Indian Information Technology Industry Research Articles

The nexus between diversity management (DM) and organizational performance (OP): mediating role of cognitive and affective diversity

PurposePresent day organizations are considering workforce diversity as one of the main challenges in the human resource management. This study aims to find out the relationship between diversity management (DM) in the context of strategic human resource management (SHRM) and organizational performance (OP). An attempt is made to find out the mediation effect of cognitive diversity (CD) and affective diversity (AD) in the relationship between DM and OP.Design/methodology/approachThe constructs investigated in the present study include DM, OP, CD and AD. Structural equation modeling has been used to test the model fit. The data was collected from 50 human resource professionals working in different organizations in the information technology (IT) sector in Bangalore, India. Confirmatory factor analysis has been used for establishing the reliability.FindingsThe results show that there exists a significant relationship between DM and OP. This significant positive relationship can be attributed to the mediating role of CD and significant negative relationship is because of the AD.Research limitations/implicationsThis study has several limitations. In this study, only three DM practices have been considered. The generalization of the results is another limitation as the study has been conducted in the IT sector in Bangalore, India. Similarly, sample size also affects the implications of an empirical study and sample size in this study is small. This study has investigated only the impact of two aspects of diversity, cognitive and affective, while neglecting the effect of communicational and symbolic processes.Practical implicationsThe results indicate that organizations must consider that by providing intercultural trainings (ICTs), work–life balance (WLB) and work-time flexibility options, the negative aspects of diversity can be minimized. Moreover, organizations should encourage the task conflict which leads to better decision-making as well as creates a sense of group identification, which may help in the avoidance of negative consequences of AD.Originality/valueThis study is undertaken to find out the effect of certain diversity-oriented SHRM practices such as flexible working times, WLB, ICT and its impact on the OP in the Indian IT industry. This study has investigated the mediating role of CD and AD on the relationship between diversity-oriented SHRM practices and OP, which is the novelty of this study. Third, the study has been undertaken considering that there is a dearth of research on the impact of AD and CD on OP in the Indian context.

India’s Information Technology industry: prospects for growth and role in structural transformation

The idea that service-sector industries, rather than manufacturing, can drive growth and structural change has caught the imagination of several scholars and policy-makers. For India, the Information Technology (IT) industry is often cited as an example of one such industry. However, empirical evidence for such claims is still weak. This article evaluates the Indian IT industry’s potential for growth. Most studies on the subject focus on the narrower segment of IT-Services in India while we take a holistic view and consider the potential of both software product and services, IT hardware, outsourced/offshored business processes, and activities involved in creation of intellectual property. We evaluate the present position and future prospects of the industry including India’s position in the technology value chain as well as future opportunities for the industry in the context of relocation of global manufacturing value chains and growth of the domestic market. We also discuss the likely impact of technology on jobs in the overall economy, direct and indirect job creation potential of the IT-BPM (Business Process Management) sector and the spill-over effects of technology as an enabler of new business models. Finally, we draw some lessons for effective industrial policy.

The mediating role of perceived organizational support on psychological capital – employee engagement relationship: a study of Indian IT industry

PurposeThe importance of psychological capital (PsyCap) and perceived organizational support (POS) have been identified over the years, however, the underlying relationship of both constructs with different employee outcomes is still a subject of research. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether POS helps in mediating the effect of PsyCap on employee engagement (EE).Design/methodology/approachIn total, 420 samples (middle-level information technology (IT) professionals) were collected from different IT industry located in India by using online survey questionnaires. The collected data were further analyzed using regression analysis, factor analysis, structural equation modeling, reliability and validity analysis, mediation analysis and model fit indices analysis.FindingsThe results of the present study confirmed the full mediating effect of POS on the PsyCap-EE relationship and demonstrated that employees with a higher level of PsyCap, contribute more positively to the POS level which further enhances the employee’s level of engagement at the workplace.Research limitations/implicationsThe samples collected for the current study included only middle-level IT professionals of the IT industry in India; therefore, the present study results have limited general applicability. The results and findings of the current study are only on the basis of inferential statistical analysis, and descriptive analysis was not performed on the collected data. Further, the study does not investigate the influence of time.Practical implicationsThis study would assist practitioners of human resources in organizational development by enhancing the employee’s positive attitude and commitment toward their study. Further, EE can also be improved by enhancing the levels of POS and PsyCap of employees, which is in line with the findings of the current study.Originality/valueThe current study examines the mediating effect of POS on psychological capital and EE the relationship for the first time.

