International Journal of Business Excellence (281 papers in press)

Regular Issues

• A Systematic Literature Review (SLR) on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Growth in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)  
  by Ansita Aggarwal, Amit Kumar Dwivedi 
  Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to identify the key performance indicators (KPIs) that have an impact on the growth of SMEs. SMEs’ growth factors research has evolved in recent years. The study aims to recognise significant contributors, key factors, current trends, and future directions for research in SMEs. In a sample of 486 studies taken from the EBSCO and SCOPUS databases to explore the research activities undertaken on that subject, this paper adopts a literature review methodology along with citation analysis and thematic analysis. The result of a systematic review of factors affecting the growth of SMEs is presented. It utilises both the Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) ranking and Scimago H-index to objectively demonstrate all the factors that can impact growth of small firms. Many interesting articles and the most prominent journals are listed based on citation analysis. The finding revealed a total of eight factors out of seventy-three factors, which were mentioned in a minimum of four papers. Most influential articles identified in the analysis, this paper concludes with eight factors that SMEs need to control if they want to achieve growth in their organisation. Moreover, this study has identified research gaps and has proposed workable recommendations for the future.
  Keywords: small and medium enterprises; key performance indicators; KPIs; growth; performance.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10040753
   
  
• Performance Analysis of Selected Mutual Fund Houses  
  by RAJIB DEB, Soma Panja 
  Abstract: Performance measurement is a field of utmost interest in investment management and asset valuation. In this area, the work related to the mutual funds risk-return ratios has gained popularity in academic research. In this present study, we made an effort to examine the accomplishment of selected public sector bank-sponsored mutual fund houses, i.e., SBI and UTI fund houses in India, based on 27 equity schemes of these fund houses. The study has carried out using the BCC model of DEA. It is being performed with the help of numerous input and output variables to justify these Indian mutual funds relative efficiency. The study tries to scrutinise the sensitivity of DEA efficiency to multiple input-output variables. The study results depicted a superior SBI fund management company condition as it has the highest number of efficient schemes under its umbrella compared to the UTI fund management company.
  Keywords: performance analysis; bank-sponsored mutual funds; data envelopment analysis; BCC model.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10040969
   
  
• Performance measurement of manufacturing units using hybrid weights method  
  by Raman Kumar, Harwinder Singh, Sunil Kuma Luthra, Jasgurpreet Singh Chohan 
  Abstract: This paper aims to provide new insight into using a hybrid weightage framework for measuring the performance of manufacturing organisations. In proposing framework, five important parameters (viz. quality, flexibility, delivery, cost, production) and corresponding 15 sub-parameters have been considered for measuring the performance of small-scale agricultural equipment manufacturing organisations. The hybrid weights, i.e., a combination of subjective, objective, and normalised standard regression weights, have been used to fulfil the aim of the study. A case study of an organisation having two plants situated at different places (both engaged in manufacturing agricultural equipment) has been demonstrated to show the effectiveness of a framed model. The survey study showed that the cost has a higher path coefficient, and performance explains about 78% of the variance in price. The finding indicates that plant 1 has higher performance than plant 2 using hybrid weights.
  Keywords: performance measurement; manufacturing; confirmatory factor analysis; hybrid weights; decision making.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10041201
   
  
• Business Excellence in the Beer Industry  
  by Hana Machkova, Josef Tauser 
  Abstract: The paper focuses on the beer industry in the Czech Republic, which can be considered as a case of business excellence. The main objective is to reveal the key drivers of competitiveness in the traditional and mature Czech beer market. Based on the analysis of fundamental Czech beer market characteristics, we discuss the main success factors in business strategies of both large breweries owned by foreign investors and the local ones. The history of the Czech beer industry proves the importance of cultural tradition as the key driver for innovations and long-term competitiveness.
  Keywords: beer industry; Czech beer market; global brewers; microbreweries.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10041202
   
  
• Excellence in Hotel Businesses: The Case of a European Quality Award-Winning Hotel  
  by Han?m Kader ?anl?öz-Özgen 
  Abstract: The hotel industry is a useful domain to apply quality management systems given the structure of properties with numerous stakeholders and processes. The inclination of hotel businesses towards excellence models is low despite a high rate of usage of other quality management systems. This study therefore aims to showcase a European Quality Award-Winning hotel AlpenResort Schwarz and offer insights into the implementation of and results and benefits from the European Foundation for Quality Management Excellence Model (EFQM EM) to enable hotel businesses to become aware of the excellence concept and the model as a tool to improve their competitive advantage and sustainable performance. The major finding of the study is that the EFQM EM is effective for independent hotels, enabling small businesses to gain an international view when improving their managerial systems in accordance with sustainable development goals.
  Keywords: EFQM Excellence Model; total quality management; TQM; business excellence; hotel industry; AlpenResort Schwarz; Austria.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10041327
   
  
• Capital structure and firms' value: future research agenda and research stream through bibliometric approach  
  by Chandrika Prasad Das, Rabindra Kumar Swain, Manoj Kumar Dash, Suman Bindu 
  Abstract: This paper aims to present a synopsis of the academic research on capital structure and firm value using bibliometric analysis. The paper also attempts to detect the most traceable publications and authors in this domain. VOS viewer and bibliometrics R-package has been used to notice the publication trend and envision authors/countries/journals/institutions performance on a sample of 286 relevant articles retrieved from the Scopus database between 1983 and 2020. The essential aspects of capital structure and firm value are identified, such as recent publications, the most influential researcher, the most cited articles, the top contributing journals, the top countries based on total citations and corresponding author, cluster analysis, treemap analysis, and Sankey diagram. The paper makes a vital contribution to corporate finance through a systematic literature review on capital structure and firm value. This article also depicts the future research agenda and research stream in capital structure.
  Keywords: capital structure; bibliometric analysis; network analysis; VOS viewer; bibliometrics R-package; Sankey diagram.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10041329
   
