Associate Professor Ashish Malik

© 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: This exploratory study aims to analyse the influence of organisational resources and capabilities on relationship quality and firm performance in the context of high-technology offshore outsourcing service vendors. Design/methodology/approach: Using a qualitative case study design, data from four offshore business process and information technology outsourcing firms were analysed. Findings: Findings highlight that resource dependence, cultural orientation and the vendor¿s resources and capabilities strengthen relationship quality and affect firm performance. Originality/value: The distinctive contribution of this study lies in identifying key organisational mechanisms that improve relationship quality and firm performance, as well as help to understand the adverse effects of ethnocentricity and power faced by vendors and subsidiaries within diverse intercultural contexts. Study limitations and future research directions, along with implications for theory and practice, are also discussed.

© Copyright Cambridge University Press 2017. SUMMARY The Eastern Gangetic Plain is among the world's most intensively farmed regions, where rainfed and irrigated agriculture coexist. While the region and especially Bangladesh is a major producer of rice (Oryza sativa L. ssp. indica), there is potential to further develop sustainable rice production systems. Specifically, there is scope to include a replacement crop for the short fallow between rice crops in the dominant cropping pattern of rainfed monsoon rice harvest followed by irrigated spring rice. The aim of the current research was to identify a suitable cool-season legume crop - pea (Pisum sativum L.) or lentil (Lens culinaris Medik. ssp. culinaris) - that could be grown in the brief period between rice crops. The study comprised four crop sequence experiments comparing legume cultivars differing in maturity grown in between both long and short duration rice cultivars. These experiments were done at the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute regional station at Rajshahi over three cropping cycles. This was followed by an evaluation of pea vs. fallow between rice crops on three farmers' fields in one cropping cycle. Here it is demonstrated that green pod vegetable pea is one of the best options to intensify the rainfed monsoon rice-fallow-spring irrigated rice cropping system, notwithstanding other remunerative rabi cropping options that could displace boro rice. The inclusion of an extra crop, pea as green pod vegetable, increased farm productivity by 1·4-fold over the dominant cropping sequence (rice-fallow-rice) and farm net income by fourfold. The study highlighted the advantages in total system productivity and monetary return of crop intensification with the inclusion of a pea crop between successive rice crops instead of a fallow period.

© 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group Recent studies have started exploring the linkages between organisational ambidexterity (OA) and HRM practices. OA is noted as a critical resource in achieving product, process, and business model innovations. By adopting an inductive case study of a US MNC subsidiary in India, we found empowerment-focused HRM practices were being used for exploration of new ideas and efficiency-focused HRM practices were adopted for the exploitation of the organisation¿s existing strengths. Empowerment-focused HRM practices created a culture of openness and risk-taking, which facilitated the creation of an ambidextrous context. Further, ambidextrous learning was moderated by the adoption of a managerial/leadership style that focused on ¿mirroring competencies¿ between the parent operation and its subsidiary. HRM practices were aimed at developing behaviours that valued the team-based co-development of graphic processor designs by means of a ¿parallel processing¿ approach to product development. Additionally, the HRM practice of offering intrinsic employee rewards and both informal and formal training facilitated OA in delivering product innovation. This study represents a pioneering exploration of multiple levels of analysis (individual, functional, and organisational) for product innovation through the lenses of ambidexterity, innovation, and HRM practices. The implications for both theory and practice are also discussed.

© 2017. This paper, through a multi case qualitative study design, explains how in times of economic adversity, such as the global financial crisis, adaptive firms from the Indian IT offshore outsourcing implemented several global and local human resource management (HRM) strategies for co-ordinating internal and external processes for managing growth. Applying the theoretical lenses of ambidexterity, HRM practices and the integration-responsiveness framework, the paper highlights the importance of strategic choices in achieving ambidexterity and how implementing certain capabilities and HRM practices creates an ambidextrous context. The implications for theory and practice are also discussed.