Crafting “Integrity”: The Implications of Authentication through Unique Identification Databases

Supporters of Aadhaar, the unique identification scheme that aims to use biometric information and a 12-digit number to catalogue every Indian resident, have often commented on the tremendous amount of “fraud” that this program has curtailed since its introduction nearly a decade ago. Four years before the first Aadhaar number was issued, this discourse of ensuring authenticity was similarly deployed by the Indian information technology (IT) industry’s employer association, NASSCOM, which inaugurated its own unique identification project to verify potential and current employees. Known as the National Skills Registry (NSR), this database utilizes biometric identification to create individual profiles of IT employees, each of whom is assigned a unique number called an ITPIN. In this paper, I draw on interview and observation data collected during nine months of fieldwork in Chennai’s IT industry, as well as a detailed analysis of industry reports and documents, to dissect employee and corporate narratives on the NSR. I interrogate the overarching discourse of employee “integrity” operating within the industry to deconstruct the myth-making, misconceptions and self-disciplining generated by the existence of this database. As a result, I provide a comparative framework through which to conceptualize Aadhaar’s implications for safeguarding individual privacy, while also commenting on the power of private players under neoliberal capitalism and the increasing ubiquity of surveillance strategies in the lives of Indian residents.

Impact of M&As on Employment in the Indian Information Technology (IT) Industry

Mergers & Acquisitions (M&As) are an important feature of both domestic investment and global FDI. Post-liberalization, India has been an important contributor to both domestic and global M&As, led by the IT sector. This study attempts to investigate the impact of M&As on employment for Indian Information Technology (IT) firms for the period 2007–2015. The Indian IT sector has been a leader for the Indian economy, with its contribution to economic growth, exports and employment generation. However, there is a significant gap in studies examining the impact of M&As on employment in the IT sector. This study makes an important contribution as it attempts to fill that gap, using mixed-methods techniques for a study of both domestic and cross-border M&As. We combine multivariate regression analysis with qualitative techniques of content analysis and interviews for an in-depth view. The study finds that M&As had a positive influence on employee strength in the context of the Indian IT sector, for both domestic and cross-border deals. The study thus highlights the important policy prescription of M&As being a source of employment and growth, even during periods of slowdown in the global and domestic economy.

IDENTIFYING VUCA FACTORS IN A PANDEMIC ERA – A FRAMEWORK FOCUSED ON INDIAN IT INDUSTRY

If ever the acronym “VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous)” felt appropriate to use, it’s now. Organisations at global and domestic levels are experiencing highest levels of uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact of which is unprecedented. Organisations across industries have been experiencing volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity time and again. However, there are no parallels to the COVID 19 pandemic in the recent history. Researchers in their earlier studies have identified various VUCA factors and challenges that have influenced these organisations during various crisis situations such as Global Financial Crisis of 2008, demonetisation and BREXIT to name a few. However, there is lack of research that elucidates challenges faced in the presence of a pandemic driven VUCA environment. This study is first of its kind to present insights into the Indian Information Technology (IT) Industry in the context of a pandemic landscape. The outbreak of COVID pandemic in the year 2020 has led to the rest of the industries crippling and Indian IT Industry is no exception. Therefore, this generates a need to identify various challenges i.e. VUCA factors faced by organisations across the Indian IT sector in the context of a pandemic environment. It is a qualitative study accomplished with the help of in-depth interviews of strategic business leaders across the IT sector. The literature in the paper has been enriched with different types of studies. The findings are based on data gathered from above sources (primary and secondary). The research makes an attempt to identify various VUCA factors impacting organisations across the Indian IT sector during a pandemic, incorporated in a framework for future reference.

