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Banking on Innovation, Innovation in Banking at ICICI Bank

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 Banking on Innovation,
Innovation in Banking
at ICICI Bank
A robust banking sector is crucial to the economic
health of every nation. In India, the fast-growing and
competitive banking industry is being challenged by
new regulations and ever-evolving customer needs.
Based in Mumbai, Industrial Credit and Investment
Corporation of India Bank has become a leader in its
industry by strategically using technology to broaden
its reach to under-served consumers in rural com-
munities with innovative products, financial literacy
outreach, and efficient modes of product delivery.
Positioning itself as both technologically savvy and
customer-friendly, Industrial Credit and Investment
Corporation of India Bank has stayed ahead of the
competition by anticipating customer requirements
for secure, efficient, and seamless service. © 2016
Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Focused on creating value in order to attract and
retain customers in a highly competitive industry,
Indian banks have undergone an enormous transfor-
mation over the past two and a half decades. Since
the 1990s, a number of innovations have changed
the way banking is conducted and perceived (Dhir,
Aniruddha, & Mital, 2014; Likhi & Sushil, 2013;
Sushil, 2013c). Viewed as a force to facilitate the
innovation that leads to service quality improve-
ment, the application of technology has  resulted
in the creation of new products, markets, and
delivery channels in the banking sector (Behera,
Nayak, Das, & Mohapatra, 2015; ­ Dangolani,
2011; Khan & Mahapatra, 2008; Singla, 2012).
The race to gain competitive advantage has shifted
to encompass strategies addressing non-price fac-
tors, advances in communications, and innovative
© 2 0 1 6 W i l e y P e r i odicals, Inc.
P u b l i s h e d o n l i n e i n W iley Online Library (w iley onlinelibrary. com)
6 G l o b a l B u s i n e s s a nd Organiz ational Ex cellence • DOI: 10.1002/j oe. 21765 • January/February 2017
N A K U L P A R A M E S WA R ,
S WAT I D H I R ,
A N D S A N J AY D H I R
channels of distribution (Thrassou & Philip, 2008).
Today, banks even offer various non-banking
services, such as investment advice. Technology
plays a role in the cost-effective offering of these
services and can be used to manage impediments to
their delivery, as well as their ongoing development
(Kelley, 1989).
Technology has also broadened customer participa-
tion in banking (Dabholkar, 1994). Banking indus-
try transactions have evolved from a reliance on
manual-entry processes to online customer-driven
processes. In many cases, human-to-human inter-
actions in retail banking service delivery has been
made redundant (Bitner, Brown, & Meuter, 2000;
Quinn, 1996). Some argue that today’s banking
customers are interacting more frequently with
­
technology than they are with bank employees
(Ganguli & Roy, 2011). Such developments have
placed greater control in the hands of the customer
(Ho & Ko, 2008).
As the traditional scope of banking activities has
shifted, the banking sector in India has rapidly
embraced universal banking and electronic trans-
actions (Sushil, 2013b). Banks are leveraging such
developments to attract new customers while
retaining existing ones. Some firms are using tech-
nology to erect barriers to entry in the industry.
But even as technology is significantly improving
banking services and operations, managers still face
constraints in identifying customers, keeping up-to-
date on ever-changing rules and regulations, and
striving for seamless integration across time zones
around the world. Some researchers posit that the
ease in online banking operations and a bank’s
attitude toward technological products are impor-
tant predictors of service quality (Jamal & Malik,
2010). This is all the more important in view of
the fact that a portion of the customer population
remains reluctant to trust banking over the Internet
(Hashim & Chaker, 2009).
Facing a high level of competition in both the pub-
lic and private sector, Indian banks are transform-
ing themselves through innovation. To gain an edge
over the competition, they are focusing on a par-
ticular segment of the industry rather than trying to
conquer every dimension of it (Arrawatia & Misra,
2014; Zhao, Casu, & Ferrari, 2010).With changes
in technology come new opportunities to reach cus-
tomers (Sushil, 2013a). Banks can use technology
to develop new products that integrate other ser-
vices, as well as data analytics facilitated through
technology to make better-informed decisions
­ profit of Rs. 98.10 billion (US$1,637 million) for the
(Kimble & Milolidakis, 2015). Such technology
also enables firms to respond positively to changing
customer needs.
But even as technology is significantly improving
banking services and operations, managers still
face constraints in identifying customers, keeping
up-to-date on ever-changing rules and regulations,
and striving for seamless integration across time
zones around the world.
