Indian Information Technology Sector Research Articles

Resilient and agile employees’ pursuit of innovative performance and well-being: the role of job crafting

Purpose This study aims to examine the association of employee resilience and agility with innovative performance and subjective well-being. Moreover, it tests job crafting as the underlying mechanism through which resilient and agile employees perform innovatively and experience higher subjective well-being. Design/methodology/approach The study used a survey-based research design and structural equation modeling technique to examine the proposed hypotheses. Data was collected from a sample of 380 employees working in the Indian information technology sector using survey questionnaires. Findings The results show that highly resilient and agile employees participate in job crafting that positively influences their innovative performance and subjective well-being. Job crafting fully mediates the association of resilience with work and well-being outcomes and partially mediates agility and outcomes. Practical implications There is a value in promoting the development of employee resilience and agility to foster ways in which employees can craft their jobs and, thus, maximize their innovative performance and subjective well-being. Originality/value This study makes an important contribution by underscoring the importance of personal resources (resilience and agility) as drivers of job crafting for higher innovative performance and subjective well-being.

Igniting work innovation: performance pressure, extraversion, feedback seeking and innovative behavior

PurposeThis study investigates how performance pressure affects feedback-seeking and innovative work behaviors. The study also examines the effect of extraversion on the performance pressure–FSB relationship.Design/methodology/approachThe hypotheses in this study were tested by analyzing two-wave data collected from a sample of employees in the information technology sector in India using the PLS-SEM approach.FindingsOur findings revealed that individuals possessing extraverted personality traits exhibited a positive response to performance pressure, thereby enhancing their FSB. Moreover, our results demonstrated that FSB mediates the relationship between performance pressure and IWB.Research limitations/implicationsThe results underscore the importance of individual variations in personality traits, particularly extraversion, in influencing how employees respond to performance pressure. By providing insights into the mediating mechanism of feedback-seeking behavior, our study contributes to a deeper understanding of the interplay between performance pressure, feedback-seeking behavior and innovative work behavior.Practical implicationsManagers should consider extraversion as a factor in the relationship between performance pressure and FSB, adapting strategies and support systems accordingly. Creating a feedback-oriented culture and providing resources for extroverts during high-pressure periods can enhance their coping mechanisms.Originality/valuePrevious research has provided a limited exploration of the mechanisms that establish the connection between job demands and innovative work behaviors. This study contributes by uncovering the previously unexplored relationship between performance pressure, extraversion, feedback-seeking behavior and, subsequently, innovative work behavior.

Interplay Among Responsible Leadership, Corporate Social Responsibility Perspective and Organizational Citizenship Behaviour Towards Environment: A Study of the Indian IT Sector

The environmental degradation and consequent scarcity of resources have compelled organizations to implement strategies and policies that prioritize the attainment of a sustainable environment. The significance of employees’ pro-environment behaviour is increasingly recognized and is being promoted by organizations that focus on preserving the environment. Considering the importance of pro-environment behaviour, this study investigates the relationship among responsible leadership, corporate social responsibility (CSR) perspective and organizational citizenship behaviour towards environment (OCBE). This employee-level study adopted social cognitive theory to examine the context–behaviour framework. The data are collected from information technology (IT) professionals using a stratified sampling technique. The analysis of 503 respondents using PLS-SEM concludes that responsible leadership and CSR perspective have a positive relationship with OCBE. The study also confirms the partial mediating role of the CSR perspective in the relationship between responsible leadership and OCBE. The study identifies organizational-level contextual factors such as responsible leadership and CSR perspective that promote an environment-friendly behaviour among employees, i.e., OCBE. The paper extends the context–behaviour framework literature and highlights the benefits of OCBE in the organization.

