The firm's financial policies define the limits within which the firms take financial decisions.

The firm financial policies are determined by various factors. Hence, knowing the determinants of financial policies is of paramount importance for the firms. Overall, the extant literature suggests two main categories of the variables that have an impact on the financial policies (i) firm related factors, and (ii) institutional factors. In this study, we focus on corruption and examine how the firms operating in a corrupt environment act by altering their financial policies. In addition, we also examine the direct effect of corruption on firm value and cash value.

The relationship between customers and brands has become very complex and

difficult to maintain with the increasing expectations of customers from the brands. In the online environment, it is easier for managers to acquire new customers, but it is still difficult to retain existing ones. Maintaining a long-term relationship with customers has become a challenge for practitioners. Customer engagement (CE) has been shown to solve this retention issue by making the customer a part of multifarious brand-related activities. CE can be manifested in a vast array of behaviors such as referrals, Word of mouth, feedbacks to brand, co-creating with the brand etc. CE is not a one-way offering from the business, but a highly interactive experience for customers, which strengthens the relationship of customers with the brand. From existing customers who have had little interaction with the brand to those who have a very strong relationship with the brand, all can be continuously engaged with the brand by employing different engagement strategies.

Monetary policy contagion has been an important open-macroeconomic phenomenon

which has affected the policy-making of central bankers worldwide, irrespective of their open macroeconomic choices with respect to Mundellian trilemma (Mundell, 1963). In accordance with Mundellian trilemma, an economy can exercise only two out of the three open-macroeconomic choices, i.e., monetary independence, exchange rate stability and capital openness. In general, it suggests that an economy with free capital movements, as is the case for many developed economies and also an increasing number of emerging market economies (EMEs) today, cannot choose to have a fixed exchange rate regime along with an independent monetary policy. Since, open capital accounts have become a norm in the recent times, economies have shifted to varying degree of exchange rate flexibility to enable

monetary autonomy in their respective economies, in the last decade. However, the recent

empirical literature has argued that the domestic policy rates in small open economies are

quite sensitive to monetary shocks originating in the center economy (loss of monetary

autonomy) irrespective of the exchange rate regime being followed by them. This imposes

limits on the extent of monetary policy autonomy that the central bank of a periphery

economy can exercise. Various explanations have been forwarded to explain this inability of

flexible exchange rates to insulate monetary autonomy. In brief, fear of floating (Calvo and

Reinhart, 2002; Hausmann et al., 2001) , and global financial cycle (Rey and Agrippino,

2015) have been cited to be as the important reasons why the insulating property of xchange rates against external influences may get weak. Very recently, renowned economists have also raised such issues. Caruana (2013) in his speech delivered at Central bank of Chile, highlighted that the spillovers of monetary policy in the recent times may get transmitted either by its impact on the Quantities (Dollar credit growth, capital flows) or through prices (exchange rate, bond yield in local markets). After the adoption of unconventional monetary policy measures by US, Rajan (2015) remarked, that sustained unconventional policies adopted by U.S. to revive its economy may prompt a reaction by foreign central banks in advanced economies as well as emerging market economies (EMEs) to avoid exchange rate changes via capital inflows. In this fashion, each central bank does what suits its economy the best but in aggregate this might hurt world demand further and make financial risks higher.

The studies in this area are primarily concerned with monetary autonomy as it is of utmost

importance in maneuvering the domestic macroeconomic conditions of an economy

(specifically in ensuring price stability and stimulating aggregate demand in the short run).

All the three studies in this dissertation investigate monetary autonomy or the lack of it in one way or the other. An analysis of the recent body of empirical literature in this field highlights the various reasons for the existence of such interconnectedness of monetary actions around the globe. In brief, the cross-border effects of monetary policy in the base economy may be because of a combination of the undermentioned factors: i. Interconnected/synchronized business cycles: Evolution of US business cycle for

example can affect global macroeconomic conditions as US business cycle may

dictate synchronized business cycles throughout the globe thereby causing similar

phases of economic boom and recovery worldwide. This mandates similar monetary

policy movements across the globe as indicated by US Fed Funds rate.ii. Common factors which influence all the economies in a similar fashion like

commodity prices, oil price shocks etc.

