Theses and dissertations of students http://dspace.dtu.ac.in:8080/jspui/handle/repository/16861 2026-04-28T04:04:50Z 2026-04-28T04:04:50Z MOHAN, GOPAL http://dspace.dtu.ac.in:8080/jspui/handle/repository/22580 2026-01-09T04:43:53Z 2025-12-01T00:00:00Z

Title: IMPACT OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION ON GOVERNANCE WITH REFERENCE TO SELECTED STATE GOVERNMENT SCHEMES OF INDIA Authors: MOHAN, GOPAL Abstract: In the contemporary landscape of public administration, the integration of digital technologies into governance systems has emerged as a transformative force capable of redefining the relationship between the state and its citizens. While numerous studies acknowledge the potential of digital tools to enhance transparency, accountability, and service delivery, there exists a substantial gap in understanding the mechanisms through which digital transformation leads to good governance outcomes—particularly in the context of developing nations like India, where administrative complexity and socio-political diversity pose unique challenges. This doctoral research addresses this critical gap by investigating the multidimensional influence of digital transformation on governance within the Indian public sector, focusing specifically on selected state government schemes. The central objective of this study is to develop and empirically validate a comprehensive conceptual framework that captures how digital transformation initiatives contribute to the transformation of government operations and the realization of good governance principles. The study explores five interlinked constructs: digital transformation, government transformation, citizen engagement, trust in public institutions, and digital public service delivery—each playing a distinct yet interconnected role in influencing governance outcomes. This framework is grounded in a robust theoretical foundation, drawing from the Technology– Organization–Environment (TOE) framework, institutional trust theory, participatory governance, and service-dominant logic. By combining these perspectives, the study constructs a nuanced lens through which digital transformation can be understood not merely as a technological upgrade but as an institutional process of structural change. iv The methodology adopted in this research follows a post-positivist paradigm with a quantitative approach, leveraging Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to assess the relationships between the latent constructs. Primary data was collected from 540 respondents across different regions of India, all of whom were stakeholders in or beneficiaries of key state government digital schemes, including e-governance portals, digital welfare platforms, and ICT-enabled public service programs. The constructs and measurement scales used in the study were rigorously validated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), ensuring reliability and construct validity. This empirical investigation facilitates a structured understanding of the causal relationships and mediating effects present in the framework. The results provide compelling evidence for the transformative potential of digital governance. Firstly, the analysis confirms that digital transformation has a direct and significant impact on government transformation, wherein digital tools enable more agile, transparent, and responsive administrative systems. This finding validates the conceptualization of digital infrastructure not just as an enabler of automation, but as a foundational driver of systemic reform. The digitization of workflows, automation of processes, and data-driven decision-making systems contribute to enhancing the agility and responsiveness of public institutions. Secondly, the study underscores the centrality of citizen engagement in the digital transformation process. E-participation tools such as feedback systems, online complaint redressal mechanisms, and participatory budgeting platforms have significantly altered the modes of interaction between governments and citizens. The analysis shows that citizen engagement is positively correlated with government transformation, suggesting that inclusive, participatory processes catalyze institutional responsiveness. These findings reinforce the principles of open governance and participatory democracy by highlighting the co-productive role of citizens in shaping policy outcomes. Thirdly, trust and confidence in public institutions emerge as both antecedents and consequences of successful digital transformation. The study reveals that trust mediates the relationship between digital transformation and governance v transformation, emphasizing that technology alone is insufficient unless supported by public confidence in institutional intent and competence. Transparent data policies, cybersecurity protocols, and visible accountability measures are essential to maintaining trust in digital initiatives, especially in contexts marked by past failures or low institutional credibility. Fourthly, the research establishes that digital public service delivery serves as both a driver and an outcome of transformational governance. Efficient, accessible, and citizen-centric service delivery—enabled by digital tools such as unified service portals, mobile apps, and real-time dashboards—enhances the perceived legitimacy of the government. The empirical analysis supports the proposition that high-quality digital services not only fulfill governance functions but also reinforce trust and encourage continued engagement, creating a virtuous cycle of digital reinforcement. Finally, the study concludes that transformation of government operations acts as a mediating mechanism through which digital initiatives translate into good governance outcomes. These outcomes—defined in terms of transparency, efficiency, accountability, responsiveness, and equity—are significantly shaped by how well digital tools are embedded into institutional processes. The thesis, therefore, positions digital transformation not as a one-time technical project but as a continuous, adaptive journey involving institutional redesign, capability building, and stakeholder alignment. From a theoretical standpoint, this research contributes to multiple academic streams. It strengthens the TOE framework by incorporating governance-specific constructs and empirically testing their relationships in a developing country context. It also advances participatory governance theory by demonstrating the operational mechanisms through which digital engagement influences institutional behavior. The integration of trust as both a variable and a condition within the framework adds to institutional trust literature, particularly in public sector innovation. Moreover, by linking digital public service delivery to governance legitimacy, the study enriches service-dominant logic in the domain of public administration. vi The practical implications of this research are manifold. For policymakers and public administrators, the study provides a strategic blueprint for designing and implementing digital transformation initiatives. It advocates for a holistic approach that combines technical infrastructure development with organizational restructuring and citizen-centric process design. Specific recommendations include: developing interoperable and scalable digital platforms, ensuring data transparency through dashboards and open APIs, integrating grievance redressal with real-time response systems, and embedding digital literacy programs to bridge usage gaps. Furthermore, institutionalizing digital governance requires re-skilling bureaucracies, setting performance benchmarks through digital KPIs, and fostering cross-departmental collaboration. Despite its contributions, the thesis acknowledges several limitations. Its cross- sectional design limits the ability to observe long-term impacts or causality over time. The focus on selected schemes may restrict the generalizability of findings to all sectors or tiers of government. Moreover, while the study adopts a quantitative approach to establish empirical relationships, it does not delve into the experiential or contextual nuances that qualitative methods might reveal. Future research should explore longitudinal models, inter-state comparisons, and multi-level governance structures. Additionally, examining the role of political leadership, change management, and organizational culture can provide richer insights into the enablers and barriers of digital transformation. In conclusion, this thesis advances the scholarly and practical understanding of how digital transformation can serve as a vehicle for governance reform in complex public sector environments. By unpacking the interplay between technology, institutions, and citizens, it offers a comprehensive model for leveraging digital tools to foster inclusive, transparent, and effective governance. In a world increasingly shaped by digital realities, the findings underscore the imperative for governments to move beyond technology deployment toward institutional transformation and citizen empowerment. This research, thus, contributes not only to academic knowledge but also to the strategic discourse on public sector innovation and democratic deepening in the digital age.