In the current business environment, only those
banks that integrate and deploy the best innovations
in information and communication technology—
innovations that instill confidence in customers
and yield secure, efficient, transparent, reconcili-
ated, and seamless systems for delivering payments
and financial solutions to clients—will prove to be
sustainable and profitable over the long run. Care-
ful management of the technology is crucial; the
G l o b a l B u s i n e s s and Organiz ational Ex cellence DOI : 10. 1002/j oe January/Februa ry 2 0 1 7
mere possession of the latest technological tools
does  not  guarantee that an organization will real-
ize any benefits from them (Gold, 2012; Husain &
Sushil, 1996).
An analysis of the experiences of Industrial Credit
and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI) Bank
highlights the various uses of technology in banking
to encourage and manage innovation. It also points
to the central role of core banking software solu-
tions in banking operations.
A Look at ICICI Bank
ICICI Bank is a multinational banking and finan-
cial services company headquartered in Mumbai.
As of 2014, it was the second largest bank in India
by assets and by market capitalization, and India’s
largest private sector bank. It had total assets of
Rs.  5,946.42 billion (US$99 billion) and after-tax
year ending March 31, 2014 (ICICI Bank, 2016a).
With a network of 3,820 branches and 11,798
ATMs in India and 18 other countries, ICICI Bank
offers a wide range of financial products and ser-
vices to corporate and retail customers, includ-
ing investment banking, life insurance, venture
capital, and asset management. Analysts credit
the bank’s growth to a continuous focus on tech-
nological innovation to its well-diversified portfo-
lio of offerings. Despite the fact that ICICI Bank
has fewer international branches than many other
Indian banks, it has captured a significant share of
international business, especially in the area of for-
eign remittances, thanks to its technological assets.
ICICI Bank has also leveraged its technological
edge to develop new products to further expand its
influence in the industry.
Technological Innovations at ICICI Bank
Advances in technology, the widespread use of the
Internet, and increasing dissatisfaction with tradi-
tional banking services and credit facilities have led
7
 to significant innovations in the banking industry.
Given the fact that technology is a key enabler of
process and product improvements (albeit not the
only one), bank officials have come to realize the
importance of incorporating the latest technologi-
cal solutions into banking operations.
ICICI Bank was established in 1994 as a wholly
owned subsidiary of ICICI Ltd., an Indian financial
institution that had been established in 1955 to pro-
vide project financing to Indian industries. In that
era of deregulation and liberalization, the Reserve
Bank of India (India’s central bank) allowed pri-
vate banks to enter the sector, which had previ-
ously been dominated by state-owned public sector
banks and foreign firms. ICICI Bank capitalized on
the opportunity to serve India’s burgeoning mid-
dle class, which was dissatisfied with the services
offered by the state-owned public sector banks. In
their favor, the state-owned banks had a large net-
work of branches, but they offered minimal or no
automation. The foreign banks, on the other hand,
had deployed high-end technologies that enabled
them to offer innovative products through a very
small network of branches that focused exclusively
on corporations and high-net-worth individuals.
Yet, these foreign banks typically lacked an under-
standing of local customers’ needs.
Advances in technology, the widespread use of the
Internet, and increasing dissatisfaction with tradi-
tional banking services and credit facilities have led
to significant innovations in the banking industry.
ICICI Bank exploited the technological tools
at its disposal to attract the Indian middle-class
customers who felt under-served by both for-
eign banks and state-owned entities (Bedi, 2010).
To compete with banks that had numerous
branches, ICICI Bank opened a broad network of
automated teller machines (ATMs) to make it easy
8 J a n u a r y / F e b r u a r y 2017 DOI : 10. 1002/j oe Gl obal Busi ness and Organi zati onal Exce l l e n c e
for customers to withdraw funds. The early, ATMs
were bank-specific, which meant that ATM cards
issued by one bank could not be used in another
bank’s ATMs. This restrictive usage allowed ICICI
Bank to leverage its broad network of ATMs
to gain an extra advantage in terms of higher
visibility.
Another strategic move to sustain growth was to
capture international business, especially that of
non-resident Indians (NRIs) who utilized remit-
tance services. To do so, ICICI Bank management
had to study the various sources of foreign remit-
tance and the challenges inherent in such transac-
tions, and then devise a method to reach customers
that would not require their physical presence.