REVISITING TALENT MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN A PANDEMIC DRIVEN VUCA ENVIRONMENT – A QUALITATIVE INVESTIGATION IN THE INDIAN IT INDUSTRY

Organisations across the globe have been operating in a landscape which is volatile, uncertain complex and ambiguous (VUCA). The notion of “VUCA” was introduced by the United States Army way back in 1980’s to describe the unpredictable environment that resulted from the end of cold war and it has been staying with us since then. The acronym has been used time and again by organisations and business leaders to describe the dynamic business landscape that may have resulted from various crisis situations such as Global Financial Crisis in 2008-2009, Demonetisation, BREXIT. The most recent example of VUCA has been the spread of Coronavirus (COVID 19) pandemic. Organisations and employees at global and domestic levels are experiencing highest levels of uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact of which is unprecedented. There are several VUCA factors that have emerged due to the spread of COVID 19. This has created deep implications for strategic business leaders across the world. The prime goal for any organisation in the present scenario is survival, well-being and effective management of the human workforce. Therefore, Human Resources, the one that revolves around managing people and workplace environment plays an important role in this pandemic era. In the process, talent management is considered to be of prime importance as many organisations are struggling to implement effective talent management practices to sustain through the current environment. This study presents insights into the Indian Information Technology (IT) Industry in the context of a pandemic driven landscape. While the outbreak of COVID pandemic in the year 2020 has led to the rest of the industries crippling, business for tech industry has been steady. Therefore, this generates a need to understand the talent management practices that have been adopted by the sector which has enabled the organisations in the industry to thrive through such challenging times. It is a qualitative investigation accomplished with the help of in-depth interviews of senior HR professionals across the IT sector. The literature in the paper has been enriched with different types of studies. The findings are based on data gathered from above sources (primary and secondary). The research makes an attempt to identify the talent management practices that have been undertaken in the IT industry to combat the pandemic driven VUCA factors, incorporated in a framework for future reference.

Work engagement, job crafting and innovativeness in the Indian IT industry

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of work engagement on job crafting and innovativeness in the Indian information technology (IT) industry. The authors also theorized and examined the moderating effect of perceived supervisory support (PSS) and openness-to-experience (OTE) in aforementioned relationships respectively.Design/methodology/approachThe authors base their arguments on the job-demands and resource (JDR) theoretical model and broaden-and-build theory. Field data from 377 working IT professionals were collected using the survey method. The model was tested using partial least squares (PLS) technique.FindingsResults support the main effects hypothesis. The authors find a significant and positive relationship between work engagement and job crafting behavior and innovativeness.Research limitations/implicationsThe study makes a reasonable contribution to existing knowledge on work engagement and its outcomes. However, the use of cross-sectional data may constrain causal inferences.Practical implicationsInnovativeness and job crafting behaviors are valuable to most organizations, but more critical in IT organizations. As illustrated in this paper, work-engaged employees display higher levels of innovativeness and job-crafting behavior. These results suggest that IT organizations should focus on work-engagement for better productivity and faster growth.Originality/valueThis study is an attempt towards a better understanding of work engagement and its micro level individual outcomes which have not been examined earlier.

Examining the Relationship between Social Media Analytics Practices and Business Performance in the Indian Retail and IT Industries: The Mediation Role of Customer Engagement

Social media analytics (SMA) is a dynamic field which has received considerable attention from both academics and management practitioners alike. A significant number of the scholarly research currently being conducted in SMA, however, is conceptual. Industry experts know that SMA creates new opportunities for organisations who want to more strongly engage with their customers and improve business performance. However, the relationship between social media analytic practices (SMAP), customer engagement (CE), and business performance (BP) has not yet been sufficiently investigated from an empirical perspective. In order to gain a better understanding of the relationship between SMAP and BP and the mediation role of CE in that process, a large-scale survey was conducted among senior and mid-level managers as well as consultants in the Retail and information technology (IT) industries in India. Specifically, a structured closed-ended questionnaire was administered to managers and management consultants country-wide and gathered usable responses from 281 respondents holding positions such as: Digital Marketing Executive/Digital Marketing Specialist, Management Consultant, Analytics Manager, Customer Relationship Manager, Marketing Director, Engagement Manager, etc. who were in charge of digital marketing strategies in the respondent retail and IT organisations. The questionnaire addressed issues related to the way in which SMAP contribute to an enhanced business performance through the mediation role of customer engagement. Structural Equation Modelling was employed to analyse the received empirical data. On the basis of the findings our research concludes that there is a significant positive relationship between SMAP and BP mediated by CE in the Indian retail and IT industries.