  
• Developing Bank Service Quality Model for Modern Indian Banks  
  by Vineet Chouhan, Pranav Saraswat, Shubham Goswami, Swati Upadhyay 
  Abstract: Banking is a service industry, and irrespective of any sector, the bank-customer relationship has to be regulated through a quality model. Offering exceptional service quality is essential for improving long-lasting customer relations; this is particularly significant in modern banking conditions. Customer loyalty is directly derived from delivering high service quality, particularly under unregulated and unstable economic situations. Hence banks must identify and improve service quality dimensions for gaining competitive advantage. The research work is based upon the developing the bank service quality model. This study gathers data from 792 respondents of five public and five private sector banks to develop the bank service quality model. The factors of bank service quality including tangibles, responsiveness, efficiency, empathy, fairness, access were identified through the application of SEM with AMOS 21.
  Keywords: service quality; bank; tangibles; responsiveness; efficiency; empathy; fairness; access.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10041485
   
  
• An Empirical Investigation of the Relationships between Knowledge Development and Strategic Entrepreneurship  
  by Syed A. Tipu, Kamel Fantazy 
  Abstract: This paper empirically examines the relationships between knowledge development (KD) and strategic entrepreneurship (SE). Data were collected by questionnaire survey from 242 manufacturing organisations in Pakistan. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to test the hypotheses. The current study reveals negative relationships between innovativeness and three dimensions of KD including knowledge acquisition, information distribution, and achieved memory. It also shows strong positive relationship between different dimensions of KD and proactiveness. The contextual settings of developing countries reduce the level of SE in manufacturing organisations, particularly in terms of the lack of innovativeness.
  Keywords: strategic entrepreneurship; knowledge development; organisational learning; developing country; Pakistan; Asia.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10041556
   
  
• Internet Banking in Indonesia: Website Usability, Service Quality, Customer Satisfaction, Trust, And Loyalty  
  by Anggoro Sulaksono, Endang Siti Astuti, Musadieq Musadieq, Zainul Arifin, Kusdi Raharjo 
  Abstract: This research aims to develop a model of website usability, service quality, customer satisfaction, trust, and customer loyalty to internet banking users in five major banks in Indonesia which this research will provide great benefits for banks in Indonesia in overcoming existing problems where this research will provide great benefits for banks in Indonesia in overcoming existing problems. The population consisted of internet users from five big Indonesian banks who have been using internet banking for at least a year and perform transactions through it. The data was studied using a structural equation modelling approach. The results show that website usability is antecedent to service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty. This means that website usability is needed to build a good quality of service, to improve customer satisfaction, and to build higher customer loyalty. The existence of a research gap is related to the effect of website usability on customer loyalty; encouraging this research to contribute to filling that research gap.
  Keywords: website usability; customer satisfaction; service quality; customer loyalty; structural equation modelling; Indonesia.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10041635
   
  
• Exploring Dimensions of Children Influence in Family Purchase Decision Making: A Mixed-Method Approach  
  by NANDITA VISHWAKARMA, Ashish Arya, Gaurav Jyoti 
  Abstract: The present study explores and investigates children’s involvement in the family decision-making process in the Indian context. The study gives a different perspective and utilises an exploratory sequential mixed-method approach to investigate children’s role in family consumption decisions. The findings expose the noticeable impact of children on family purchases across various product categories. The study also explores the impact of demographic factors as moderators in the influence exercised by children. However, certain demographic factors like the gender of the child have been found to have no impact, unlike previous studies. It has provided in-depth insight into the study of family consumption patterns being influenced by children adds to the scanty literature, especially for developing countries with rapidly evolving markets like India. The study has different implications on marketers, parents, and children. Marketers are required to pay more importance to children while designing strategies for positive outcomes.
  Keywords: children influence; consumers; regional; emerging markets; mixed method; family purchase; decision making.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10041689
   
  
• A Cross-sectional Study of Mall Shopping Behavior of Women Consumers in United Arab Emirates and India: An Empirical Study  
  by Sakkthivel Annamalai Manickam, Gouher Ahmed, Moovendhan V, Ramu N 
  Abstract: The study investigates the impact of the marketing mix, mall ambience, peer group, reference group, culture, and society variables on the mall shopping behaviour of women consumers with a sample size of 502 respondents from the UAE and India. The study used structural equation modelling (SEM) that revealed: 1) price has a negative impact on the mall shopping behaviour of Indian women consumers and a positive impact on UAE women consumers; 2) mall ambience and location of malls were found to positively influence the mall shopping behaviour of the UAE and Indian women consumers; 3) mall ambience and place of malls influence the mall shopping behaviour of UAE women consumers, whereas, society was found to influence the mall shopping behaviour of Indian women consumers; 4) peers, reference groups, and culture elicit a higher impact on Indian consumers, whereas, the same variables elicit a lower impact on UAE women consumers. The implications of the outcomes are discussed.
  Keywords: mall; marketing mix; peer group; reference group; culture; society; mall shopping behaviour; women consumers; India; United Arab Emirates.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10041824
   