These growth targets gave company leaders reason
to find new ways to compete via innovation, despite
challenges from established industry players and
potential customers. They realized that the effec-
tiveness and efficiency of their IT system would be
crucial (Joseph, McClure, & Joseph, 1999; Khan &
Mahapatra, 2008). The latest trends in banking
were changing customers’ responses to innovation
and technology (Dhir & Mital, 2012). Even tra-
ditional customers were beginning to want simple
and quick solutions for various services. There-
fore, increasing business processing speed, agility,
and efficiency; improving customer-centricity; and
reducing complexity were essential. Accelerating
the growth of business would require an increase in
IT investment.
Selecting a Core Banking Solution
The driving factor for the rapid growth of
ICICI Bank was its positioning as an innovative,
­technology-savvy, and customer-friendly bank. Real-
izing that they would need a robust core technology
platform to help them achieve their business goals,
management conducted an intense evaluation of sev-
eral global vendors and ultimately selected the Fina-
cle universal banking solution from Infosys (Infosys
Technologies Ltd., 2009). An open systems approach
and low total cost of ownership were among the key
features of the system, which provided e-broking,
call center, online debit, consumer banking, corpo-
rate e-banking, credit cards, text message alerts, and
mobile micro payment options. Unlike most Indian
banks of its era, ICICI Bank was automated from
the day it opened its first branch in Chennai. The
Finacle core banking solutions enabled the bank to
cater to various customer segments immediately.
Managing transaction volume, which would cer-
tainly increase over time, and ensuring seamless
efficiency were among the most important con-
siderations for ICICI Bank in choosing a software
program. Finacle’s scalable and open systems-based
architecture successfully managed an increase
in transactions from 400,000 per day in 2000 to
nearly 2.1 million by 2005 and more than 10 million
as of 2016. ICICI Bank branches were able to pro-
cess 0.77 million checks per day and manage trans-
actions for at least 20,000 users at a time. Since
Finacle’s introduction in 2004, there has been a
substantial increase in customers who were willing
to access product offerings through the Internet and
ATMs (see Exhibit 1).
Exhibit 1.  Share of Transactions Over the Years
95
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Pre Finacle (2000)
G l o b a l B u s i n e s s and Organiz ational Ex cellence DOI : 10. 1002/j oe January/Februa ry 2 0 1 7
Through the new platform, ICICI Bank was also able
to develop products targeted to facilitate s­ervice to
specific customer segments, including children, stu-
dents, and working women. ICICI Bank is now recog-
nized worldwide for its t­ echnology-driven initiatives.
Adopting Technology With an
Eye Toward the Future
The widespread adoption of smartphones and tab-
lets has had a tremendous impact on innovations
on both banking operations and service delivery
(Laforet & Li, 2005; Malik & Gulati, 2013). Even in
developing economies, smartphones and tablet adop-
tion have revolutionized the way work is conducted
and how businesses interact with their customers
(Singh & Srivastava, 2014). The rise in the use of
smartphones and other forms of information and
communication technology has fueled consumers’
desire for mobility, and that, in turn, has put pressure
on financial institutions’ reliance on such older forms
of infrastructure as delayed settlement systems.
The demands being made by a new generation of
technology-driven customers inspired management
44
39
33
23 21
12 13 15
2.5 2 0.5
Year of Finacle Post Finacle
Implementation (2004) Implementation (2012)
Branches ATM Internet Banking Tele Banking
Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com.
9
 at ICICI Bank to create a “Tab Banking” mecha-
nism for online processing of accounts and loan
documents (ICICI Bank, 2016d). With business
increasingly being transacted online, such innova-
tions were essential for generating serious profits.
Because of the vast number of Indian nationals
working in foreign countries, cross-border remit-
tance services also became an important focus
point (Jadhav, 2003; Kulkami, 2014). To tap this
huge market, ICICI Bank began offering remittance
services in 1999. The principal targets were NRIs.
Currently, ICICI offers a number of online and
offline remittance products that cater to different
geographic markets.
ICICI Bank initially offered its remittance services
in 23 major cities and towns in India as well as
among NRIs living abroad (ICICI Bank, 2016g).
When management learned that there was a large
untapped rural market that lacked awareness of
financial services as well as convenient access to
remittance delivery services, they undertook two
tasks. First, they designed a product specifically tai-
lored to rural customers. Second, they provided a
way of giving these customers easy access to funds.