Bother me only if the client complains: control and resistance in home-based telework in India

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the link between operations of organization control and workers’ response to them in case of telework, a technology-embedded new way of working.Design/methodology/approachThe authors adopted an interpretive approach to explore control and home-based teleworkers’ response in the Indian information technology industry. Interviews and non-participant observations were analysed using constructivist grounded theory.FindingsThe discourse of “telework as a privilege” served as a basis for normative control, helping managers exercise increased technocratic control. Combined with the discourse of “self-responsibility to client”, it led teleworkers to self-subjugate to long/unsocial work hours. However, the simultaneous exercise of technocratic and normative controls resulted in an inconsistency, creating space for teleworker’s resistance to technocratic control. Nonetheless, resistance to technocratic control ironically reinforced normative control.Originality/valueThe authors contribute to the recent discussion on compatibility and coherence of multiple control modes, and their relationship to resistance. The authors show how workers’ selves can be compatible with one control mode while being incompatible with other modes. The authors argue that when workers’ experience incoherence between control modes, they can appropriate the logic underlying compatible control mode(s) to resist incompatible control mode(s). Further, the authors demonstrate how resistance to incompatible control mode(s) can ironically reinforce compatible control mode(s), and thus explicate the micro-processes of control-resistance dialectic. Advancing the emergent understanding of resistance, the authors show that resistance is an exercise of strategic counter-power that seeks to exploit incoherence between control modes and inconsistencies between actions and rhetoric.

Understanding the requirements Of the Indian IT industry using web scrapping

Abstract India produces over two million engineering graduates a year as well as another million graduates in related fields such as computer science, biotechnology etc. Employers cite new graduates lack communication skills, problem solving skills and technical skills. The Indian Information Technology (IT) sector has fast changing technical requirements and understanding its requirement is very important for academics and professional trainers so that they can better prepare students with relevant skills. In this paper, we have developed a simple methodology to analyse the requirements of the Indian IT industry by parsing their job portals and extracting information from their job descriptions. We selected the top 10 IT companies by market cap to conduct our analysis. We extracted the number of jobs that contained each keywords like Java, CCNA, SAP, Agile and computed the popularity of each skill and ranked them accordingly. We find that IT industry requires software and skills like Java, Python, SQL are covered by most universities but paid and in demand commercial software tools like SAP, Oracle are not part of the curriculum. This methodology can also track the evolution of skills and predict new skills that can become popular in Industries in the future.

A Study on Stress Management and Health Impacts on Women Employees of it Sectors in Chennai City

Women are playing diverse roles in the family and in the work place. Women experience stress and many health impacts in both sides from psychological tension and physical harassment at workplaces, apart from the common job stress. Information Technology (IT) companies is one of the significant employee generating industry in the worldwide condition where the people are participating. In these companies women advanced into the corporate workforce, however without need of full improvement of their abilities and ascend for authority positions because of stress. Globalization of economy have constrained our IT workforce to concern more in winning the ability individual and India’s informed IT proficient women are a noteworthy resource that should never again be underestimated and under-used. This paper depends on discoveries from research studies on Indian Information Technology Industry. It gives a diagram of the difficulties and stress observed by women who are working in IT companies associations. Here discussion is about what changes are required to manage stress among women and what is being done to get the prescribed procedures for Information Technology industry in India. The present paper features the adapting systems that can be chosen to additionally precede corporate journey to gender inclusion and the development of women in the society.