  
• Digital Human Resource Management: A Precursor for Workforce Agility  
  by Deborah Sharon Stanley, Vaneeta Aggarwal 
  Abstract: Disruptions are the new norm, and technology is no exception. Industry 4.0 in its evolution phase requires a digital transformation. Digital technologies are changing the ways of working (Shrivastava, 2017). Workforce agility is essential for an agile organisation, and the attributes of workforce agility include adaptability, flexibility, collaborative, competent and informative (Muduli, 2013). An organisation needs to focus on the HR processes, systems, and practices followed to develop these attributes. Researchers have conceptualised the adoption of various technologies in HRM functions of selection, training, compensation, teamwork and empowerment as promoters of agility. This conceptual paper outlines the impact of digitisation in human resource management on workforce agility promoters by reviewing the existing literature. This paper enumerates a framework that digitisation of human resource management practices, processes, systems and people leads to the effectiveness of selection, training, compensation, empowerment and teamwork, which promotes workforce agility.
  Keywords: digitisation; workforce agility; agility promoters; selection; training; compensation; teamwork; empowerment; HR functions.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10041831
   
  
• Assessing the impact of employee empowerment on organisational performance: The mediating role of Affective commitment  
  by Joseph Afram, Marta Mas-machuca, Alba Manresa 
  Abstract: This study explored the mediating effect of affective commitment on the relationship between employee empowerment (structural, psychological) and organisational performance in Ghanaian commercial banks. The proposed hypotheses were tested with SEM (EQS), based on a sample of 274 employees selected from nine commercial banks in the Bono and Asante region, Ghana. The analysis revealed that affective commitment mediates the relationship between the two main aspects of empowerment (structural, psychological), and organisational performance. The findings of the study provide a basis allowing managers to use their organisational structures and the cognitive abilities of their employees to improve their employees affective commitment to enhance effective strategic decisions and their implementation to improve performance. The current study expands the previous literature by exploring the mediating role of affective commitment on the relationship between the two main dimensions of empowerment (structural, psychological) and organisational performance in the banking sector in a developing economy.
  Keywords: employee; empowerment; affective; commitment; organisational; performance; Ghanaian commercial banks.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10041839
   
  
• Reverse accountability and leadership in social enterprises: Analysis of social control and openness for pragmatic organizational design  
  by Rajagopal Rajagopal, ANANYA RAJAGOPAL 
  Abstract: This qualitative study analyses the entrepreneurial business performance based on collective leadership styles of social enterprise and attributes of stakeholder driven reverse accountability. The qualitative research method was applied through in-depth interviews to the entrepreneurial leaders of 25 start-up enterprises in Mexico. The study revealed that collective leadership is more effective as compared to an individualistic leader-driven entrepreneurial design. Social enterprises are transitioning to collective leadership models through implementation of organisational design based on reverse accountability. This study is motivated by the perceptual control theory, agency theory, and stakeholder theory. This research study contributes extensively to the existing literature by analysing the impact of reverse accountability and collective leadership patterns on decision-making process of social enterprises. The main focus of this study evolves around leadership and intervention in social enterprises to contribute to the growth of managerial capacity and longevity of stakeholder values.
  Keywords: reverse accountability; social enterprises; collective leadership; grounded theory; social governance.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10041966
   
  
• Economic Growth and International Trade: Case Studies for ASEAN  
  by Tarika Sikarwar, Abhay Singh Chauhan 
  Abstract: One of the major sources of ’Economic Growth’ is
  Keywords: Economic Growth; International Trade; ASEAN; Economy; Import; Export; GDP; Government expenditure.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10041970
   
  
• Workplace Expectations and Loyalty Intention: An empirical study on Millennial Generation  
  by Karuna Prakash, Prakash Tiwari 
  Abstract: At today’s workplace, the millennial generation has received increasing attention as it has been observed that millennials demonstrate different attitudes, values, beliefs, and aspirations in the workplace as compared to the previous generations. Throughout literature various studies have been devoted to the investigation of workplace expectations of millennials, however the relation between their expectations and loyalty intention has been lacking. Thus, the main aim of this study is to develop a structural model that explores millennials’ workplace expectations and to analyse the relationship with loyalty intention and brand image as mediating role. This study is done using partial least square method and the result is obtained using SMART-PLS 3.0. The obtained result makes it evident that there exists a significant relation between workplace expectations and loyalty intention of the millennial generation.
  Keywords: millennials; workplace expectations; loyalty intention; generations.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10042031
   
  
• Service quality and customer satisfaction: the moderating effect of innovation at KFC  
  by George Amoako, Albert Martins, Felicia DeHeer, Livingstone Divine Caesar 
  Abstract: The study investigates how service quality impacts customer satisfaction in the fast food service industry in an emerging market. Data was collected from 500 sampled customers who buy and enjoy the products and services provided by KFC. This study used structural equation modelling (SEM) as inferential statistical technique. Service quality has a significant positive effect on customer satisfaction. Innovation moderates the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction. The study provides new understanding of how corporate resources can be employed from a resource-based view (RBV) perspective to sustain customer satisfaction in the fast food industry in an emerging market. The results of the study indicate that the impact of service quality on customer satisfaction is stronger in restaurants with high innovations and low in other places with low innovations. Thus, managers of fast food restaurants must introduce innovative ways of serving customers in order to boost customer satisfaction.
  Keywords: service quality; innovation; customer satisfaction; Ghana.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10042103
   
  
• CONTENT BASED NETWORKING ALGORITHM  
  by Shameem Shagirbasha, Booshnam Dinakaran, P.Madhan Kumar 
  Abstract: The current social networking is more predisposed towards feature-based network which includes friends list, pages liked, groups joined, etc. The existing algorithm is devised in such a way that we get connected only to our friends and the suggestions are extended based on mutual friends. Rather considering our interests, social media makes suggestions on friends and posts using algorithm based on the graph of the network. In the current system, the user gets feeds based on the posts which his/her friends update. The system fails to unlearn the user’s past irrelevant activities. The proposed system will help us to socialise not based on predefined networks rather based on content updated by the user in the social media. This paper will provide an algorithm to collect a school of thoughts about a single topic purely based on its content and not based on the features.
  Keywords: social media; text mining; feature-based network; content-based networking.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10042137
   