Analysis of the Changing Patterns of Email Usage in the Indian Information Technology Sector due to Covid-19

Analysis of the Changing Patterns of Email Usage in the Indian Information Technology Sector due to Covid-19

Promoting subjective well-being of IT professionals through gratitude practice: a moderated mediation analysis of gender and employee engagement

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to analyze the potential mediating role of employee engagement in the relationship between gratitude and subjective well-being (SWB) of employees working in the information technology (IT) sector in India. The study investigated a moderated mediation model for gratitude and SWB, treating employee engagement as a mediator and gender as a moderator.Design/methodology/approachData was collected from 162 professionals working IT sector in India. Process Macro, AMOS and IBM SPSS 22 were used to analyze the mediation and moderation effects.FindingsThe results depicted that employee engagement fully mediates the positive association between gratitude practice and the SWB of employees as well as the demographic variable; gender also demonstrated a full moderation effect between them.Originality/valueThis research may be one of the few studies from the Indian context that explore whether gratitude practiced by employees working in the IT sector can play a significant role in impacting their SWB. Past research models had not introduced employee engagement’s indirect impact on the examined variables.

Upgrading within Global Value Chains and Innovation Capabilities: Lessons from Indian Information Technology Sector

This study examines the process, nature, and drivers of upgrading among Indian information technology (IT) services firms in the global value chain (GVC) by analysing the sector as a whole and examining three cases – Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys and Wipro. It uses a qualitative research approach and data obtained from secondary sources such as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Trade in Value Added (TiVA) online database, company websites and annual reports. The study found that the contribution of India’s IT sector to GVC is relatively high among service sectors. It is increasingly delivering high-value products, reflecting its upgrading within the GVC. Indian IT firms have gradually transformed from being subcontractors providing low-value-added products and services to providing complete projects and solutions. The three cases show that upgrading of India’s IT firms was mainly due to continuous efforts to build innovation capacity by forging partnerships with other technology leaders, start-ups, and academic institutions, and through acquisitions. India needs to design specific industrial policy with enabling institutions to increase domestic value-added (DVA) and develop a foreign direct investment (FDI) policy that focuses on attracting multinational corporations (MNCs) with GVC linkages.

Self-control and emotional exhaustion: mediating role of effort-reward imbalance and emotional demands

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the relationship between trait self-control (TSC) and emotional exhaustion, and to examine the mediating role of effort–reward imbalance (ERI) and emotional demands. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative study was conducted using data from 441 employees working in different organizations in the information technology sector in India. PROCESS macro with a bootstrap sample size of 5,000 was used for mediation analysis. Findings TSC demonstrated a significant negative relationship with emotional exhaustion. Results indicated the crucial role played by ERI and emotional demands in influencing the emotional exhaustion of employees with higher TSC. Originality/value This study adds substantially to our knowledge of the role of TSC in employee experiences of emotional exhaustion. Results suggest how employees’ ERI perceptions and experiences of emotional demands determine whether higher TSC would reduce experiences of exhaustion. This adds to the knowledge of positive outcomes of self-control while throwing some light on why the use of self-control does not always incur a psychological cost, as suggested by some studies. The findings suggest that self-control is an individual resource that has the ability to alleviate emotional exhaustion through its influence on employees‘ effort–reward perceptions and experiences of emotional demands.

The roles of conflict management and psychological empowerment in virtual teams

PurposeThis paper aims to determine the impact of perceived virtuality on team dynamics and outcomes by adopting the Input-Mediators-Outcome (IMO) framework. Further, it also investigates the mediating role of team processes and emergent states.Design/methodology/approachThe authors collected survey data from 315 individuals working in virtual teams (VTs) in the information technology sector in India using both offline and online questionnaires. They performed the analysis using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM).FindingsThe authors investigated two sets of hypotheses – both direct and indirect (or mediation interactions). Results show that psychological empowerment and conflict management are significant in managing VTs. Also, perceived virtuality impacts team outcomes, i.e. perceived team performance, team satisfaction and subjective well-being.Research limitations/implicationsThe interplay between the behavioural team process (conflict management) and the emergent state (psychological empowerment) was examined. The study also helps broaden our understanding of the various psychological variables associated with teamwork in the context of VTs.Practical implicationsFindings from this study will aid in assessing the consequences of virtual teamwork at both individual and organisational levels, such as guiding the design and sustainability of VT arrangements, achieving higher productivity in VTs, and designing effective and interactive solutions in the virtual space.Social implicationsThe study examined the interplay between behavioural team processes (such as conflict management) and emergent states (such as psychological empowerment). The study also theorises and empirically tests the relationships between perceived virtuality and team outcomes (i.e. both affective and effectiveness). It may serve as a guide to understanding team dynamics in VTs better.Originality/valueThis exploratory study attempts to enhance the current understanding of the research and practice of VTs within a developing economy.