The systematic change in the relative preference between two equi-preferred alternatives caused by the introduction of a new alternative into the choice set is the ‘decoy effect.’ For instance, the introduction of a moderate-quality, high-price decoy alternative into a binary choice set that consists of a low-quality/-price alternative (L) and a moderate-quality/-price alternative (H) increases the choice share of the target alternative H. Since 1982, the decoy effect has been one of the most-discussed and most-documented phenomena in consumer behavior literature.Numerous attempts have been made to explain the decoy effect. However, there is no clear consensus in the literature regarding its underlying mechanism. Also, its moderating factors are still not understood clearly. We attempt to bring more clarity regarding the underlying mechanism of the decoy effect and its moderating factors.

This dissertation investigates the impact of global risk factors on the emerging stock markets

(EMs). The study primarily examines three dimensions of global risk on the emerging markets in the form of three independent essays. The first essay examines whether the effects of international (US-based) economic policy uncertainty, geopolitical risk and financial stress impact the emerging stock markets alike. The study considers 24 emerging markets to understand the receptivity of these markets to the various US based macroeconomic shocks.The study uses monthly data ranging from January 1997 to May 2018 and applies the nonparametric causality-in-quantiles test as the methodological approach. The study finds

that: (a) the impact of these shocks is heterogeneous across the markets in terms of causality and intensity. (b) the influence of EPU is mostly profound and significant as compared to other two shock indicators i.e. GPR and FS. (c) the causality-in-mean is more significant and stronger rather than the causality-in-variance. Lastly, (d) the predictability of EPU, GPR and FS is comparatively strong in lower tails. The author believes that these findings are relevant to the investors in EMs for the purpose of international portfolio diversification and developing investment strategies at times of turbulent economic conditions.

Earnings management has attracted a lot of attention from researchers, managers and

policy makers in accounting and finance area. Accounting reports are the most convenient and the most easily available information source to all stakeholders. However, presence of earnings management makes the decisions based on such financial statements highly inefficient. Accounting area has emphasized majorly its negative consequence in form of poor quality of financial reports. This thesis is based on two theoretical underpinnings available in existing literature. Literature suggests for two possible dimensions to earnings management research. First line talks about how earnings management behavior is related with market signaling, whereas the second line makes the discussion on agency issues framework.

Continuous technological advancements, and empowered customers, with ever changing needs, are driving organizations to incorporate agility. Supply chains are crucial links to provide desired products to market in a timely and cost effectively manner. Hence, Supply Chain Agility (SCA) has become a prominent capability businesses are trying to acquire. The innovations in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has not only enabled real time transfer of information but also has provided a platform for the voice of customers and citizens who in turn pressurize businesses as well as government to incorporate agility. Government’s agility can be conceptualized in terms of the ability to drive policy changes based on the changing needs of the target population. However, the policy changes will deliver desirable performance outcomes only if policy implementation keeps pace with policy formulation. This demands quick responsiveness to change by the implementation partners. Various government and non-government organizations constitute these implementation partners, especially in case of government controlled welfare services.Hence, studying the phenomena of SCA is relevant in such context.

The dominant focus of the existing research on helping is of reactive forms of helping whereas little is known about other relevant forms of helping. This dissertation research is an attempt to develop and measure the concept of proactive helping. Further, using social exchange theory and social identity theory, this research theorizes on the psychosocial mechanisms through which an individual knowledge worker is motivated to help one's team members proactively. Furthermore, this study not only considers motivation but also explores how a knowledge-worker uses individual capability in the form of KSAs (Knowledge, skills, and abilities) to get involved in proactive helping in the team. This empirical research uses data collected in three phases (using dyadic form) from 435 executives and 47 managers working in teams in Indian IT services organizations. A proactive helping scale is developed and its psychometric properties are established. Further, how motivations (identified and extrinsic) and individual capability (KSAs-Knowledge, skills, and abilities) contribute to team’s knowledge-based effectiveness (KBE) through knowledge-based social exchanges (KBSE) are explored. KBSE is operationalized in the form of ‘proactive helping’ and ‘knowledge sharing’. Findings of hierarchical regressions and moderated-mediation model (tested through Hayes & Preacher, 2008) reveal that internalized motivations predict both types of knowledge-based social exchanges (KBSEs) over and above extrinsic factors; capability (KSAs), reason and valence of using KSAs for professional role (identified motivation),ii and confidence in relevance of one’s capability for self and others (efficacy) are significantly associated with KBSEs leading to KBE. These findings indicate that social exchanges are the important outlay for capability, motivation, and efficacy of KSAs to be effective. Implications of the findings are drawn as social exchanges and knowledge-based aspects of effectiveness are determined by agentic and contextual factors.

