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‘Dalits’ are considered to be the marginalized section in India. In the social milieu of this country, they are excluded from the variants of life. This chapter is a modest attempt to construct an aggregative picture of social exclusion of Dalit Groups at district level in India. It is generally claimed that social exclusion is captured in brackets of non-attainment, particularly in the spheres of livelihood, education and health. However, a true index of exclusion should include of not only non-attainment but the pangs of injustice meted out to them. Such injustice may take various forms (such as crime against Dalits, non-caring of the girl child and so on). Such injustice eats into the gains of social attainment. The speciality of our index is that it includes these variables of social injustice together with the traditional indicator of non-attainment. For the construction of this index, the study has used the standard techniques of principal component analysis (PCA) with negative weights for the attributes of injustice. In order to arrive at a comparable figure, standardization of the variables is encapsulated. In explaining the differences of index value, it has taken recourse to a large fallacy of robustness that is to arrive at the conclusion. Fiducial methods have been used to arrive at a more commendable figure. The analysis shows a close relationship between Dalit Exclusion Index (DEI) and a number of variables. General impression is that as the general wellbeing of people rises, there is a fall in the Dalit exclusion. Also, it is shown that public policy have strong effect on redresser of Dalit exclusion.

Marketing strategy, Decision making, After sales servicing.

As part of a core marketing course; at post graduate level; marketing strategy courses where competition and co-operation business models are explored.

The case focuses on HCL Care, which had the service competence and reach, but no marketing set up for attracting customers to its ICT products service facilities. The case explores the decision choices faced by the company in deciding its market strategy. The main challenge was the out of warranty offer planned by HCL Care. It was aimed at providing a one stop solution for consumers who owned various ICT devices of different brands that could not be serviced at one point. There was no specific validation of whether this proposed, more convenient and comprehensive offer was compelling enough for the consumer to switch from the service offered by the original equipment manufacturer or from the plethora of low priced offers from independent service providers in the Indian marketplace.

These include: how to organize the different types of market and company information available to segment the market and selecting the target market; developing a positioning platform and developing the market strategy; and choosing between competition versus cooperative business models.

Teaching notes are available. Consult the librarian for access.

The study explores extant knowledge on the nature of the relationship between internal and external corporate governance mechanisms, particularly board characteristics and audit quality, respectively, while also investigating how the relationship varies across geographies.

The extant knowledge is synthesized using a meta-analysis, which is conducted using a sample of 56 empirical studies from publications of varying grades. The studies span over 25 years (1996–2021) and cover 147 empirical samples (343,787 firm-year observations) across more than 20 countries. The dependent variable is audit fees, and the independent variable captures 12 different measures of board characteristics.

Overall, the results reveal a positive association between board characteristics and audit fees, indicating complementarity between governance mechanisms. Effect size analysis shows board characteristics, like size and independence, are positively associated with audit fees. However, heterogeneity is noted for some characteristics, and further analysis by geography (developed vs emerging countries) explains the heterogeneity.

This study helps multiple stakeholders like firms, shareholders, boards, regulators and policymakers in designing and strengthening governance frameworks.

Both governance and auditing literature benefit from identifying specific board characteristics that drive audit quality consistently across different institutional settings and samples. Heterogeneity analysis helps improve the understanding of contradictions documented in prior literature.

This meta-analysis is the first to explore the interplay between internal and external corporate governance mechanisms, with a focus on board characteristics and audit quality. The study provides valuable insights on how different governance mechanisms influence each other while highlighting, for the first time, how the interaction between governance mechanisms varies by a country's level of development.

This study aims to investigate India’s poor performance in the overall implementation of e-Governance despite significant improvements in the quality and scope of e-Government services in the country.

The study proposes a conceptual model based on four hypotheses that are tested using the structural equation modeling technique. Based on the results obtained, the conceptual model is suitably modified.

The major finding of the study is that “English proficiency” and “digital divide” sequentially mediate the relationship between “service quality” and the “willingness to adopt e-Governance” in India.

The conceptual model emerging from the study adds to the literature on e-Governance service quality and adoption. However, a longitudinal or experimental study may provide more insights into the context.

Primarily, this study would interest agencies involved in developing and delivering e-Governance services. Besides, the findings may be useful for the “big data companies” that are interested in gaining direct access to the last-mile users of developing countries.

The study intends to provide directions to policymakers on improving access to e-Governance services for the people who are deprived of the benefits of such services.

This is the first study to incorporate both English proficiency and digital divide in a single conceptual model in the literature related to the relationship between service quality and the willingness to adopt e-Governance.