Organizational information processing in Indian de-regularized state owned enterprises in energy sector: Role in determination of organizational performance

Abstract

Abstract The ‘organizational performance measurement’ has remained a matter of extensive academic research ever since the de-regularization of state owned enterprises in critical infrastructure sectors. The organizational performance in financial and non-financial aspects has been reviewed with multiple constituencies involving multiple aspects and dimensions. In nutshell the manner and pattern of organizational interest articulation, corporate interest determination and efficient functioning bears an extensive dependence on the information availability, information processing and respective information leverage. The evident lack of sophisticated measurement metrics and instruments, frameworks and paradigms and techniques seem to present a dismal front regarding organizational performance calibration in post liberalization phase as well as post globalization phase. A large quantum of studies on organizational economics seems to link the organizational failure and performance management. The studies seem vocal about the challenges of dismal interest articulation on account of inborn incentive problems and bounded rationality problems. The observed lack of organizational agents to act in the organization’s interests or agents in non-possession of the necessary decisional information, lack of vision and lack of timely action, short termism and misallocation of authority, communication failures within the organization due to incentive misallocation, resistance to change due to vested interests and miscommunication due to bounded rationality; all seem to bear a relationship with plaguing problems of lack of thrust on information availability, processing and respective performance management in deregulating state owned enterprises. In summary, the pattern and manner of information processing is widely believed to shape the performance in financial, non-financial, marketing and strategic terms. The extent of centralization, formalization and role of competent and efficient information systems have been observed as shaping the decision patterns and scope for financial and non-financial aspect in one or other way. The centralization and formalization have been characterized as rigid, hierarchal organizational structures that can possibly derail the performance aspects. The study hence reviews the literature, the theoretical frameworks and conceptual models that reflect on the information processing mechanisms as influencing the strategic and financial organizational performance especially with regard to Indian energy sector.