Employees’ perception towards e-learning: an exploratory study in the information technology sector in India

PurposeThe primary purpose of this research paper is to evaluate e-learning among employees of Information Technology (IT) companies based in Hyderabad, India.Design/methodology/approachA survey was undertaken among the employees from different IT companies based in Hyderabad, India, to gauge the perception towards e-learning. The participants were selected randomly. The evaluation is based on a few factors: convenience, usefulness, course content, quality, effectiveness and benefits for employees and organizations. The responses were recorded online through a structured questionnaire. In total, 237 responses have been collected for this present study, of which 227 questionnaires were used for analysis.FindingsThe surveyed employees perceived that e-learning helped them enhance their workplace competency in a flexible but effective manner. The e-learning also empowered the learners and ultimately contributed to the enhancement of organizational performance in some ways.Research limitations/implicationsLimitation of the study – by examining the pris study was confined to employees working with IT companies based in Hyderabad City, India. The data is collected online, and there may be some insufficient responses. Implications of the study – the study results show a deep insight into the critical aspects of e-learning as a tool for employee training for the benefit of employees and organizational development. The surveyed respondents from the IT sector at Hyderabad perceived that keys to successful e-learning programs should give due consideration towards availability of internet bandwidth, making the course more interactive, providing more choices to the learners and user-friendly and personalized learning experience. The study also shows that the e-learning programs primarily benefit the employees as well as the organization in a manner, namely, improved productivity, helping to achieve business objectives of the firm, growth and advancement to the employees and enhancing the job-related knowledge. The study also discovered that e-learning improves employees’ opportunities for professional growth and advancement inside and outside the organization by assisting them in learning new skills and enhancing job-related information.Practical implicationsThe internet penetration in recent years, as well as post-Covid-19, has given rise to online learning in the education and corporate sectors. The emergence of online or e-learning has been gaining ground in the corporate world by replacing the existing face-to-face or physical training model because of the cost factor and flexible learning to the learners. E-learning improves the learner’s ability to adapt to the company’s constantly changing business environment, which in turn helps the company increase departmental productivity and, ultimately, achieve its overall business goals.Social implicationsThe e-learning also empowered the learners and ultimately contributed to the enhancement of organizational performance in some ways. The e-learning also empowers the learner to perform better at his workplace and at the same time moving on the social ladder as the learning makes him/her confident at the job market.Originality/valueThis study provides a valuable understanding of employee perceptions on the adoption and effectiveness of e-learning, which ultimately improves the benefits of the training and development department in realizing and enhancing the quality in corporate companies.

Ravnoteža poslovnog života i transformaciono liderstvo kao prediktori zadovoljstva poslom zaposlenih

The main aim of the present study is to examine the relationship between work life balance, transformational leadership and job satisfaction of employees among information technology (IT) employees in South India. There are very limited number of studies that have focused on the effects of work life balance and transformational leadership on job satisfaction among IT employees. The data for the study was collected using structured questionnaires from 250 employees working in the Indian IT sector. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) application was used to conduct reliability, descriptive, correlation and regression analyses on the collected data. The findings suggested that transformational leadership and work life balance have a positive and significant effect on an employee's job satisfaction. The study recommends strategies for increasing employee satisfaction by formulating policies to ensure work-life balance and encourages IT organisations to provide transformational leadership training for managers to improve transformational leadership skills, such as maintaining good employee relationships by supporting employees in professional and personal matters. This article examines the concept of transformational leadership in its totality; however, additional research is necessary to determine the effects of various dimensions of transformational leadership on employee job satisfaction.

Work/Family Conflict and Career Advancement : Demographic Differences as Moderators among IT Employees

India’s information technology (IT) is the world’s largest sourcing destination, providing direct and indirect employment for more than 10 million people. It is seen that the IT sector in India always looks for career advancement. This study analyzed the work/family conflict of Indian IT employees and its influence on career advancement with demographic variables: age, gender, and marital status as moderators. The data were gathered from 392 respondents employed in Indian IT organizations. With the help of SPSS 21.0, the data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, correlation, and hierarchical regression, and the Hayes methodology and interaction software explained the moderators. It was observed that career advancement and work/family conflict had a favorable association which may vary in a particular state. It was also revealed that age acted as a moderator of all demographic differences selected in the study. Therefore, the article suggested that work/family conflict may positively or negatively influence career advancement.

