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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of culture on organizational readiness to change (ORC) within the context of merger and acquisition (M&A) in the banking sector in India. Design/methodology/approach A multisource approach is used to collect data from a public-sector bank in India for testing our hypothesis. A hierarchical approach based on higher-order modelling has been deployed for confirming the path model. The foundation of the study is based on power distance (PD) and uncertainty avoidance (UA) cultural dimensions of Hofstede (1984). Findings Employees in organizations with large PD and high UA index exhibit low readiness to change. Findings support a negative relationship of culture (large PD and high UA) with organizational readiness to change at the individual level. Research limitations/implications The study has three major implications. First, measures and importance of change readiness at the individual level during corporate events such as M&A is elucidated in the study. Second, a paradigm for assessing higher-order models grounded in theoretical and methodological rigour for testing our hypothesis is presented in the paper. Last, the role of culture in M&A processes is highlighted vis-à-vis factors related to PD and UA on ORC. Practical implications The findings of the research answer to the call for a study on factors that help in creating a synergy for successful M&A across all sectors especially in the banking sector. People representing high UA and large PD often look forward to direction and guidelines for guiding employee actions. Leaders therefore need to set clear agenda and effectively communicate the appropriateness of change to their employees for developing positive behaviour towards desirable organizational outcomes. This study touches upon this important perspective for its practical utilization. Originality/value The study adds to the limited literature on change which addresses the need for studying socio-cultural factors in the M&A process, especially in an emerging economies context.

The present study anchors on ‘innovators’ of Miller and Roth ( 1994 ) and ‘defenders’ and ‘prospectors’ of Miles et al. ( 1978 ) strategies. The defenders and prospectors are categorized here as ‘low-innovators’, since they are perceived to be involved in less aggressive innovation than the innovators. Four novel hypotheses addressing primary constructs, namely, interactive control system (ICS), diagnostic control system (DCS), power distance (PD) and uncertainty avoidance (UA), are explored in this study. Based on responses from companies across varied sectors, such as, IT, manufacturing and finance, companies are classified as innovators and low-innovators (defenders and prospectors). t-test is used for statistical verification of the hypotheses whereas, Levene’s test and Wilk–Shapiro tests are conducted to verify the assumptions of t-test. Findings from the empirical research support that innovators use ICS whereas defenders use DCS. Innovators and prospectors have smaller PD than defenders and lastly, innovators have weaker UA than prospectors and defenders.

This case highlights the crucial role played by the internal and external business environment policies in the success and failure of small-scale cotton yarn industry in India. This case study is about Rojgar Cotton Yarn Plant (RCYP), which was started in 1992 by Mr Naresh a Delhi University graduate, whose main objective of starting this plant was to create a niche in the market by providing good quality cotton yarn 'manja' at a reasonable price. Mr Naresh was very laborious and effective businessmen. Soon, with his high efforts RCYP flourished with leaps and bounds and since Mr Naresh was an opportunity seeker, he started a new plant, that is, New Rojgar Plant, and to manage the business effectively his father Mr Daman also joined the business. So, as the competition increased with the emergence of new players in the market and the changed customer demand which shifted from cotton yarn 'manja' towards 'Chinese manja', RCYP suffered with major losses and many employees lost their job. Although there were many government policies in various states against the trade of 'Chinese manja', it was not effective due to poor policy implementation, black marketing, lack of monitoring, provision of minor punishment and small fine. Mr Naresh was an entrepreneur, and he did not give up despite the challenges and changed his path towards a new opportunity. He started a new partnership firm, that is, Naveen Limited, with his friend which is a wholesaler of Chinese products such as toys and plastic goods in India. But on 16 August 2016, after the ban of 'Chinese manja' in Delhi, the sale of cotton yarn 'manja' increased. Hence, Mr Naresh is now in dilemma, whether to continue with this RCYP or invest the whole amount in Naveen Limited? Intended Course and Audience This case study will be helpful for BCom/BBA/MBA full-time or part-time students, academicians and practitioners for critically analysing the changing role of business environment. It particularly highlights the crucial role played by government policies and the impact of increased competition due to high demand of low-cost Chinese products. Further it explains how the Chinese market is sweeping away the

To date, impact of gender differences and different personality types on negotiation [specially Zone of Possible Agreements (ZOPA)] have received little theoretical and practical attention. This paper aims to explore the effects that gender and personality have over negotiation style and decision making in order to find the connection and create new knowledge in understanding the behavior of the negotiators. We conducted a survey both on buyers and sellers and collected data on their personality and negotiation style. Big Five factors were considered for understanding the personality of the buyers and sellers. Afterwards the data was subjected to statistical analysis through correlation and paired sample t-test. We found that for female buyers the frequency of indulging into negotiations has a correlation with personality trait of openness to experience. For sellers, the frequency of negotiation correlates negatively with personality trait of agreeableness.