The objective of this thesis is to investigate the dynamic conditional correlation between commodity markets (crude oil and precious metals) and stock markets in a transnational set-up. This thesis is segregated into three independent essays. First essay investigates the dynamic conditional correlation between crude oil and precious metals (gold, silver, platinum and palladium). Second essay examines the dynamic conditional correlation between precious metals (gold, silver, platinum and palladium) and stock indices of representative advanced (G7) and emerging economies (BRICS) over different time horizons. Third essay aims to scrutinize the time varying relationship between crude oil and stock markets (G7 and BRICS). This thesis primarily employs GARCH models to analyse the dynamic relationship between selected variables.

The studies on online reviews and their impact on consumer behavioral intention is gaining substantial attention of both academicians and business professionals. The growth of online commerce has given consumers a number of convenient options to shop from. This has led to the proliferation of e-commerce players that offer variety of products and services with

customer-centric terms and conditions. However, absence of avenues to test the product(s) before buying, shoppers perceive inherent risk associated with online buying, especially related to products’ quality and features, terms and conditions of sales, etc. To overcome this pre-purchase dissonance and compensate for the lack of previous experience, they look for reliable information and guidance. Hence, to make decisions, e-buyers rely on the reviews provided by other shoppers. Therefore, it becomes imperative for e-retailers to determine antecedent factors that influence the adoption of online reviews.

This thesis focusses on optimisation models in healthcare operations management. The body of this work is comprised of six essays. The first essay is a comprehensive literature review on healthcare operations. This essay identified healthcare scheduling as one the most important theme and rest of essays focus on this theme.

Over the past five decades, the emphasis on corporate environmentalism has been rising. Firms have been under tremendous pressure from institutional actors to owe and reduce the environmental impact of their business operations. Firms have responded to the environmnetal pressures by implementing environmentally sustainable practices in their operations. This thesis addresses the fundamental question of why firms adopt environmental practices which are voluntary and beyond compliance. It becomes especially important to examine this question in the context of emerging economy like India, where environmental regulations are not very stringent and significant gaps exists in their implementation. In light of the institutional void, it is pertinent to examine the forces shaping organizational motivation to implement environmental practices.

This research focuses on understanding how the traditional supply chains can be effectively transformed to sustainable supply chains. Specifically, it focuses on characterizing the finer nature of the journey inherent in this transformation. The research strengthen the argument that developments in sustainable supply chains are characterized by an endless journey, where trajectories of efforts are responsible for facilitating the inclusion and absorption of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) philosophy in the frame of traditional supply chain environment. The research further emphasizes on the importance of understanding the complexities and the nature of efforts which are responsible for guiding the progress in the development of sustainable supply chains. In doing so, the research addresses four coherent objectives based on four inter-linked essays.

This thesis mainly focuses on the examination of the overconfident trading behavior of the Chinese and Indian investors. The testing has been performed by utilizing different context and dimensions. The testing variable comprises the trading volume, a proxy for trading activities, market returns, market liquidity, and market volatility for the time-series analysis. The body of this work comprised of mainly four chapters.

Impulse buying behaviour has emerged as one of the most noteworthy areas of

marketing and consumer behaviour literature. A number of studies have identified

various behavioural aspects that impact the consumers impulse buying behaviour and have formulated the relevant constructs. To increase their revenue, retailers endeavor to encourage consumers to make impulsive purchases through point-of-purchase displays, price drop promotions, coupons, etc.

This thesis is a compilation of four essays that are based on two themes of literature in finance such as efficient market hypothesis and credit risk in the area of banking. These four essays are represented as the relevant essays in the thesis.