ICICI Bank piloted a rural remittance product to
address the banking needs of India’s rural popula-
tion in February 2004 (Kawas & Thadani, 2004).
It was launched in six villages in the southern state
of Tamil Nadu (TN). TN was selected for the pilot
because its residents received a significant portion
of the remittances in India and because ICICI Bank
had a wide distribution network there. The pilot
was intended to not only offer remittance services
to rural clients but also to provide them with finan-
cial literacy services. ICICI Bank’s pilot comprised
three phases.
Phase 1: Designing and Simplifying
Access via Technology
The challenge in providing remittance services
to rural India did not just entail designing an
10 J a n u a r y / F e b r u a r y 2017 DOI : 10. 1002/j oe Gl obal Busi ness and Organi zati onal Exce l l e n c e
appropriate remittance product but also ensuring
customer access to the product. To this end, ICICI
Bank adopted a two-pronged approach for clients
to access remittance funds.
Rural ATMs. Since ICICI Bank had a strong branch
distribution network in TN, a low-cost ATM net-
work was deemed to be an ideal solution for the
delivery of remittance funds (ICICI Bank, 2016c).
The ATMs were developed through a joint venture
with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras and
had been pilot tested earlier.
Cash Agent Model. The pilot made use of Internet ki-
osks (using Wireless Local Loop technology) that
were already present in local ICICI centers and
owned by local entrepreneurs. For the pilot, the
­kiosks were converted into cash agents; kiosk own-
ers, who maintained a working capital of approxi-
mately US$100, distributed remittance funds to the
public (ICICI Bank, 2016b). To reduce the possibil-
ity of fraud, a system of checks and balances was
established. For example, daily MIS reports were
generated and reconciled with bank data.
Phase 2: Designing the Product
ICICI Bank offered a range of remittance prod-
ucts that targeted the Indian diaspora and its rural
clients, including two that offered rapid transfer
of funds. Speed Transfer offered transfers within
24 hours; funds sent through Insta Transfer were
deposited within three hours. Both products have
become popular with NRIs living in the Arab states
of the Persian Gulf, where payments are made
through international exchange houses and are
received at no fee by the remittance recipient.
Phase 3: Financial Literacy, Marketing,
and Launching the Pilot Product
During the first few weeks of the pilot, ICICI
Bank focused primarily on building awareness of
its offerings among villagers (ICICI Foundation,
2016). Working in local kiosks, bank sales person-
nel disseminated information on how to obtain
free receipt of remittances. They also distributed
various promotional materials and explained the
various products and features of the remittance
program during customer interactions. During the
pilot phase, the bank received remittances valued at
about US$11,000.
The increasingly competitive market for payment
solutions meant that providers could not ignore the
growing demand for user-friendly, single-integrated
payment programs. Also, there was a strong need
for lower development costs and shorter program
implementation time. To meet the requirements of
its end users, ICICI Bank created a single integrated
system for all stakeholders (ICICI Bank, 2016e).
This new system enabled the bank to keep float
money within its system over longer periods of
time, so end users would not have to wait to receive
their payments.
Addressing Challenges to Innovation at ICICI Bank
There were many challenges along the path to
innovation at ICICI Bank. One of the first issues to
address was who should own and lead the innova-
tion: Would it be the responsibility of a particular
product head, the chief executive officer, the chief
technology officer, the head of innovation, all execu-
tive managers, or others (Frei, Harker, & Hunter,
1997)? ICICI Bank adopted an integrated frame-
work whereby all employees were entrusted with the
responsibility to own and nurture innovation at their
capacity. Service innovation was driven by people.
Although ICICI Bank’s technological innovation was
spearheaded by Chanda Kochhar, CEO and man-
aging director of ICICI Bank, planning and imple-
mentation of innovation involved personnel from
all levels of management. Recognizing the fact that
most innovations fail at the implementation phase,
they focused on pilot testing and launch of services.
Other challenges that the bank, like most other
financial institutions, faced included the lack of
technology-centric support, infrastructure, and
G l o b a l B u s i n e s s and Organiz ational Ex cellence DOI : 10. 1002/j oe January/Februa ry 2 0 1 7
technical staff, as well as the high rate of implemen-
tation failures (Bessant, 2003; Chava, Oettl, Sub-
ramanian, & Subramanian, 2013; Furst, Lang, &
Nolle, 1998; Kamath, Kohli, Shenoy, Kumar, Nayak,
Kuppuswamy, & Ravichandran, 2003). To over-
come such challenges, some institutions have cho-
sen to make innovation the responsibility of all its
internal units, encouraging them to collaborate with
other companies to find innovative solutions. ICICI
Bank has adopted the 4Ps of Innovation approach
proposed by Bessant & Tidd (2007) to handle the
various challenges it faced (Ramakrishna, 2012).
