International Journal of Business and General Management

9-20

Authors: DEBASIS BHATTACHARYA & SHUVENDU DEY

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is one of the most important notions in the corporate. In spite of the emerging research work conducted in the field of CSR it is really difficult to operationalize the construct and provide a reliable and valid measure to capture various dimensions of CSR. The aims of this study are very specific. First, it contributes to understanding the business case for CSR in developing countries by focusing on the consumer sentiments toward marketing concepts followed by the domestic as well as multinational firms. The second objective of the study is to develop a scale by conducting a comprehensive review of literature to generate pools of items to measure the recent ban on Maggi noodles in India. Nestle’s star brand Maggi is facing the heat of ban in India since June, 2015. It was due to an episode that took place in the State of Uttar Pradesh where a few samples of Maggi instant nobles were found to contain lead and monosodium glutamate beyond the permissible limit. Tests were conducted in Government as well as in private laboratories, but the outcome of the test results revealed contradictory findings. In this paper an attempt has been made to construct a scale encompassing three main construct to measure the CSR practice of Nestle India. These are: advertising communication made by Nestle India mostly by celebrities having no idea about the ingredients present in the stuff which is basically targeted towards the kids and young adults, secondly, whether the common CSR norms were adhered to and lastly to investigate whether concern for consumers were given due respect. To capture these constructs a small scale was developed to examine the perception of the consumers who are mostly in the lower age category. The findings of the study reveal that Nestlé could be more responsive to the needs of the people and could control the desired quality norms since it has got nearly eighty percent market share in India. Various parametric and non-parametric tests have been employed to establish the validity and reliability of the scale. The results of factor analyses revealed the construct validity of the scale and the alpha values are also within the acceptable limit. The factor score regression reveals that the consumer will not spread positive word of mouth unless the product conforms to all safety norms. The impact of recent ban has also been found to affect the brand loyalty behavior of consumers. Managerial implication and scope for further studies has also been discussed for researchers working in this field.

33-44

Authors: AMRIT PAUL & SANJEEB K JENA

Muga Silk industry has an abode of self-importance in the socio-economic and cultural life of the rural people of Assam. It is, therefore, needless to say that muga silk industry occupied an indispensable role in the economy of Assam throughout the reign of Ahom and the following period to present-day, as the trade of muga, the golden silk, is valued at Rs 200 crore. With good organization, the industry could develop up to 10 times of its current size. There are around 9500 sericulture villages manufacturing muga, Eri, and mulberry silk in the state of Assam. The age old muga silk industry is deteriorating due to many factors. It is evident that the production of tassar and eri raw silk is increasing and is satisfactory, but the production trend of unique muga silk is fluctuating and declining. Thus, through the present paper, an effort was made to study the viability and prospect of muga culture in the Lakhimpur District of Upper Assam.

57-64

Authors: JADEJA R. M. & PARMAR S. J.

Participatory irrigation management refers to the involvement of farmers (water users) in the different aspects of irrigation management such as planning, designing, construction and supervision, policy and decision making, operation and maintenance, and evaluation of irrigation system. The study aims to examine the differential impact of participatory irrigation management on the farmers of North Saurashtra of Gujarat. The major findings of the study revealed that, there was an average 17.04 per cent increased in irrigated area after formation of water users’ cooperative society over the period of 2009 to 2014. The average gross return of the wheat crop was Rs. 31200 and Rs.21001 in case of farmers from functional and non-functional water users’ cooperative society, respectively.

83-90

Authors: R. Delecta Jenifer & G. P. Raman

Background: Cultural competence is defined as a set of behaviors, attitudes, and policies that help organizations and staff work effectively with people of different cultures. Many international business failures have been ascribed to a lack of cross-cultural competence on the part of business practitioners. Objective: This study aimed to assess the cultural competence among middle management employees from Footwear Company in China. Methods: This study design is a cross sectional survey using data collected from May 1 to May 15, 2017 among 30 employees. Results: Out of 30 participants, 60% were aged 36 to 45 years old, 56.7% were females and 73.3% were managers. Around 70% had more than 15 years of work experience and 73.3% had an annual salary ranged from 4 to 10 thousands RMB. The work experience was positively correlated with annual income (r=0.402, P=0.028) and cultural adaptability (r=0.382, P=0.037). The annual income was also positively correlated with the determination (r=0.420, P=0.021), engagement (r=0.399, P=0.029) and overall cultural competence (r=0.363, P=0.049). Conclusion: The employees work experience and income were identified as motivated factors and more actions, including employees cultural training should be done in footwear company in China. In addition, the definition of vision and goals of cultural competence and cultural audit could help for a culturally competent organization.