  
• Determinants that influence Consumer Behavior - An Empirical Study Applied to Air Transport in Portugal  
  by Felipa Lopes Dos Reis, José Manuel Vicente, João Lamy Gil 
  Abstract: This research has the main objective of analysing and studying the factors that influence the consumer behaviour of TAP Air Portugal. A survey was carried out at the Lisbon Airport facilities, between 10 and 13 February 2020 (with 4,253 valid responses), which allowed the identification of the consumers’ profile and the analysis of their behaviour in relation to the services provided by the different airlines. Although there are similarities in marketing and services provided by different companies, the consumer behaves differently in relation to each of them. It is possible to verify that a Portuguese consumer, with an advanced age, is a consumer who follows his heart and is loyal to TAP, Portugal’s flagship company. The younger consumer has other assumptions in mind in his choice, however, it is important to understand where these companies are heading and in what way.
  Keywords: consumer behaviour; determinants; making-decision policy; customer loyalty; TAP Air Portugal.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10042172
   
  
• Technological Innovation Practice in the Retail Sector  
  by A.L.I. A. Salah, Khalid Alomari, Jihad Farajat, Hamza Alaodat, Amgad S.D. Khaled 
  Abstract: Retail, like business concepts, is not a static organisation. As a result of numerous factors related to the retail climate, merchants create new forms, manage existing forms, and discard forms over time. Technological change is frequently associated with innovation. In recent years, technology-based innovation has been cemented as a long-term strategic investment that can provide competitive advantages through producing end user value through installing and upgrading ICTs. The purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of technology innovation on the retail experience. The study sample was collected from a Yemeni customer. The investigation is conclusive, complete, and is based on a single cross-sectional study design. The research tool that is used to generate quantitative data. It concluded that further technological innovation has an effect on store photos, consumer satisfaction, brand equity, and word-of-mouth (WOM), and it also recommended that retailers benefit from technology adoption and thus invest in innovations that will help them increase market share and competitiveness in the long run.
  Keywords: technological; innovation; satisfaction; retailing; brand equity; value; word-of-mouth; WOM.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10042176
   
  
• Internal Marketing Orientation and Knowledge Management Process in Individual Competence enrichment: PLS-SEM Modelling in Indian Higher Education Scenario  
  by Shiva Rani, Elangbam Binodini Devi, Manoj Kumar 
  Abstract: Knowledge-driven organisations like academic institutions are rationally involved in learning and knowledge creation with the ultimate aim of academic as well as individual excellence through individual competency enrichment. Meanwhile, the research study aims to investigate the PLS-SEM structural model based on 357 research and knowledge workers by path confirmation via internal marking (IM) and knowledge management process (KMP) on individual competency (IC) in Indian higher education institutions (HEIs) context; the SmartPLS-SEM modelling was performed. The findings of this study are IM has significant but weak relation with the KM process because some sub hypotheses were not significantly reported or rejected but KMP has strong positive significance on IC. Based on our research findings reinforced the higher academic institutions employees or research workers and assist the academic leaders and administrators in IC enrichment. Later on, limitations and future research directions were mentioned.
  Keywords: internal marketing; knowledge management process; higher education institutions; individual competency; PLS-SEM modelling.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10042184
   
  
• The Determinants of Capital Structure in Indian firms: Does Industry matter?  
  by Atif Ghayas, Tasneem Fatima Khan, Mohd Sarim 
  Abstract: The quest to find the ideal capital structure has motivated researchers worldwide to study the determinants of capital structure. There have been many studies in this area, but the results are mixed and contradictory. Most of the studies in this area have been conducted in developed countries; this study examines the determinants of the capital structure in a developing country like India. The study employs panel data regression techniques to analyse the impact of profitability, firm size, grow rate, tangibility, liquidity, interest coverage ratio, non-debt tax shield, tax rate, and business risk on the dependent variable, i.e., total debt. The study sample included a heterogeneous set of 222 firms from five industries listed on NSE 500. The study’s findings reveal that profitability, firm size, liquidity, interest coverage, tax rate, and Business risk are important determinants of capital structure in Indian firms.
  Keywords: determinants; capital structure; leverage; profitability; firm size; growth; tangibility; risk; industry.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10042186
   
  
• Influences of gender diversity on the implications of CSR and financial performance: an Indian perspective  
  by Som Nath Paul, Rajesh Kumar Upadhyay, Ashima Garg 
  Abstract: The present research analysed the women’s participation as presidents of the board (BOD) or members of the board of directors and their impact on the adoption of CSR practices in their environmental, social, and economic dimensions in listed companies of India. The results show that India has higher participation of women in BOD positions and as members of the board of directors, although they are still a minority in the country. Regarding the adoption of CSR practices, India shows better performance in environmental dimensions and social, while India obtains a higher financial performance in profitability, liquidity and international presence. When analysing the relationship between women’s participation in the board of directors and the adoption of CSR practices, the empirical results show that a greater diversity of gender more participation of women on the board, better the profitability, and environmental and social performance of the corporate.
  Keywords: corporate social responsibility; CSR; ROI; CSR implication; gender diversity; econometric model.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10042360
   
