is the most preferred resource for construction activities in India, thereby making the construction industry labour-intensive. Most labour are inter-state migrants and are encountered with surfeit problems in the construction sites leading to absenteeism from work. The factors leading to absenteeism are related to both construction - onsite factors (workplace relationships, safety, work front and work culture) and offsite factors (basic needs, socio-cultural needs, self-identity and personal lifestyle). This cross-sectional study examines these factors in a systematic way along with labour characteristics to understand and further explore the biggest challenge faced by most Indian contractors. Data was collected from 124 construction workers across six large construction sites in a metropolitan city from southern part of India. An Importance Performance Analysis (IPA) was carried out for assessing the conditions of work as perceived by the workers providing some key insights for contractors to focus on regulating labour absenteeism. Some of the critical areas needing contractors' intervention were reported to be around basic provisions (such as sustenance, water, lodging, sanitation and leave of absence) and provision for expression of self-identity (such as identity cards, bank deposit account and insurance coverage). ANOVA results indicate significant differences in absenteeism rate with varied arrangements providing for basic needs and need for self-identity across the construction sites. We present managerial implications towards addressing labour absenteeism.