The Financial Performance of Selected IT Companies in India; A Panel Data Approach

Despite the global economy growing up, the Indian Information technology industry is maintaining a steady pace of growth. Financial analysis is an aspect of the overall business finance function that involves examining historical data to gain information about the current and future financial health of a company. IT has the great possibility of becoming an engine of accelerated economic growth, efficiency, improvement for all sectors of the economy, developing India’s position in the export market, improving trade insufficiency, and means of efficient governance. It enhances the way into information, protects consumers, provides access to government services, makes skill creation and training more effective, improves the liberation of health services, and promotes simplicity. The inter-firm financial performance differential has been utilized to identify the factors that are critical in determining their financial performance. In this study, only the cross-sectional data of three countries over 10 years is collected. The cross-sectional samples are relatively small. Therefore, it is appropriate to use the LSDV Model. However, the pooled regression model will also consider for comparison. It is also convenient to Model the pooled regression Model, LSDV Model and uses R-squared, adjusted R-squared and pool ability Test to decide statistically on appropriate Model to be used The paper is structured as follows: it presents the scope of the study, a brief review of the literature dealing, followed by a description of the objectives, data, and methodology. Subsequently, it discusses the empirical results by two regression model and finally, offers the conclusion.

Understanding the Paradigm Shift in Strategy of M&As in India in a Volatile Period Through Motive Analysis: Evidences from the IT Industry

The reform period in India led to corporate restructuring, including mergers and acquisitions (M&As). Specifically, the reform process helped the Indian information technology (IT) sector to gain a competitive edge. With the gain in competitive edge, IT companies experienced the foreign-led rapid organic and inorganic growth. However, the subprime crisis of 2008–2009 not only caused a decline in inorganic investment but also caused a shift in preference from the international sector to the domestic sector. This study provides evidence of the paradigm shift in merger and acquisitions (M&A) strategies of Indian IT companies through motive analysis (2000–2015). In that context, this article explores the trend and pattern of motives for both domestic and cross-border M&As (CBMAs) by Indian IT firms and specifically seeks to investigate the main motives of CBMAs. The empirical evidence suggests a marked difference and dynamism in the pattern of motives for domestic and CBMAs across different sub-time periods. Furthermore, it indicates that the market and efficiency-seeking motives seem to be the dominant drivers of IT sector firms for emerging countries like India, whereas the role of efficiency-seeking motive became more prominent after the period of subprime crisis.

Career decisions of married Indian IT female expatriates

Purpose Despite more than 50 years of research into gender and work, the impact of female expatriates persists to be underrepresented in mainstream international human resource management (IHRM) literature. The purpose of this paper is to identify and explore the perceptions of married Indian information technology (IT) women regarding career and expatriating discussions they have with their husbands and its impact on their decision making to undertake international assignments. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 married Indian IT women who had undertaken international assignments after marriage. The study includes two data sets, 1: women on less than one-year assignment; 2: women on greater than one-year assignments. Findings The study found that women who went on short-term assignments of less than one year travelled alone and found it fortunate and convenient to leave their children in the care of their husbands, in-laws, parents and maids. While in the cases of women travelling for longer-term assignments, most husbands accompanied them. The study suggests that while spousal support was the key, having a shared purpose with husbands along with extended family support was equally significant to facilitate women undertaking an international assignment. As an impetus, the authors note a change within the Indian society where both partners come together to make decisions about expatriating. Research limitations/implications The authors discuss the implications for IHRM as they relate to gender diversity within organisations. Originality/value The research, underpinned by the early workings of a theory of career hierarchy, explores the complexities in expatriation decision-making processes of married women from the emerging economy of India with traditional family values, who are working within a modern and liberal IT industry.

Post internationalization strategies of born global service firms

PurposeExtant literature suggests that post-entry internationalization strategies and performance implications of born globals are an under-researched area. This paper aims to examine the internationalization strategies of born global service firms (BGSFs) and performance implications thereof through strategic group analysis of hand-collected data from Indian information technology (IT) firms.Design/methodology/approachStrategic group analysis has been used to examine if there are any differences in the strategic decisions across firms and if there are any implications of these strategies on the performance of firms. The strategic group approach helps understand not only the antecedents but also the strategic trade-offs that different groups of BGSFs face after internationalization. The study uses Indian IT industry as the context for analysis of BGSFs, as studies have found that the Indian IT industry to have significant presence of born globals.FindingsFour distinct strategic paths were found to be followed by BGSFs. In addition, the nature of services and ways of mobilization or deployment of resources explain the different internationalization paths and consequently performance. The performance differences primarily stem from the choice of degree of commitment and scope of internationalization.Practical implicationsThis study provides distinct insights to practice by charting internationalization paths for an emerging born global.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the theory on born globals by using strategic lens to explain the internationalization paths and their performance implications.