  
• Factors influencing cloud AIS adoption: Evidence from Jordan  
  by Mohannad Al Shbail, Nofan Al-Olimat, Hashem Alshurafat, Seif Al Shbeil, Mohammad Bany Baker, Zaid Jaradat 
  Abstract: Cloud AIS adoption in Jordan and in many other developing countries is still new. This study examines the factors impacting the decision to adopt cloud AIS and its impact on performance in banking sector. A model combining the critical factors from past studies and other previously unaddressed factors relating to cloud AIS adoption is proposed in this study. Data obtained from 117 department managers in different Jordanian banks were used in testing the cloud AIS adoption model and in determining the factors linked to cloud AIS adoption, positively or negatively. Complexity, relative advantage, system quality and data security were found as the most influential cloud AIS adoption determinants. Also, cloud AIS adoption was found to positively link to organisational performance. The results are of value to bank managers in increasing the dispersal and use of cloud AIS in Jordan.
  Keywords: cloud AIS adoption; complexity; relative advantage; system quality; data security; organisational performance; Jordan.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10042528
   
  
• Offshore outsourcing as a business strategy: a qualitative study of the adoption of offshoring by the Portuguese footwear industry  
  by Isabella V. C. E. Pereira, Susana C. Silva, Valdenise Martyniuk, Alexandre L. Las Casas 
  Abstract: This paper analyses the adoption of offshore outsourcing as a business strategy in the Portuguese footwear industry. Based on a review of the current literature, data was collected through interviews conducted with key Portuguese footwear players and shoe company managers. The main findings suggest that offshoring is more appreciated by managers who attribute their success and growth to the adoption of this strategy. However, these managers admit that they are confronted with local domestic limitations that motivate them to seek out foreign suppliers and to focus on their core activities which contribute to greater profitability. The main benefits they identified are operational flexibility, savings, new knowledge acquisition, risk reduction, and the possibility for growth. The strategy also has some risks such as loss of quality, and management of control over freight lead times.
  Keywords: offshoring; outsourcing; footwear industry; Portugal.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10042604
   
  
• Drivers and Barriers of E-learning adaptation in India  
  by SHIPRA MISHRA, Priyanka Maya Gujrati, Amar Kumar Mishra, Anupma Singh 
  Abstract: The present study identifies the key factors that affect the adaptation of e-learning in India. The study focuses on 488 respondents of higher education across the country who are availing online class facilities from different public and private colleges/universities. Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify five factors namely learner’s attitude, technical incompatibility, service quality challenges, social challenges and content quality. The study found that the students are satisfied with the e-learning facilities of their colleges/universities but are facing major challenges such as technical, social, and quality-related issues that must be sort-out. The recommendation of the study will help the government as well as the universities to overcome these challenges.
  Keywords: e-learning; covid-19; exploratory factor analysis; technological compatibility; India.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10042657
   
  
• Influence of Social Media on Consumers’ Brand Choice: A Moderated Mediation Model  
  by Anubha Saini, Rajesh Elangovan, Tejinder Sharma 
  Abstract: Social media has changed the fundamental methods of brands building. Empowered with technology and data analytics, social media is making a significant influence on the brand choice behaviour of the consumers. The present study explores the interrelationships between customer brand engagement, brand recognition and brand choice. The study also examines the role of brand recall in brand choice. Further, the moderating role of electronic word of mouth (EWOM) in the relationship between customer brand engagement and brand recognition is examined. Using a structured instrument, data was collected from 451 respondents from National Capital Region of New Delhi and analysed using Hayes (2018) PROCESS MACROS. The results indicate that: 1) brand recognition is a mediator in the relationship between customer brand engagement and brand choice; 2) brand recall is positively related to brand recognition and brand choice; 3) customer brand engagement is positively related to brand recognition and brand choice; 4) EWOM moderates the relationship between customer brand engagement and brand recognition. These results contribute to both the literature on brand management and practicing marketers. The implications are discussed.
  Keywords: social media; brand awareness; customer brand engagement; electronic word of mouth; EWOM; brand choice; consumer behaviour.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10042658
   
  
• The Relationship Between Customer Satisfaction and Service Quality in E-Commerce  
  by Evripidis P. Kechagias, Georgios A. Papadopoulos, Georgios Chatzistelios, Dimitra Kyriou 
  Abstract: In recent years, one of the most common ways for a modern company to find out the customer needs and expectations and be aligned with them is to set up a customer satisfaction survey or, even better, a net promoter score survey. In this way, the company has access to the actual
  Keywords: e-commerce; customer satisfaction; service quality; net promoter score; process improvement.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10042899
   
  
• Achieving sustainable employability through the lens of human resource practices, psychological well-being and psychological empowerment  
  by Mohammad Swaiess, Omima Abdalla Abdalatif 
  Abstract: The purpose of this study is to investigate factors that influence on employee behaviour in achieving employee work engagement and sustainable employability. The research model is tested with 308 responses using structural equation modelling (SEM) approach. Results indicate that altogether human resource compensation, training, growth opportunity, supervisor support, psychological well-being and psychological empowerment explained R2 78.8% variance in work engagement. The effect size analysis (f2) revealed that supervisor support has substantial effect size in measuring employee behaviour towards work engagement. Aside of direct relationship, the moderating role of employee commitment was confirmed between employee work engagement and sustainable employability. Theoretically, this study contributes to human resource literature by examining the role of human resource practices in the context of work engagement and sustainable employability. Practically, this study suggests that policy makers should focus on factors like supervisor support, psychological empowerment and work engagement in order to increase sustainable employability.
  Keywords: human resource practices; psychological well-being; psychological empowerment; sustainable employability; structural equation modelling; SEM; work engagement.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10042905
   