Hedonic Pleasure, Cyber Dating, Live-In Relationship, and Social Acceptance Amongst IT Professionals

The purpose of this study is to examine the intricated relationships among hedonic pleasure, cyber dating, live-in relationships, and societal acceptance among professionals working in information technology sector in India. Data were collected from 269 millennials working in the IT sector of India via a survey questionnaire. Structure equation modeling was implied to analyze the collected data. According to the findings of the study, hedonic pleasure has a direct and significant effect on social acceptance, live-in relationships, and online dating of millennial employees. The indirect relationship demonstrates that cyber dating and live-in relationships can fully mediate hedonic pleasure and social acceptance. Employers, academicians, parents, and other stakeholders will benefit from the findings of this study in acknowledging the personal lifestyles of millennial employees towards social acceptance.

Discovering Gender Bias in Indian IT Industry

The rise of the information technology sector in India has opened the doors of employment for many Indian women. Undoubtedly, these rapid technological developments in this industry have a massive impact on the way the information technology sector performs its work, thus giving rise to many employment issues. Indian women, who were mostly found in traditional jobs, are now actively participating in the information technology sector. Most of the time, this electrically transferable work has forced many millennial women to start their work even before the sun rises, which is invigorating their family life. Even though the official work hours may vary from 8–9 hours, the time taken to reach a work destination can act as a constraint for individuals working in this sector. The immediate consequences of work-life complexities blur the boundaries between work and family life, and this will have a significant impact on the physical and psychological health of these millennial female employees in the long run.

Work Systems in the Indian Information Technology (IT) Industry Delivering Artificial Intelligence (AI) Solutions and the Challenges of Work from Home.

Our study is based on a workplace ethnography conducted between Jan-May 2020 in an AI research lab of an Indian service-based IT organization, whose operations shifted from co-located work to work from home (WFH) owing to the recent pandemic. The field notes of the ethnographer, working as a full-time intern in a running AI project within this lab, is the basis for the qualitative data for this study. We discuss the socio-technical aspects and the specific challenges of distributed team-working due to the WFH norms facing such emerging research units, which are rapidly diffusing across the IT industry in the offshoring context, particularly in India. We rely on work system theory as a map to bring out key findings from our ethnographic observations. The findings point to the importance of having workflows compatible with the specific work roles in such emerging work systems – particularly for the beginner roles in the AI space. Our study contributes to the IS literature by depicting the challenges of distributed teams in a relatively novel setting emerging in offshoring contexts like the Indian IT sector, and suggests implications for managers handling AI projects and tackling employee-focused Human Resource practices in such settings.

Measure of Successful Innovation Management from Employees’ Viewpoint: Concerning Employees Working in the IT Sector of Bengaluru City, Karnataka

The process of innovation management in the Indian Information Technology sector has resulted in the creation of an efficient and competitive system. Innovation management has offered a variety of services to the customer. During the past few years, innovation management has shown better growth in the IT sector. Many companies are now making strategies for the implementation of the innovation management system and measuring its impact by using different measures of innovation management. Various measures of successful innovation management are identified through literature review. The present paper primarily aims to find out the most relevant measures of successful innovation management from employees’ viewpoint hence samples were collected from 450 respondents. The study is based on primary as well as secondary data. Multiple response analysis is used to find out the most relevant basis of successful innovation management.

A Study on Employee Productivity and Job Satisfaction of Work from Home Employees in IT Sector with Special Reference to Coimbatore District

The present study has been undertaken to identify the level of job satisfaction of Information Technology Sector (IT) employees and their productivity during work from home (Covid-19). Work from home has not been predominantly possible for all the organizations prior to the pandemic, but in one way or another it has become a new and unrivalled standard. The unforeseen shift to remote work posed a new set of challenges for the employees. As the lines between work and home got obscured, employees struggled to remain motivated and productive. The purpose of this study has been to explore the link between job satisfaction and productivity of employees in the Indian Information Technology Sector during COVID-19 pandemic times and to determine if there has been a provable relationship between these two variables. This study concludes that most of the employees have been satisfied and equally productive while working from home as it provides greater flexibility to the employees. Therefore, the organizations can continue the concept of work from home as most of the employees prefer to work from home in the future.

