Shriram Venkatraman - Böcker

This timely book provides a comprehensive analysis of digital financial services across diverse socio-economic landscapes, moving beyond technology-focused perspectives to examine the complex social and cultural dimensions of financial innovation.Chapters explore how digital financial tools, from mobile banking to AI-based FinTech innovations, function as both economic instruments and catalysts for sociocultural change. Through a human-centric perspective, the contributors challenge the prevalent techno-optimistic narratives surrounding the topic, highlighting that outcomes are shaped by existing social hierarchies, cultural norms, and power dynamics. Key topics discussed include: the high hopes and the risks that digital financial services introduce; sustainable finance; household financial dynamics; trust; and financial inclusion. The book further advocates for context-sensitive approaches that balance innovation with equity and cultural pluralism.This book is a vital resource for students and academics in sociology, anthropology, finance, business, economics, development, and science and technology studies. It is also an insightful read for finance professionals, policymakers, and technology innovators.

Digital platforms have garnered both apprehension and admiration for their disruptive influence on social systems, structures, and everyday lives. However, research insights on digital platforms and ecosystems, both in theory and practice, largely emerge from the Global North. Pivoting this focus to the Global South, An Introduction to Platform Economy in India explores the operational socio-technical framework of India's growing platform economy at the confluence of numerous platform ecosystems developed both globally and nationally.Employing an economic sociology perspective, the authors examine the pivotal roles of individuals and collectives, alongside their embedded socio-economic and technical arrangements, to show the multifaceted dimensions of the rapid proliferation of platforms, burgeoning platform memberships, and the ensuing multidimensional social exchanges in India. The chapters respond to growing interest in India's platform economies by showing how the country figures prominently in visions of platform futures, whether as an emerging market, a critical node in global supply chains, or a catalyst for technological innovation.Promising to be a timely intervention grounded in economic sociological analysis, this introductory text bridges the existing gap in the production of such scholarly literature from the Global South. By shedding light on the intricacies of platform dynamics, adoption, usage, and their impact on the social and economic lives of people in India, readers gain valuable insights that inform our understanding of the broader global dynamics of platform economies.