Benchmarking by Item Response Theory (BIRTH)

Benchmarking publication metrics for Indian business researchers

Purpose

There is no particularly efficient way to measure research output, but effectual assessment of research output is necessary to motivate and encourage researchers to enhance their research performance and disseminate knowledge. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the exacerbating pressure on Indian academics to deliver incessantly in terms of research output and identify an agreeable way to increase research output. The metric explores trends in management publications by Indian academics and presents an overview of collaborative practices by Indian management researchers that could shine a light on the trends of collaborative publishing future.

Design/methodology/approach

The study focuses on publications in the area of Business and Management. Scopus was used with advanced filters to draw relevant research papers. Data were then sorted and filtered on the basis of quality determined through Australian Business Deans Council rankings and diverse bibliometric information to understand the pattern of research output of Indian academics.

Findings

The research found that the rate of collaboration with researchers from the home country is low for top rated publications. Majority of publications were listed in Scopus indexed journals, whereas a handful featured in A and A* journals. A and A* journals were predominantly co-authored with academics from universities outside the country. Tradeoff was achieved by majority of authors by getting published in B, followed by C category journals to achieve research outputs.

Research limitations/implications

The study is limited to publications in the area of Business and Management and may be extended to other disciplines such as economics, engineering, law, medical sciences, etc., to understand publishing trends at universities in the country. The study can also be conducted in understanding a similar dilemma with academics at other countries that are evolving in research culture.

Practical implications

The study would help management researchers to dig deep into the root cause and understand why and how collaborations within and outside the country impact the quality of publications. The results would further encourage ranking agencies to award suitable grades to colleges that promote collaboration within the country as well as international collaboration. The study also conducts a benchmarking exercise of the institutions in the country that would be useful for researchers, journals and colleges.

Originality/value

While earlier studies have highlighted the importance of foreign collaborations in academic publishing, there are a handful of studies that have focused on the role of collaboration within the home country. The practice of Indian authors collaborating with Indian counterparts at other universities would help understand the expertise of researchers at different universities and encourage the collaboration process and quality of publications in the country.

Inter-partner dynamics and joint venture competitiveness: a fuzzy TISM approach

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the inter-partner dynamics-based enablers of joint venture (JV) competitiveness. In addition, this paper models the interactions among identified enablers/factors to project the strength of their relationship with JV competitiveness.

Design/methodology/approach

ISM- and total interpretive structural modeling (TISM)-based fuzzy TISM approach has been used to examine the interactions and strength of interactions among identified enablers of JV competitiveness.

Findings

The analysis concludes that inter-partner dynamics-based enablers, such as partner fit, power symmetry and trust, have strong driving power and low dependence power and are at the lowest level of hierarchy in fuzzy TISM model. Variables like collaborative communication, organizational learning and absorptive capacity are linkage variables and they have high dependence as well as driving power and they lie in the second level of fuzzy TISM hierarchy. Strategic flexibility is found to have high dependence power and has weak driving power. The outcome variable JV competitiveness found to have zero driving power and highest dependence power.

Practical implications

The findings have implications for practitioners and policy makers. JVs may achieve competitiveness by managing identified enablers (inter-partner dynamics).

Originality/value

Present paper is one among the few efforts that address the issue of JV competitiveness (post-formation of JV). Methodologically also, this study is one among few initial efforts of using modified fuzzy TISM to explore and understand the linkage among enablers and outcome variables. Modified fuzzy TISM process carries out transitivity checks along with the successive pair-wise comparisons and simplifies the fuzzy TISM approach.

Model for formulating competitive strategy: the supplementary health sector case

Purpose

The implementation of quality in health services should go beyond legal, regulatory and purely technical obligations in relation to carrying out health insurance practices. The purpose of this paper is to present a management model that intends to equip private health care companies in favor of quality development from the use of a model for forming a competitive strategy in the supplementary health sector companies.

Design/methodology/approach

In this approach the proposed model is grounded on guiding procedures for the process of strategy formulation, with a systemic structure that separates in analysis involving the internal and external environment to the organization to verify the strategy that best applies. It is based on prescriptive strategy – the five competitive forces and, with adaptive strategy, the competition arenas.

Findings

Through the proposed model the analytical mechanisms of political-legal environments surrounding companies in the sector can be described, identify organizations and their process performance, study them, and perform comparative analysis of information between them. All of this development seeks to ensure the formation of policies, to guide strategic action in health insurance.

Originality/value

This work strongly contributes to the foundation and strengthening of strategic knowledge and has quality aimed at the study of the private health care market, due to the high degree of regulatory requirements by the state to the businesses, the environment turns into a chain of complex information that migrates from the condition of just meeting legal requirements, to also satisfying the demands of a hypercompetitive market.