Improving Organizational Performance Through Competitive Advantage: An Empirical Analysis with Reference to Indian IT Industry

ABSTRACTImportant characteristics of resources and capabilities that can help an organization in gaining competitive advantage are discussed. Secondary data for Indian information technology (IT) and Information Technology Enabled Services (ITeS) firms were used for examining the link between core competencies (resources), competitive advantage, and organizational performance. The results indicate that ineffective utilization of resources can have a detrimental effect on competitive advantage. Findings reveal that organizational performance is a function of competitive advantage. Practical implications of the study are discussed. The contribution of this article is that it provides important insights into competitive advantage, which can be used by managers for improving organizational performance.

Organizational and Talent attributes of the Indian IT industry

PurposeThis study is a comparative organizational analysis of the four subsectors of the Indian information technology (IT) industry, namely, IT service (ITS), business process outsourcing (BPO), software products services (SPS) and engineering and R&D (ER&D). The purpose of this paper is to empirically identify the cross-sectorial attributes, organizational characteristics and the talent best suited to it.Design/methodology/approachData were collected using a qualitative research design with semi-structured interviews of 17 industry experts.FindingsFindings suggest there are differences in the internal organization of each subsector and this influences the talent attracted toward it. ITS and BPO are perceived as customer driven sectors where technology is an enabler to facilitate smooth functioning of customer operations. Conversely, technology is the core factor that drives SPS and ER&D. Similar observations and differences in the design, environment, individual motives and competencies are identified. The study also identified the inter-relationships between organizational characteristics, task and social structures in the IT industry using Perrow’s organizational theory.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings identify contextual dimensions and shared patterns that exist between the subsectors. At the same time, it distinguishes each subsector in terms of observable and objective characteristics. Significantly, the study highlights the inter-relationships between technology, task, raw material, goal and social interactions. However, the authors stop short of framing hypotheses to test the relationships identified here.Originality/valueThis cross-sectorial study delineates between the four subsectors and provides a foundation for pursuing future investigations in the right direction. This attempt to systematically analyze and compare all the subsectors of the IT industry simultaneously is a distinctive approach. The sectorial diversity suggests a need for talent management practices that will fit the unique characteristics of each subsector.

The law, the market, the gendered subject: workplace sexual harassment in Chennai’s information technology industry

The Indian information technology (IT) industry has, in recent years, been plagued by reports of workplace sexual harassment, disrupting the narrative of empowerment disseminated by an industry that projects itself as a pioneer in the area of gender equality. This has been further complicated by the passage of domestic legislation in 2013 mandating companies to form internal committees that will address complaints of workplace sexual harassment. This article, which has emerged out of nine months of ethnographic research on the IT industry in the South Indian city of Chennai, uses a socio-legal approach to unpack the processes and practices through which the law has been interpreted and executed, while also interrogating the law itself as a mechanism for social justice. As I argue in this article, policies for promoting diversity and inclusion in the urban Indian workplace, placed in the context of corporate adherence to the law, can themselves function as significant sites of tension in middle-class women’s undertaking of paid employment.

Predictive Modelling of Employee Turnover in Indian IT Industry Using Machine Learning Techniques

Information technology (IT) industry in India has been facing a systemic issue of high attrition in the past few years, resulting in monetary and knowledge-based loses to the companies. The aim of this research is to develop a model to predict employee attrition and provide the organizations opportunities to address any issue and improve retention. Predictive model was developed based on supervised machine learning algorithm, support vector machine (SVM). Archival employee data (consisting of 22 input features) were collected from Human Resource databases of three IT companies in India, including their employment status (response variable) at the time of collection. Accuracy results from the confusion matrix for the SVM model showed that the model has an accuracy of 85 per cent. Also, results show that the model performs better in predicting who will leave the firm as compared to predicting who will not leave the company.