Experts call for grassroots innovation and co-creation to address global employment challenges

Mysore/Mysuru:  “By 2030, nearly 800 million people will be seeking employment globally. Creating adequate job opportunities for such a vast population will be extremely challenging for governments and the employment sector alone. Grassroots initiatives and the adoption of co-creation models are essential to address this situation,” said S.N. Shamanth, Director, Rakuten India Enterprise Pvt. Ltd., and Co-Chairman, International Business Expert Committee, Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC).

Delivering the keynote address at the First International Case Conference on “Contemporary Contexts in Innovation, Inclusion and Impact” organised by SDM Institute for Management Development (SDM-IMD), Mysuru, he shared analytical insights drawn from Japan’s business environment.

He explained that local municipalities create innovation hubs that provide a strong platform for multiple sectors. Venture capitalists, strategic investors, and angel investors actively participate in these ecosystems.

Referring to the Keiretsu concept in Japan, he noted how established industries collaborate with startups, enabling new businesses to grow and scale.

Analysing today’s startup ecosystem, Shamanth observed that many startups cease operations within two to three years of inception, often because they develop products and business models without fully understanding market needs. He emphasised that whatever is built must be rigorously tested and validated before scaling.

Dr. (Lt. Col.) S.N. Prasad, Director, SDM-IMD, who delivered the inaugural address, said, “Case studies are niche in nature. They promote critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving and innovative solutions.”

Prof. Sankarshan Basu of Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bengaluru, underscored the critical importance of rigorous case study analysis in fostering managerial insight, contextual decision-making and applied learning.

As part of the conference, a panel discussion titled “The Case Ecosystem: Writing, Publishing, and Teaching for Impact” was conducted. The panel featured Dr. Veena K. Pailwar, Best-Selling Case Author and Faculty, Institute of Management Technology Nagpur; Dr. Shreya Mishra, Editor, South Asian Journal of Management Cases and Faculty, Birla Institute of Management Technology and Dr. S. N. Prasad.

An integrated case writing workshop was also organised, focusing on the craft of case writing, development of teaching notes, qualitative case research and publication pathways.

Dr. K. Riyazahmed, Faculty, SDM-IMD and Editorial Team Member (Associate Editor – Manuscript Handling), SN Business and Economics along with Dr. Shreya Mishra, were resource persons for the workshop. More than 37 research papers were presented as part of the Meet.