  
• Developing, Measuring and Validating CSR Scale for Indian Manufacturing Sector  
  by Kavitha Shanmugam, Suganthi P 
  Abstract: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has attracted the curiosity of the corporate and academic community in recent years. More specially, the importance of stakeholders for corporate entities has been established in the literature. There is a need for companies to measure the impact of its CSR activities towards its stakeholders, namely customers, employees, environment, community and corporate governance, the need being even more for a manufacturing company. So, this study tries to develop, measure and validate a scale for CSR in the Indian manufacturing sector using the stakeholder approach. A questionnaire was used to capture the qualitative data by generating items from the literature. The analysis confirmed the reliability and validity of the scale, most influencing factors of the dimensions of CSR and its adoption in the manufacturing sector in India.
  Keywords: corporate social responsibility; CSR; scale; stakeholders; Indian manufacturing sector; corporate governance; environment.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10043001
   
  
• Can past research generate future opportunities? A systematic literature review for consumer behaviour in the service sector  
  by Elia Oey, Hotniar Siringoringo 
  Abstract: Research on consumer behaviour is vast as it is crucial for both academia and industry. The service sector gives both challenges and opportunities for research on consumer behaviour. This paper is a systematic literature study on consumer behaviour research in the general service industry, aiming to identify groups of opportunities from previous studies. This study collected articles from the Scopus database from 20012020. From 4229 potential articles, 807 were selected. After two data reductions the sample was reduced to 232 articles. The articles were then categorised into theme, sub-theme, methods, and domain area. We found that the majority of past studies concentrated more on a ‘diagnostic’ theme, with a smaller number suggesting ‘improvements’. Based on that, we proposed 16 groups of opportunities for future researchers. Three opportunities are specifically for the ‘improvement’ theme of service research. Four opportunities are specific for the ‘diagnostic’ theme, while the rest are generic.
  Keywords: consumer behaviour; services; systematic literature review; SLR.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10057810
   
  
• Assessment framework for Green HRM Practices  
  by Nagamani Subramanian, Marappan Suresh 
  Abstract: With a growing concern for sustainable development, all business organisations have become conscious in placing more emphasis on the integration of human resource management and environmental management, called as green human resources management (GHRM). The objective of this study is to assess the GHRM practices of retail stores using multi-grade fuzzy approach and to identify the weaker attributes using Importance Performance Analysis (IPA). GHRM assessment model was developed based on two enablers, ten criteria and 49 attributes from an extensive literature review and expert opinion. The assessment revealed that the GHRM index of case retail store accounts to 4.81, which is in between the range of (4 to 5) indicating low focus on GHRM. The study also provided necessary suggestions for improving the identified weaker attributes. This framework enables the retail store managers to identify their current GHRM practices level periodically and focus on weaker attributes for improving stores environmental performance.
  Keywords: green HRM; green workforce; HRM practices; retail store; multi-grade fuzzy; importance performance analysis; IPA.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10043085
   
  
• Association between Green Brand Trust, Green Brand Credibility, Green Brand Equity on Perceived Value and Purchase Intention towards Green Product  
  by HARISH KUMAR, SARGAM BAHL WALIA 
  Abstract: The proposed study aims to understand the association between the green brand trust, green brand credibility, green brand equity on perceived value and purchase intention towards green product at Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India. This study is a combination of descriptive and exploratory research. Both primary and secondary sources of data collection has been used for the study. For this research, a survey of 300 respondents has been taken into consideration. A close ended questionnaire has been used to collect information from the respondents. A conceptual model has been proposed in the study which has been statistically tested using correlation and regression analysis. The study results show that green brand trust, green brand credibility, green brand equity has a significant association with perceived value. Meaningful association between perceived value and purchase intention of green products has also been revealed in this study. The research results show that the drivers of instilling a favourable intent towards green product purchase are green brand trust, green brand credibility, green brand equity and perceived value.
  Keywords: green brand trust; green brand credibility; green brand equity; perceived value; green product; sustainability.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10043087
   
  
• Consumer Preference Model for Coffee Beverages  
  by Elia Oey, Dimitri Dimitri, Meiviana Husin, Rianto Nurcahyo 
  Abstract: Coffee consumption in Indonesia has experienced a steady growth driven by modern urban lifestyles. Due to its potential market, it is important for coffee stakeholders in Indonesia to understand their consumers needs. The research is a case study of customer preference for coffee beverages in the Greater Jakarta area. The study proposes a consumer preference model to assist coffee shop owners in Greater Jakarta area understand their customers better and helps them formulate strategies. The study used a combination of literature review, affinity diagram brainstorming and Delphi technique to generate, screen and identify top five attributes and their respected level preferred by consumers. A multivariate conjoint model was formed to estimate the utility of coffee beverages. 451 responses were collected, and the result shows that the most important attributes are location (40.58%), taste (23.52%), service quality (17.05%), price (9.85%) and brand (8.99%). In terms of location, consumers preferred outside shopping malls, while light taste is preferred over strong taste. Consumers also prefer popular brand with interactive service and affordable prices.
  Keywords: coffee; conjoint analysis; consumer preference; Delphi.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10043157
   
  
• Relative importance of various sources of information for equity investment decisions: A demographic study of Indian Investors  
  by Meena Bhatia, Merlin Mythili Nelson 
  Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to comprehend the relative importance of various sources of information that different groups of investors rely upon while making investment decisions. The paper puts forth the specific significance of certain sources that might help understand the investor psyche of the various investor groups. Questionnaire-based survey research was conducted and responses of 276 respondents were analysed using descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests. The study reveals that while women investors relied more on advice from family, friends, and stockbrokers; investors who worked within the financial investment sector, preferred personal knowledge of the company and analysis and investors who took greater risks, made higher investments and stayed longer holding their stocks relied more on analytical decision-making based on corporate reports. These findings emphasise the benefits of investor profiling according to the various demographics and how it can help investment advisory firms to approach different investor groups.
  Keywords: individual investors; corporate annual reports; gender; occupation; investment advisory services; NSE.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10043299
   