The study of sustainability as a mediator of new approaches to work and workspace usage

PurposeMany corporates in India are constantly working to adapt new sustainable working practices that can reduce average space usage in the Indian workspace. This study aims to analyze the strategic shifts in terms of new approaches to work (NAW) adopted by information technology (IT) companies, influenced by sustainable practices that have a positive impact on the reduction in usage of brick and motor workspace and carbon footprint.Design/methodology/approachThe research is descriptive in nature. A questionnaire survey was sent to certified ISO 41001 Indian IT companies to collect data through SurveyMonkey. Stratified sampling was used to collect a sample of 583 respondents, which was also verified using G* software. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics and partial least square-structured equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze the mediating effect of sustainability on NAW and reduction in usage of workspace.FindingsThe structural model results obtained through the bootstrapping technique showed that sustainability has become essential to survive in a competitive business environment while developing NAW that can reduce workspace usage. The findings of this study support the partial mediation effect (38%) of sustainability on NAW and workspace usage patterns in the Indian IT workspace.Originality/valueThis research adds value to the limited literature on the effect of NAW in the Indian IT sector and provides empirical evidence of the impact of technology-enabled NAW based on sustainable practices that can help reduce the demand for workspace.

Standing in My Way Nine to Five : Investigating Bullying Behaviours Prevalent Among IT Professionals in India

In modern workplaces, competition between employees is a significant determinant of career progress. Hence, employees are likely to engage in a range of negative behaviors to outperform each other. The present exploratory study attempted to identify specific bullying behaviors prevalent in the Information Technology (IT) sector and explained bullying from a sociocultural perspective. A questionnaire survey was conducted among 222 IT professionals to explore workplace bullying prevalence and examine underlying workplace bullying behaviors. Based on the responses to the Negative Acts Questionnaire-R, it emerged that 44.13% of the respondents had experienced some form of bullying at their workplace, and 19.8% reported moderate to severe levels of bullying. Exploratory factor analysis identified four types of bullying behavior : Attacking Self-Esteem, Work Surveillance, Threatening Situations, and Obstructing Competence. The results revealed that Obstructing Competence and Attacking Self-Esteem were the most prevalent types of bullying behaviors among IT professionals in India. The findings of the study were discussed from a sociocultural perspective within the context of working norms of the IT sector in India. The implications for managing negative acts in the IT sector were also discussed.

Impact of Work-Family Conflict on Career Development of Knowledge Workers in Indian IT Sector

Work-family conflict is one of the major problems that influence career development of knowledge workers in the information technology (IT) sector. The purpose of the paper is to examine the relation between work-family conflict and career development with the moderating effect of age. The data was collected from 278 knowledge workers (IT professionals) employed in different IT companies across India. The data is analysed with descriptive statistics, correlation, and hierarchical regression through statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) 21.0 software, AMOS for structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis, and interaction software for analyzing interaction item age. The results of the study revealed that there is a negative relation between work-family conflict and career development. In addition, the findings also supported that age moderates the relation between work-family conflict and career development. This study is important to IT companies, which will provide useful insights in managing the employees' well-being.

Rebooting employees: upskilling for artificial intelligence in multinational corporations

Proponents of artificial intelligence (AI) have envisaged a scenario wherein intelligent machines would execute routine tasks performed by humans, thus, relieving them to engage in creative pursuits. While there is widespread fear of corresponding job losses, organizational think tanks vouch for the synergistic culmination of human–machine competencies. Using the dynamic skill, neo-human capital and AI job replacement theories, we contend that the introduction and adoption of AI calls for employees to upskill themselves. To determine the key skills deemed critical for the upskilling of employees, we interviewed 20 experienced professionals in multinational corporations (MNCs) in the information technology sector in India. Deploying Gioia’s methodology for qualitative analysis, our investigation revealed five critical skills for employee upskilling: data analysis, digital, complex cognitive, decision making and continuous learning skills.