© 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This appraisal considers the role and impact of vocational education and training (VET) in Australia and New Zealand, and suggests directions such policy might take in other Asia-Pacific countries. It identifies key issues and constraints in making VET more responsive to emerging labour market needs in the region as an important factor in sustaining high economic growth. It focuses on the way in which the demands of the government, industry, trainees, and, in particular, shifts in political ideology that have influenced the education and training sectors in both countries. It addresses points of specific relevance for the delivery of VET in the broader Asia-Pacific context and concludes with a consideration of lessons and experiences of Australia and New Zealand with VET that may hold for other countries in the region in formulating priorities and implementing strategies in meeting their current and emerging needs for skills development.

© 2017, © Ashish Malik, Brendan Boyle and Rebecca Mitchell. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine innovation in the resource-constrained context of India¿s healthcare industry. It is argued that the process of innovation in addressing healthcare management challenges in such a context occurs through organisational ambidexterity and that human resource management (HRM) plays an important role. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative research methodology is applied to explore the role of HR practices in facilitating contextual ambidexterity and subsequent innovations in healthcare in India. The unit of analysis is the ¿case¿ of healthcare providers in India and in-depth interview and documentary data in two case sites are analysed to reveal the role of HRM in facilitating contextual ambidexterity and innovation. Data analysis was undertaken first at a within-case and then at a cross-case analysis level using interpretive manual coding based on how the data explained the role of HRM in delivering innovative outcomes and supporting organisational ambidexterity. Findings: The authors found evidence of the use of sets of high-involvement HRM practices for exploration of new ideas and efficiency-driven HRM practices for creating contextual ambidexterity in the case organisations. Further, managerial/leadership style was found to play an important role in creating cultures of trust, openness, risk-taking and employee empowerment, supported by an appropriate mix of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. Finally, training was also reported as being central to creating an ambidextrous context for delivering on various innovations in these healthcare providers. Originality/value: This study represents an exploration of innovation in the context of India¿s healthcare sector through intersecting literatures of ambidexterity, innovation and HRM practices. In light of the emerging economy research context, an important empirical contribution is palpable. Moreover, through a study design which included collecting data from multiple informants on the role of human resources in facilitating innovative outcomes, the authors reveal the role of HR-related initiatives, beyond formal HR practices in creating contextual ambidexterity. This study also reveals the degree to which contextual idiosyncrasies enhance our understanding of the role of HR in facilitating innovation in emerging economies.

© 2016, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyse data from the New South Wales Government¿s Pilot Programme of establishing Smart Work Hubs (SWHs) for enabling teleworking in two busy commuter corridors. The paper analyses the relationships between various firm, job and personal factors and the perceived value, attitudes and expected usage by users of the SWHs. Design/methodology/approach: Employing a cross-sectional survey design, the characteristics, values and attitudes of 117 SWH users were analysed using partial least squares (PLS) method of structural equation modelling (SEM). SEM-PLS approach is considered appropriate especially in prediction-based studies and to estimate an endogenous target construct. Findings: Results revealed that perceived SWH value significantly influenced attitude towards the SWH, which then had a significant influence on SWH usage intentions, with personal, job and firm factors also playing a role. Further analysis revealed four variables that significantly influenced the perception of family-value benefits (age, income, hub commute distance, work commute distance), however, there were none that significantly influenced the perception of work benefits. Research limitations/implications: The small sample size limits statistical inferences and generalisations to be drawn. Further, this paper also discusses how the low and uneven uptake of teleworking at a SWH raises several managerial and policy implications needing attention. Originality/value: To the best of the authors¿ knowledge, this is the first empirical study analysing the expected values, attitudes and usage intentions of teleworkers in a SWH context. This study adds to the emerging body of human resource management studies on an outward-looking approach. The novel context will provide a useful base for subsequent studies.

This paper analyses the impact of the global financial crisis (GFC) on human resource management (HRM) practices in India's information technology (IT) industry. The findings support the presence of a hard approach to HRM. Despite the negative impact of the GFC, there was evidence of growth in certain IT services. The specific positive and negative impacts include firms' unethical and opportunistic behaviour in performance management, pay freezes, reduced billing and employee turnover rates, increased competition, addition of new service areas and improvisations to firms' business models. The short-term outlook for managers is to tread with caution. Implications for theory and practice are also discussed. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.