  
• Influence of Performance Appraisal Dimensions on Employee Satisfaction: A study on Indian Higher Education Institutions  
  by Varsha Sharma, Reeta Singh, Priyanka Sihag, Mohit Kant Kaushik 
  Abstract: The present study aims to identify performance appraisal (PA) dimensions for effective faculty performance evaluations. This research examined current appraisal trends by scrutinizing forms of PAs used in Indian higher education institutions. The Teaching workforce satisfaction associated with derived appraisal dimensions has also been assessed. A self-designed questionnaire is used in this study consisting of items on a seven-point Likert-type scale. The study used the survey method for private universities that includes 398 respondents. ANOVA was used for investigation purposes. The study derives out academic development (AD), student feedback (SF), training and development (TD), transparency (TRNS) as critical dimensions based on analyzing current appraisal trends and literature sources. Further, a panel discussion was arranged to know the rationale for the findings. This study's result will help develop an efficient PA system for academic staff to improve their efficiency in an educational institute.
  Keywords: Performance appraisal faculty appraisal employee satisfaction higher education system performance appraisal dimensions.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10043343
   
  
• The Impact of Instagram Influencers on Customers’ Purchase Intention  
  by Shafig Al-Haddad, Mohammad Al Khasawneh, Esraa Odeh, Dana Alsarabi, Dana Barakat, Emily Sweis, Yara Batarseh 
  Abstract: This research aims to examine the impact of Instagram influencers’ characteristics on customer purchase intention, a quantitative approach was applied, where research data was collected through an online survey that was distributed on different social media platforms and filled by 395 people around Jordan. Data was tested and validated through “smart PLS” software. This research included seven hypotheses that were tested. Six of them were accepted, while one was rejected with no negative impact, meaning that one variable had an insignificant effect. The research hypotheses were built to suit the current framework and tested through a validation software in order to understand the importance of each element in the model in customers’ purchase intention. Validation resulted in revealing the strength of each element, except for one element which showed an insignificant effect. An in-depth analysis of the research findings is presented and a number of recommendations are proposed.
  Keywords: social media influencers; celebrity endorsers; purchase intention; credibility; Instagram influencers.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10043344
   
  
• Organizational Learning Factors Responsible for Achieving Business Excellence in IT Industry in India  
  by ASHUTOSH SHUKLA, Sunil Pandey, Ashish Mohan Dubey 
  Abstract: Organisational learning could be a way to locate some of the best practices of a firm. An organisation is a repository of wide range of experiences, human capital, technology and knowledge that guides its behaviour. With an aim to identify the organisational learning factors driving growth and innovation in Indian IT industry, it revisits the rich and diverse literature on organisational learning spread over the last six decades. It proposes modelling organisational learning in software firms by assimilating key ideas and approaches discussed in its literature. The paper opted for a cross-sectional study by developing and administering a survey instrument on employees representing middle and senior management levels in selected software companies across India. An exploratory factor analysis resulted in six key factors to present organisational learning in software firms. The study aims to identify a set of constructs capable of explaining organisational learning in software firms in Indian IT industry. It suggests focusing on learning infrastructure and result oriented learning as the key planes to harness organisational learning in software firms.
  Keywords: organisational learning; learning infrastructure; result oriented learning; knowledge management; multiple regression analysis; MRA; India.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10043395
   
  
• Consumer Repurchase Intention: A Review, Conceptual Framework, and Future Directions  
  by Vibha Trivedi, Diptiman Banerji, MOHIT YADAV 
  Abstract: A systematic review of 166 articles in the domain of repurchase intention (RI), published in the period 2014
  Keywords: repurchase intention; literature review; antecedents; retailing; consumer behaviour; online repurchase; consumer theories; consumer satisfaction; conceptual framework; classification.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10043420
   
  
• Analysis of Knowledge Management Practices in Colombian SMEs  
  by Sandra Cristina Erazo, Adriana Aguilera Castro, Ingrid Johanna Rondon Riaño 
  Abstract: The organisations involved in the fourth industrial revolution develop knowledge management practices as a mechanism that allows them to become increasingly competitive; this article is a result of the research CI. 8,125 Analysis of knowledge management in the SME of Valle del Cauca Funded by University of Valle (Colombia) and your aims is to analyse the practices of: organisation, leadership, technology and learning related to knowledge management in 118 Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Valle del Cauca Colombia. The analysis of the information was carried out using statistical tools such as correlations and causality analysis (PLS-PM), which allowed quantifying the weight of potential relationships that may occur between the practices developed by the SME object of study and knowledge management. The results reveal that SMEs in Colombia, develops learning and leadership practices that are strongly related to knowledge management, and in a smaller scale perform organisational and technological practices oriented to knowledge management. This article adds to the literature on knowledge management, highlighting its importance and revealing conclusions and challenges to intervene in organisations.
  Keywords: knowledge management; small and medium-sized enterprises; SME; organisation; leadership; technology; learning; Colombia.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10043521
   
  
• The Impact of Covid-19 on the Performances and Risks of the U.S. Energy ETF and Equity Portfolios  
  by Ikhlaas Gurrib, Qian Long Kweh, Irene Wei Kiong Ting, Mohammad Nourani 
  Abstract: This paper examines the use of energy-based ETF portfolios, opposed to traditional equity-based portfolios. Amid the recent negative returns of energy ETFs and outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, we aim to assess 1) which of the US sectors are best to combine with the energy sector, 2) how a sector-based ETF portfolio’s risk and return differ from an equity-based one, 3) how COVID-19 affected the sector-based portfolio performance compared to an equity-based one. Monthly data ranging from sector-based ETF and equity prices are sourced from September 2001 to June 2020. Findings suggest 1) the utilities sector to be consistently the most appropriate asset mix for a portfolio comprising the energy sector, 2) an equity-based portfolio was superior in performance than its sector-based counterpart, after adjusting for total and downside risk, 3) both sector- and equity-based portfolios shared similar impacts from COVID-19, with the latter maintaining superior portfolio performance in both pre- and post- COVID-19.
  Keywords: energy; exchange-traded fund; ETF; portfolio; equity portfolio; performance evaluation; COVID-19.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10043522
   