To that end, its management focuses on innovations
in products, processes, position, and paradigm.
Product Innovation
Recognizing the need to quickly offer customers
a wide range of technology options, ICICI Bank
developed a comprehensive mobile strategy to
enhance customer experiences and improve ser-
vice (Majumdar, 2015). This included the afore-
mentioned Tab Banking initiative, which provided
potential customers with the convenience of open-
ing a bank account at their home or office (ICICI
Bank, 2016d). In 2014, ICICI Bank was the only
bank in India to offer this convenient service to its
customers. Tab Banking was implemented by 4,000
bank employees across 20 cities who visited custom-
ers at their doorstep to provide banking services.
ICICI Bank initially launched to make it easier for
customers to open a bank account. Previously, they
were required to visit a bank branch, fill in applica-
tion forms, and submit documents attesting to their
identity—a tiresome process that often entailed
long waiting periods. With Tab Banking, a bank
official would visit the customer and complete the
entire application process on the spot within a short
time. The completed application form and support-
ing documents were instantly uploaded through the
Tab via the Internet.
Besides making it possible for customers to open
an account without having to visit a branch, Tab
11
 Banking has minimized rework stemming from
data entry and documentation errors committed by
branch personnel while processing physical applica-
tion forms and supporting documents. Tab Banking
also allows bank officers to easily capture customer
details and supporting documents, generate trans-
action vouchers, and relay them to a central server
over a 3G mobile network. An effective market-
ing tool, it also makes it possible for customers to
view videos demonstrating various bank products
on offer. The system has been further upgraded to
allow sales officers to quickly and seamlessly offer
a full range of the bank’s services, in addition to
bank account opening, directly to their customers
without the need for them to visit a branch office.
Recently, an app has been designed to improve the
efficiency and productivity of the sales staff by ena-
bling them to manage various sales activities, such
as lead management, event management, calendar
management, task management, cross-selling, and
supervisory review over their tablets.
Process Innovation
ICICI Bank made substantial investments in creat-
ing its network of more than 11,000 ATMs across
India. It also identified two innovative models
for serving the bottom of the economic pyramid
­(Prahalad, 2009).
The system has been further upgraded to allow
sales officers to quickly and seamlessly offer a full
range of the bank’s services, in addition to bank
account opening, directly to their customers without
the need for them to visit a branch office.
The first approach was the direct access bank-led
model, catalyzed by its merger with rural banking
institutions like Bank of Madura. This collabora-
tion leveraged the power of ICICI Bank to promote
self-help groups (SHGs) to dramatically increase
the scope and scale of rural savings and lending.
12 J a n u a r y / F e b r u a r y 2017 DOI : 10. 1002/j oe Gl obal Busi ness and Organi zati onal Exce l l e n c e
SHGs are composed of individuals who belong to a
similar socio-economic background and are in need
of financial and knowledge support. In extending
quick financing to members of SHGs, ICICI Bank
does not require them to have a savings account
with the bank in order to obtain credit or a loan.
Participants also have the benefit of convenient loan
repayment options, as per the terms of agreement
between ICICI Bank and the SHG to which they
belong (ICICI Bank, 2016h).
The other approach was the indirect channels-
partnership model that leveraged the relationships,
knowledge, and rural network of non-governmental
organizations specializing in micro credit and social
work to provide banking services to people living
in hard-to-reach rural areas. ICICI Bank provided
credit to non-governmental organizations, which
further extended it to the rural poor, without any
costly brick-and-mortar expansions to the hinter-
land. This was a cost-effective way to achieve the
twin objectives of penetrating the outer regions of
India while contributing to financial inclusion.
