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This essay critically examines the discourse of participation in development finance directed at the poor in the Global South from national and international development agencies. This discourse, often termed financial inclusion, posits the ability of development actors to reach the poor involving them in important economic decisions affecting their lives, provides access to products that improve their material conditions, and ensures their credit worthiness through highly nuanced information technology and social media tools. The paper presents evidence from two ethnographically inspired studies undertaken by the author in India and Kenya to ascertain the ways in which the participatory discourse in finance is understood among societal participants themselves. The paper presents relevant epistemes for analyzing what 'grassroots' actors understand as their participation in development-oriented financial inclusion projects. The study forwards two major conclusions: (1) 'habits of authority' among various development actors thwart effective participation; (2) technology platforms that allow for successive innovations and interconnections from businesses and other organizations encourage financial inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides large scale evidence on the determinants of international competitiveness of Indian manufacturing firms, focusing in particular on the role of technology, costs and imported intermediate inputs. Our evidence suggests that innovation, in particular R&D investment, is positively related to both firms' probability to export and firms' export volumes. We also find that imported intermediate inputs, incorporating foreign technology is strongly associated with expanding export activities of firms. Finally, and in contrast to much of previous evidence on developed economies, we find that higher productivity or lower unit labour costs are not systematically associated with the probability to enter export markets, but they are positively related to higher export volumes. Overall our results point to the existence of a pattern of involvement in international trade for firms in developing countries that is not relying as a main driver on cost competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses a qualitative approach to address limitations and blockages to current plastics reduction via semi-structured interviews with zero waste business practitioners in India. Although they are nascent, India is home to a budding zero waste community that is grappling with how to reduce plastics—via trial and error—and these stakeholders hold insights from lived experience on how plastic reduction can actualize in the Indian subcontinent. This research involved interviewing zero waste businesses and consultants and makers of plastic alternatives in India to understand their experiences with plastic reduction strategies. The key stakeholder interviews reveal key insights for moving forward with plastic reduction initiatives, including challenges faced at government, business, and social levels; considerations regarding plastic waste generation; motivations for starting zero waste businesses and organizations; how it will be possible to operationalize plastic bans in India; appropriate actions for plastic waste reduction; elements that would help India shift into a more circular, regenerative economy; and locally appropriate alternatives to plastics. The discussion further delves into caveats with various alternatives to plastic materials, economic considerations, and characteristics of the zero waste network, and provides next steps for action at the government, business, and civil levels for reducing plastic waste generation in India and minimizing plastic pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of the present study is to examine the failure factors for the construction firms in a developing nation. Furthermore, the comparison of failure factors for private and government firms are evaluated. Design/methodology/approach: In the present study, comparison between private and government construction firms is done in the context of a construction firm failure. About 60 construction firms were selected in and around the Nashik region for the investigation, where a simple multi-attribute rating technique (SMART) is used for analysis purpose. Findings: It is found that for private firms (private contractors and builders) lack of experience is the major factor for failure of the business as against lack of managerial experience is a critical factor in case of a government contractor. Practical implications: The outcome of the present study will be used to guide the policymakers during the implementation of governmental and private projects in order to lessen the construction project failures. Originality/value: Construction company failure is an important aspect in developing countries like India. The limited studies were available in literature which shows failure factors for government and private firms and distinguished them. Hence, the present study extends the construction company failure literature by focusing on government and private firms. Also, the study provides some theoretical guidelines for management to avoid construction company failure in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women Entrepreneurs from SHG are energizing. SHG entrepreneur classifies, manages, and considers the risk associated with a business venture. At this time, more women are breaking away from traditional, gender-specific occupations and entering the workforce. The success of SHG members will be determined by their sales and information technology training. The government should assist these organisations throughout the early stages of their business to overcome teething problems and eventually give assistance and training to function independently as a successful business operation. The stress of this study is on the issues that self-help groups face. In India, women account for about half of the rural population and play a critical role in the rural economy. It has been highlighted that it is necessary for programmes specifically targeted at women. They have high-ranking positions in corporations, but they are also successful female entrepreneurs. The steady growth in female entrepreneurs may be attributed to various factors, the majority of which have the same reasoning as their male counterpart's enthusiasm for facts, want to be their boss, and need to address humanitarian motives. Self-Help Groups play an essential role in economic development and women's empowerment. Women's empowerment has been recognised as a significant issue in developing nations such as India, and society has separated women. With the support of microcredit, SHGs now provide a chance for women to express their opinions, participate in decision-making, and connect. Despite this, women in SHGs are currently experiencing some serious issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) play an important role in the economic development of any developing country due to their innate capability of transforming novel ideas into innovations and thus building profitable enterprises. Globalisation has necessitated smaller firms to target on Sustainable Oriented Innovation (SOI) practices, as an essential parameter for achieving competitive advantage. However, transforming MSMEs towards the incorporation of SOI practices is not an easy task for a developing country like India. For this, MSMEs will have to focus on significant innovation factors that would help them sustain global competition. This paper highlights essential Critical Factors (CFs) to implement SOI practices in MSMEs of the Delhi NCR region of India catering to sector which manufactures products. A novel multi-criteria decision-making technique called an Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) is employed in identifying the vital CFs amongst these. The AHP evaluation results' robustness is checked by performing a sensitivity analysis. Research results indicate that 'Top management support'; 'Government initiatives' and 'Financial resources' are the most important factors contributing significantly in implementing SOI practices. This research is useful for developing recommendation for companies, academic experts, and Governmental professionals. The authors believe that research outcomes would be helping India in contributing for the sustainable development of MSMEs. Image 1 • Factors influencing innovation practices towards sustainability are proposed. • The focus is on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), India. • The ranking framework of the identified factors is developed. • Sensitivity analysis is used to validate the developed ranking framework. • Policy implications are derived for sustainably oriented innovation practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The empirical evidence from the extant literature has been equivocal regarding the influence exerted by different ownership types on corporate social responsibility (CSR), especially in developing countries such as India characterized by institutional voids. We use a longitudinal panel dataset of 500 large Indian companies to test a model of corporate ownership forms as key determinants of CSR engagement in India. Based on neo-institutional theory, our model of CSR determinants investigates the roles of three salient aspects of ownership namely multinational ownership/affiliation, state ownership and family ownership and control, after controlling for the influence of firm size, firm age, leverage, the availability of slack resources, profitability and various governance attributes. Our ordered logit regressions indicate strong support for the role of multinational ownership and family control and management in promoting higher levels of CSR engagement. Contrary to expectations, public sector ownership appeared to negatively impact CSR engagement. We offer our conjectures on this anomalous finding and the research possibilities it opens up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Poor working conditions remain a serious problem in supplier facilities in developing countries. While previous research has explored this from the developed buyers' side, we examine this phenomenon from the perspective of developing countries' suppliers and subcontractors. Utilizing qualitative data from a major knitwear exporting cluster in India and a stakeholder management lens, we develop a framework that shows how the assumptions of conventional, buyer-driven voluntary governance break down in the dilution of buyer power and in the web of factors rooted in suppliers' traditions, beliefs, local demands and resource dependency. We reveal out how success in governing collaborative global supply chains often falls short within the subcontracting stage, where a stakeholder management mindset is elusive to most participants. We suggest that success in governing collaborative global supply chains is dependent on concepts of stakeholder utility and the presence of shared value that is often at odds with the realities of power, information asymmetry and compliance/reward systems inherent in the non-market coordination of global supply chains. Our findings offer important insights for delineating the concepts of value creation from CSR concepts and practices, and for modifying the basic assumptions of conventional supply chain governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]