2025-12-01T00:00:00Z VERMA, SHIVANGI http://dspace.dtu.ac.in:8080/jspui/handle/repository/21601 2025-05-22T05:17:19Z 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: ASSESSMENT OF ANTECEDENTS AND INTERPERSONAL DIFFERENCES IN TECHNO-ETHICAL ORIENTATION IN INDIA Authors: VERMA, SHIVANGI Abstract: NOT AVAILABLE

2023-01-01T00:00:00Z SINGHANIA, SHUBHAM http://dspace.dtu.ac.in:8080/jspui/handle/repository/21599 2025-05-19T04:28:47Z 2023-06-01T00:00:00Z

Title: GENDER DIVERSITY CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY : A STUDY OF SELECTED LISTED INDIAN COMPANIES Authors: SINGHANIA, SHUBHAM Abstract: NOT AVAILABLE

2023-06-01T00:00:00Z SHUKLA, ABHA P http://dspace.dtu.ac.in:8080/jspui/handle/repository/21585 2025-05-06T06:21:36Z 2024-05-01T00:00:00Z

Title: ANTECEDENTS OF THE CAREER ANCHORING AND ITS MEDIATING ROLE IN THE BUSINESS IDEATION STAGE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP Authors: SHUKLA, ABHA P Abstract: This research aims to deepen our understanding of the interplay between career anchoring, personality traits, and entrepreneurial behavior, with a focus on the business ideation stage of entrepreneurship. Drawing from seminal literature, the study investigates the correlation between career anchoring and entrepreneurial ideation, identifies antecedents influencing career anchoring, and examines the mediating roles of career anchoring between training, personality traits, and entrepreneurial ideation. By synthesizing insights from diverse disciplines such as organizational psychology, human resource management, and entrepreneurship, the study sheds light on the complex dynamics shaping individuals' entrepreneurial journeys. The findings underscore the importance of personalized approaches to entrepreneurship development, emphasizing the need for tailored interventions that resonate with individuals' unique profiles and career aspirations. Implications for entrepreneurship education, policy, and practice are discussed, highlighting opportunities to foster innovation and economic growth by leveraging individuals' inherent strengths and motivations. Finally, the study outlines avenues for future research, including the exploration of contextual influences, the scalability of personalized development programs, and the broader systemic factors shaping entrepreneurial ecosystems. Schumpeter identified five major areas of innovation and societal change that are fueled by entrepreneurship: new goods, markets, manufacturing techniques, raw materials, and organizations. Entrepreneurs are vital to the development of society and the generation of jobs because they are intelligent and committed individuals. According to Shane and Venkataraman (2000), entrepreneurship is a process that includes opportunity exploration, invention, and value development. 4 The growth of the economy, policies, and society needs to comprehend the elements that lead to entrepreneurial success and the reasons why people take up entrepreneurial ventures. Important components including demand, financial responsibility, teamwork, discipline, communication, and individual features like a tendency towards taking risks, goal setting, and personality traits as defined by the Big Five Personality Theory are highlighted in this study. In particular, the research focuses on the ideation stage of the firm and explores the complex dynamics of career anchoring and its critical role in the early stages of entrepreneurship. Organizational behavior literature has given much emphasis to career anchoring, a psychological concept that represents a person's primary values, abilities, and motivations in their career pursuits. Nonetheless, its applicability and influence in the context of entrepreneurship, especially in the crucial stage of business ideation, are still little studied. Through an examination of career anchoring's antecedents and potential mediating effects on entrepreneurial ideation processes, this study seeks to close this gap. Based on well-established ideas in career development, entrepreneurship, and psychology, the study suggests a conceptual framework that proposes the relationships between the constructs that shape career anchoring, their self or personality antecedents, and their influence on business ideation. The hypotheses posit that career anchoring tendencies are influenced by individual characteristics, including personality traits, past experiences, and cognitive processes. Furthermore, it suggests that by directing and influencing