The predators assuage to the prey – The effectiveness of CSR initiatives of companies in Kerala

The dimensions of the triangular relationship between companies, the state and the society has been rapidly transforming ever since the dawn of the present millennium and firms can no longer continue to act as independent entities regardless of the interest of the general public. The relationship between companies and society has been evolving from that of philanthropic coexistence to that where the mutual interest of all the stakeholders is given paramount importance. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become one of the key elements of sustainable business. An examination of the present status of corporate social responsibility (CSR) would be an ideal starting ground for the conceptual development of suitable corporate business practices for emerging markets. Kerala, has achieved social and educational development comparable to most Western nations and has been acclaimed worldwide for its Kerala model of development though this achievement is not yet matched by industrial growth or economic development. With over a thousand companies registered and head quartered within the state coupled with many national and international ones operating in the state, will this regulatory mandate on CSR spending be a shot in the arm in social development of the state is a question that seeks answer from various quarters. The combined CSR spending in Kerala by all the qualified entities put together will work out to be around Rs 350 core to Rs 400 crore. It is in the backdrop, the study examined the CSR effectiveness of seven drivers namely regulatory compliances, brand reputation, employee interests, community concerns, investor interests, environmental interests and sustainability initiatives as identified by companies in Kerala in design and implementation of their CSR initiatives. The study relied on structural equation modelling based on partial least squares path modelling (PLS-PM) using data collected from 91 executives, who are directly involved in CSR planning and implementation. The first order constructs as mentioned as drivers of CSR were modelled with five measured variables each and the second order construct namely effectiveness of CSR was evaluated using standardised construct scores of the first-order constructs as indicators. The results of analysis revealed that overall model fit was adequate, and all the drivers of CSR showed a high coefficient of determination of more than 0.43 except the employee interests which showed an R-squared of only 0.32. The dependent variable namely sustainability where all the other 6 drivers converge showed an R-square of 0.70

Resurgence of small eateries– The successful business model of online Food Apps in major cities of Kerala

The country’s GDP grew at a modest 4.5 per cent in the September quarter 2019, and the official data released showed a sixth straight fall in quarterly GDP growth and also the first time fall below the psychologically important 5 per cent mark in almost seven years. It is in this context that the festive sales hosted by the ecommerce sector ended first week of October 2019 where the e-tailers in India, mainly Amazon and Flipkart, achieved a record $3 billion (about Rs 19,000 crore) of Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) during the period as per a report by consulting firm RedSeer has to be evaluated. The success of business models, whether it be in e-tailing (amazon, flip-kart etc.), transportation (Uber, Ola Cabs etc..) or online ordering from eatery apps (Ubereats, Swiggy, Zomato etc.) despite the reverse trend in GDP growth and sustained recession, needs to be evaluated in the context of innovation applied and technology adoption. It is in the backdrop of above said upsurge of business model innovations that can combat the challenges in downfalls of an economy and/ or ever-increasing competition on a global platform, the effectiveness of business models assumes significance. A laggard manager clinging on to his age-old business model is now forced to look forward to articulate their existing business model, since the core enabler of a firm’s performance is an effective business model. Understanding the possibilities for innovating through theoretical insight and practical guidelines needs identification of types and the development of a typology of business model innovations. The online eatery business of restaurants, with key partners such as payment processors, mapping data providers and delivery bike drivers through channels such as mobile apps and telephone ensures customer relations by providing convenience in the form of wide choice of sourcing and menu as well as easy payments has found its own way into urban and semi-urban centres of almost all the states in India, Kerala being no exception. The proposed study intends to identify how successful is the business model adopted by medium and small restaurants in providing its customers a wide choice of menu coupled with timely and prompt delivery through online ordering apps such as Uber Eats, Swiggy, Zomato etc across the major cities in Kerala. The study relies on structural equation modelling to identify the impact of constructs namely customer (eater) satisfaction and delivery partner (biker) benefit on the success of business model through evaluation of benefits to the eateries (restaurants). These constructs or latent variables were predicted using 8 measured variables for customer satisfaction, 4 measured variables for job potential and 4 measured variables for eatery benefits. The structural equation model will evaluate the predictability capability of each measured variables. The hypothesis whether the customer satisfaction and employee benefits directly impact success of the online business model will be tested. Data collected from 120 regular users of online food apps and 120 delivery boys as well as 120 restaurant partners from Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam cities, using separate questionnaire were analysed. The responses to measured variables were obtained on a 5-point scale and the parameters of model were tested for internal reliability, convergent and discriminant validity, fitness indices and probabilities of standardised regression weights. The results of analysis revealed that all the dimensions of customer satisfaction and job potential significantly predicts to success of business model and success of business model directly impacts the benefits derived by eateries through the business model of online ordering and delivery of foo