Position Innovation
ICICI Bank made a contextual shift in the way
banking services were delivered by implementing
Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), an inter-bank
electronic money transfer service that customers
could access through their mobile phones or com-
puters. Available 24/7, 365 days a year, IMPS allows
customers to access their bank accounts and trans-
fer funds instantly (ICICI Bank, 2016f). Customers
only needed a seven-digit Mobile Money Identifier
number to transfer funds via IMPS. Three types of
IMPS are available:
•• P2P (Person 2 Person)
•• P2A (Person 2 Account Number)
•• P2M (Person to Merchant)
Such innovations have enabled ICICI Bank to solid-
ify its position as a trusted and forward-thinking
industry leader and a front-runner in technology
implementation. As a result of its initiatives, ICICI
Bank has enhanced customer satisfaction, mini-
mized costs, and efficiently catered to the evolving
needs of both the tech-savvy younger generation
and businesses requiring quick, high-quality service.
Paradigm Innovation
The management at ICICI Bank decided to target
India’s burgeoning middle class and businesses by
offering a high level of customer service and effi-
ciency which rivaled that offered by foreign banks,
but on a much larger scale and at a lower cost.
A crucial aspect of this strategy was the empha-
sis on technology and ICICI Bank’s positioning as
both technology-savvy and customer friendly bank.
Thanks to its effective use of technology, ICICI Bank
was recently named among India’s leading banks in
terms of customer satisfaction (Indian Customer
Satisfaction Index, 2016).
Leadership Through Innovation and Technology
Technology lies at the heart of every 21st century
organization, and the experiences of ICICI Bank
show that it has come to influence every stage of
banking. ICICI Bank’s adoption of Finacle as the
backbone of its operations enabled it to accommo-
date and support a huge number of transactions
and broaden its customer base. The program was
also robust enough to facilitate product exten-
sions and new product development, enabling the
bank to offer customers easy to use mobile bank-
ing and remittance services—products that were
not conceivable in the era of manual entry systems.
Although dealing with technology obsolescence will
always be a challenge (Dhir, Mital, & Srivastava,
2013), technological advancements will continue
to spur business growth (Dhir & Mital, 2013a,
2013b).
ICICI Bank’s use of technology to encourage inno-
vation has enabled it to anticipate customer require-
ments and, thereby, stay ahead of its competition.
Strategic adoption of technology has facilitated
G l o b a l B u s i n e s s and Organiz ational Ex cellence DOI : 10. 1002/j oe January/Februa ry 2 0 1 7
ICICI Bank’s transformation into a universal bank
that promptly and efficiently provides a broad range
of financial services.
The experiences of ICICI Bank point to the need
for careful attention to management of technology.
Rather than being a secondary resource, technol-
ogy is now of prime importance in every type of
organization, whether technology-based or not,
for it facilitates the ability of organizations to meet
evolving customer demands. To ensure their com-
petitive advantage over the long run, organizational
leaders must learn to effectively manage the myriad
technological assets now at their disposal.
Acknowledgment
The authors extend their gratitude to the staff of
the Strategy and Competitiveness Lab, Department
of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Tech-
nology, Delhi, for their support in facilitating this
research.
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15
 development programs, and consulting projects. Her research
Nakul Parameswar is a doctoral student of strategic man-
interests include employee engagement, employee loyalty,
agement in the Department of Management Studies at the
diversity, and work-related attitudes. She can be reached at
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in New Delhi, India.
swati.dhir@imi.edu.
His research interests include technology management,
Sanjay Dhir, PhD, is an assistant professor of strategic man-
strategic alliances, and joint ventures. He can be reached at
agement in the Department of Management Studies at the
nakuliitd@yahoo.in.
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in New Delhi, India,
Swati Dhir, PhD, is an assistant professor of human resource
and a Fellow of the Indian Institute of Management, Luc-
management at the International Management Institute
know. The author of several research papers in leading inter-
(IMI) in New Delhi, India. A Fellow of the Indian Institute
national journals, Dr. Dhir is also a core committee member
of Management, Lucknow, specializing in human resource
of the Government of India’s Unnat Bharat Abhiyan project
management, Dr. Dhir was associated with the Indian Insti-
to improve conditions in rural India. His research interests
tute of Management, Ranchi, until May 2016. The author of
include strategic management, joint ventures, alliances, inter-
numerous research papers that have been published in Indian
national business, and creative problem-solving. He can be
and international journals, she is passionate about teaching,
reached at sanjaydhir.iitd@gmail.com.
as well as research, and has been actively involved in design-
ing and executing various training programs, management

16 J a n u a r y / F e b r u a r y 2017 DOI : 10. 1002/j oe Gl obal Busi ness and Organi zati onal Exce l l e n c e

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