entrepreneurs' opportunity recognition, assessment, and exploitation, career anchoring acts as a moderating influence on their ideation processes. The study collects data from a wide sample of aspiring and existing entrepreneurs using a mixed-methods methodology that combines qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys. The internal consistency reliability of the factors representing entrepreneurial training, personality traits, career anchoring, and the business idea stage of entrepreneurship was assessed using Cronbach's alpha. Each factor met the required 5 criteria of an alpha value greater than 0.7, confirming their reliability. The Cronbach's alpha values were business idea stage of entrepreneurship = 0.897, career anchoring = 0.862, conscientiousness = 0.89, entrepreneurial training = 0.893, openness = 0.906, agreeableness = 0.89, extroversion = 0.913, and neuroticism = 0.91. These results demonstrate the internal consistency and reliability of all the factors included in the measurement scale. The construct validity of the measurement scale, which includes entrepreneurial training, personality traits, career anchoring, and the business idea stage of entrepreneurship, was assessed using the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) method. This evaluation focused on two components: convergent validity and discriminant validity. Convergent validity checks the relationship between statements and their respective factors through item construct loadings, composite reliability (CR), and average variance extracted (AVE). For convergent validity to be established, most item loadings should exceed 0.7, while the CR and AVE values for each factor should be above 0.7 and 0.5, respectively. The suggested links are tested, and deeper insights are extracted using methods such as theme analysis and statistical techniques like structural equation modeling (SEM) using Smart PLS. It is anticipated that the results will make a theoretical contribution by deepening our comprehension of the fundamental mechanisms that propel entrepreneurial behavior and a practical contribution by guiding the creation of customized learning interventions that assist entrepreneurial endeavors from their very beginning. The analysis demonstrates that career anchoring significantly enhances the business ideation stage of entrepreneurship (BISE), with higher levels of career anchoring positively impacting BISE. Entrepreneurial training has a positive effect on BISE (0.440) which is statistically significant at the 5% level (t = 9.9693). Additionally, entrepreneurial training's indirect effect on BISE via career anchoring is positive (0.23) and significant (t = 5.868), while the direct effect, with career anchoring as a mediator, is also positive and significant (path coefficient = 0.209, t = 3.496). This indicates that career anchoring plays a significant, moderately strong, and partial mediating role between entrepreneurial 6 training and BISE, supporting previous studies on its critical role in entrepreneurial intentions and actions. Similarly, the mediation analysis confirms that career anchoring significantly mediates the relationship between personality traits and BISE. The total effect of personality traits on BISE is positive (0.540) and statistically significant (t = 13.786), with a positive indirect effect via career anchoring (0.154, t = 3.331) and a positive direct effect (path coefficient = 0.469, t = 5.933), reaffirming career anchoring's crucial mediating role This study emphasizes the necessity for individualized approaches in entrepreneurship development by examining the complex interaction between personality traits, career anchoring, and entrepreneurial ideation. It illustrates how personality traits, ideation, and entrepreneurial training are mediated by career anchoring. The conclusions imply that including personality evaluation instruments in training programs is crucial and that customized interventions are necessary. Using these findings, policymakers can create focused policies that promote economic growth and innovation. Subsequent investigations ought to examine the contextual elements that impact entrepreneurial results and evaluate the long-term effects and scalability of customized growth initiatives. In addition, additional research is necessary to fully understand the impact of wider systemic factors on entrepreneurship as well as the suitability of customized strategies at various stages of the entrepreneurial process.

2024-05-01T00:00:00Z