Author: Ram Kumar

(Dr R S Sathya Saminadan, Associate Professor of Practice & Area Chair – Marketing, IFMR GSB, Krea University) 

Abstract

This study investigates the factors influencing information search behavior among doctors, particularly in the context of purchasing medical equipment online. The primary objective is to identify the patterns and determinants of doctors’ information-seeking behaviors preceding their online purchase decisions for professional use. By exploring the structural relationships among these factors, the study aims to address operational gaps in service delivery within emerging markets.

Employing a mixed-methods approach, the study integrates qualitative and quantitative techniques. Data were gathered through a comprehensive survey questionnaire distributed among doctors of various practice types. The collected data underwent rigorous analysis to uncover significant insights.

Key findings reveal that doctors are proactive in seeking information regarding advancements in medical equipment essential for their professional roles. With the increasing reliance on online resources, doctors engage extensively in information search activities across diverse online platforms. This behavior underscores the critical role of accurate and comprehensive online information in their decision-making processes related to medical equipment purchases.

The study highlights implications for market segmentation and the development of targeted online marketing strategies tailored to meet doctors’ expectations in the online purchase of medical equipment. By understanding these information-seeking behaviors and influencing factors, companies can enhance their service offerings and effectively cater to the specific needs of medical professionals.

Despite the study’s focus on doctors’ information-seeking behaviors and the factors shaping these processes, initial reluctance among some participants posed a challenge. However, the study successfully secured participation from 366 respondents, all from the same geographical area. This localized sample may constrain the broader applicability of the findings beyond this specific region.

In conclusion, this research contributes valuable insights into the complex dynamics of doctors’ information search behaviors in the context of purchasing medical equipment online. By elucidating these dynamics, the study provides a foundation for further research and strategic initiatives aimed at optimizing service delivery and marketing strategies within the healthcare sector.

Keywords: Doctors, Factors Influencing Online Search, Search Behavior, Online Information, Purchase Intention, Purchasing Behavior

 (Srinivasan Kalyanasundaram, Professor of Practice Finance, IFMR GSB, Krea University and Sanjana Mattaparthi, Student, SIAS, Krea University)

Abstract

This paper investigates the potential of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) to revolutionize inclusive finance and international payments. While cryptocurrencies emerged as disruptive, their inherent volatility and uncertain legal status challenge broader adoption in inclusive finance and international payments. CBDCs, backed by central banks, offer a distinct advantage: stability and legal certainty.

This research explores the impact of CBDCs on financial inclusion and international payments. We argue that successful interoperability is critical to unleashing the full potential of CBDCs. Interoperable CBDCs promise to facilitate faster, cheaper, and more transparent cross-border transactions. Interoperable CBDCs hold the promise of facilitating faster, cheaper, and more transparent cross-border transactions. Additionally, this paper suggests few key improvements in CBDC implementation, which can make CBDCs more attractive and faster adoption for international payments and inclusive finance.

The paper contends that CBDCs are likely to coexist with the existing financial instruments, playing a leading role in the future of finance. Their unique features and advancements in blockchain interoperability position CBDCs as a stable and secure foundation for a more inclusive and efficient financial landscape.

(Sathyanarayanan Ramachandran, Associate Professor of Marketing, IFMR Graduate School of Business, Krea University)

Historically, there has been a lot of research done around the concept of hope. For someone in distress, providing support to cope with the situation with strong words of hope is an important part of human activity in relationships, and the interventions range from a basic pep-talk to counselling and psychotherapy. Self-help books were trying to address this through tools like storytelling. In the western world, there are several self-help books like the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, Tough Times Never Last but Tough People Do and so on, that are aimed at people who need stories of hope during their times of distress. These best-selling books cover positive stories related to a range of topics like love, parenting, death and so on. This paper delves into some of the traditional Indic practices of providing hope during a state of distress. This will have managerial implications in Human Resource Management (Organizational Behaviour) and Marketing (Consumer Behaviour).

A version of this paper was presented in the IIM Kozhikode International conference on Globalizing Indian thought

Keywords: Hope, Indic Texts, Management, Positive Psychology, Storytelling

(Sathyanarayanan Ramachandran, Associate Professor of Marketing, IFMR Graduate School of Business, Krea University) 

Bikes of Bijnor is an intuitive design-thinking work by an Indian administrative service officer aimed at public bike-sharing. The project was a Government officer’s out-of-the-box thinking idea with empathy to use hundreds of leftover bicycles of migrant labourers during the COVID-19 lockdown towards affordable and sustainable bike-sharing in the Indian town of Bijnor after compensating them.

The protagonist took measures to locate at least 100 owners of the leftover bicycles, compensate them, refit their cycles, and use those cycles to create an affordable city bike-sharing system.
 
This case study documents the intervention through the lens of design thinking and analyzes the impact on Health, Society, and Public Good. Frugal innovation through the Bikes of Bijnor project had a positive effect on public health by promoting cycling as a healthy lifestyle activity, had inclusion as a significant goal by making the use of services affordable for all sections of society and also contributed significantly towards sustainability as a substitute for carbon-emitting vehicles.

A version of this paper has been accepted for presentation during the Academic Design Management Conference at Delft, Netherlands in Aug 2024.

Keywords: design thinking, public good, ride sharing, sustainability, circular economy