By Bibek Bhattacharya, Sudhanshu Maheshwari, Ashneet Kaur
IIMB Management Review | March 2026
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iimb.2025.100638
IIMB Management Review, March 2026
This study explores how informal sector competition influences the innovation strategies of formal emerging economy firms (FEEFs), focusing on the novel concept of ‘innovation time off,’ where employees are given discretionary time to pursue new ideas. Using data about Indian firms from the World Bank Enterprise Survey, the findings show that informal competition drives FEEFs to adopt innovation time off, though this effect diminishes for firms that are located in SEZs or have numerical labour flexibility. This study advances strategic management literature by offering actionable insights into the interplay of informal competition, innovation, and policy-induced firm characteristics in resource-constrained environments.
Dr. Ashneet Kaur is an faculty in Organisation Behavior at the Indian School of Business (ISB). Her work lies at the intersection of strategic HRM, technology (including AI), and entrepreneurship, with a focus on how organisations design people systems to enable agility, scale, and sustained performance.
She holds a PhD from IIM Ahmedabad and has prior experience in both academia and consulting, having worked on projects with leading organisations such as McKinsey and Deloitte. Her research explores contemporary HR challenges in startups, small, and large organisations, particularly in contexts of rapid growth and digital transformation.
Beyond research and teaching, she actively engages with industry through leadership development programs, consulting, and board-level roles. Her work aims to bridge rigorous academic insights with real-world managerial practice.
