Investigators- Prof. Prakash Satyavageeswaran, Prof. Ashish S. Galande, Prof. Sundar Bhardwaj, Prof. Madhubalan Viswanathan, Mr. Siddharth P.K., Ms. Rachel L. Ramey

Abstract - The proposed research is a mixed method investigation of the role of technology in empowering women and rural population. We focus on two aspects of technology’s role, first being the empowering nature of technology in people’s role as consumers and the second being the enabling nature of technology in entrepreneurial endeavours. We will employ qualitative interviews, field experiments, surveys, and secondary data analysis. We study the pathways for utilizing technology in order to empower the purchase and consumption decisions of rural and women consumers in real-world settings through education about the technology and marketplaces in general. Furthermore, we also plan to explore the entrepreneurial opportunities and challenges that technology entails for the rural population and women. As part of this phase, interventions related to specific technologies, related training activities, and broader education about marketplace literacy is planned. Such empowerment would be in consumer, entrepreneurial, and sustainability realms, especially in the context of emerging markets and would add to theory in the rural and emerging markets literature. The research would also inform policymakers on promotion of technology in the rural milieu and would provide tools to individuals to be better equipped consumers and entrepreneurs.

SPARC Workshop

Investigators - Prof. Dhirendra Mani Shukla, Prof. Amita Mittal, Prof. Babita Bhatt, Prof. Israr Qureshi

Abstract - Many social entrepreneurs leverage technology for knowledge transfer to address social issues at the base of the pyramid (Bhatt, 2013). Productive knowledge is valuable to organizations and individuals as a means of improving their economic and social welfare. Globally there is a consensus on the catalytic role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) - such as the internet, mobile phones, and community radios - in disseminating information, which in turn is expected to alleviate problems associated with poverty, exclusion, and healthcare. However, most studies explore the transfer/diffusion of productive knowledge in multinational corporation settings and emphasize the characteristics of the source, the recipient, or of the knowledge itself. Few studies explore informal, underdeveloped, and rural settings where potential barrier to knowledge flow emerge from informal institutional constraints in the form of cultural norms, differential access, and exclusions that favor some social groups over others. This research proposal will explore the use of ICTs by social entrepreneurs as multilevel phenomenon with an interdisciplinary approach. The three inter-related objectives of the study are to advance scholarship, inform policymaking, and improve the practice of knowledge transfer by the social entrepreneurs at the base of the pyramid. The research project will explore three interrelated research questions: Technological affordances in the effectiveness of knowledge transfer in rural contexts? How partial templates, which are defined as incomplete knowledge capture, can be used for knowledge transfer in rural contexts? How do institutional norms, differential access, and social exclusion affect the transfer of productive knowledge through partial templates?

Investigators - Prof. Dhirendra Mani Shukla, Prof. M.P Ganesh, Prof. Arjun Bhardwaj, Prof. Suhaib Riaz, Prof. Babita Bhatt, Prof. Israr Qureshi

Abstract - Our societies are increasingly being polarized across divides of politics, values, and interests. Technology and the new tools it offers are enabling people to remain in their own preferred worlds with limited interactions with less similar others. News media enabled by technology can tailor news to our views and interests. People can now seamlessly move into an online world and surround themselves with people who share similar views. While such gatherings can bring together people to work on collective goals at a scale that was not possible earlier they also facilitate putting people into tight echo chambers, of shared ideology, interests, and beliefs, a process referred to as Cyberbalkanization. In workplaces, social inclusion can be severely affected by drift of people in such polarized echo chambers. Such polarization raises troubling questions for multicultural societies. We plan to use the tools of social network analysis (SNA) to better understand the characteristics of people who hold positions that bridge these divides. Understanding the characteristics of the bridging individuals is important and would be valuable for developing interventions to reduce unhealthy societal and organizational divides. We plan to collect data from management students, in an organization, and subsequently use web crawling/data scraping tools to examine online social networks. The research findings will provide insights to citizens, organization leaders, and policymakers to understand the characteristics of actors who bridge across divides. Findings from our research will offer scientific evidence for developing tools for addressing challenges of increasing polarization in societies.