  
• Significance of Personality traits on the entrepreneurial intention and behaviour of engineering students of coastal Karnataka  
  by Madhukara Nayak, Narasimha Marakala 
  Abstract: The objective of the study was to investigate the significance of personality traits (locus of control, need for achievement (NACH), risk tolerance (RT) and entrepreneurial alertness) on entrepreneurial intention (EI) among final year engineering students from the coastal Karnataka region. The study was conducted based on a quantitative research methodology for which a structured questionnaire was developed to collect data from 622 respondents. A random sampling technique was adopted for data collection. Collected data were analysed using SEM-AMOS and SPSS version 23. The result revealed that locus of control, NACH, RT and entrepreneurial alertness had a significant influence on EI and EI had a significant influence on entrepreneurial behaviour. The outcomes of this study will help academicians and policymakers in designing effective entrepreneurial programs and activities to foster student entrepreneurship.
  Keywords: personality traits; locus of control; LOC; need for achievement; NACH; risk tolerance; entrepreneurial alertness; entrepreneurial intention.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10043523
   
  
• Digitalisation, Servitisation and Financial Performance: Evidence from Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in Vietnam  
  by MALIK A.B.U. AFIFA, Hien Vo Van, Trang Le Hoang Van 
  Abstract: The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between digitalisation, servitisation and financial performance in small and medium-sized enterprises in Vietnam from the manager’s perspective. The data are collected from 156 questionnaires. Through quantitative analysis technique, we provide some quite new and interesting results. Firstly, the age and size of the enterprise do not support the implementation of servitisation, and they have no impact on improving financial performance based on digitalisation. Secondly, we quantify the positive impact of digitalisation on servitisation. In addition to the positive correlation between digitalisation, servitisation and financial performance, we make a new contribution to the theory from the results of the intermediate analysis. Financial performance will be improved when enterprises apply digital technology to deploy related services. Furthermore, we show that financial performance in manufacturing firms is significantly improved when the level of synergies between digitalisation and servitisation is higher.
  Keywords: digitalisation; servitisation; SMEs; performance; Vietnamese market.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10043561
   
  
• Human Excellence Maturity Model: leveraging Human Resource Management to achieve operational excellence  
  by Sebastiano Di Luozzo, Marco Marino, Massimiliano Maria Schiraldi 
  Abstract: The objective of this paper is to propose a maturity framework in the human resource domain (
  Keywords: human excellence maturity model; HEMM; operational excellence; human factor; business improvement; operations management; supply chain management.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10043827
   
  
• Empirical evidence on the causal relationships between COVID-19 and sustainability: A DEMATEL Approach  
  by Gaurav Jyoti, HIMANSHU -, Ashu Khanna 
  Abstract: The study aims to find out the interrelationship between COVID-19 preventive measures and sustainability indicators. Data was collected from 300 corporate sustainability managers and consultants. The DEMATEL technique has been used. Five dimensions under the COVID-19 preventive measures and three leading sustainability indicators (environmental, social, and governance) along with fifteen sub-indicators are identified. The results reveal that COVID-19 preventive measures significantly influence the environmental and social aspects of sustainability. The interlinkages among sub-indicators of sustainability are also considered. The managers suggest that the pandemic has extended the scope and relevance of sustainability reporting in organisations. The study recommends that countries should not postpone their sustainable development goals (SDGs) due to COVID-19; instead, they should prioritise and synchronise their economic development agendas with these goals. The study also calls for long-term sustainable strategies to be implemented by the corporates so as to navigate towards SDGs.
  Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; corporate sustainability; sustainability reporting; sustainable development; ESG performance; sustainable performance.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10043830
   
  
• Impact of Training and development on employee performance and productivity in Jordan.  
  by Loiy Bani Ismail, Mohammad Alawamleh, Anaam Maayah 
  Abstract: This paper aims to examine the impact of training and development on employee performance and productivity. A questionnaire was prepared and distributed to a sample of 243 employees from telecommunications sector in Jordan to examine the impact of training and development on employee’s performance and their productivity. The results of the investigation showed that training and development has a positive impact on employee performance and productivity. This research has reached point of view in a wider way which will assist in understanding the issue and the effective solutions. This research found that training and development are important for the employee to improve their skills, knowledge, and communication in order to have a positive impact in telecommunication industry.
  Keywords: training and development; employee performance; employee productivity; skills; communication; knowledge.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10043973
   
  
• The psychosocial and economic impact of COVID-19 on the Middle East market  
  by Malik Elhaj, Moid Ahmad 
  Abstract: The COVID-19 has emerged as a real threat to global health and economic stability. This has affected the earnings as well as the psychological state of individuals. The governments of various countries have announced various initiatives, schemes and economic relief packages to support the respective economies and its residents. This paper attempts to analyse the impact of COVID-19 and of the government’s initiatives on the earnings and psychosocial state of the affected. The research is based on a sample of Middle East respondents and uses the mediation-moderation methodology as the anchor technique for analysis. One of the significant finding of the research is that the social media was found to mediate the effect of government’s schemes and initiatives on the earnings of respondents during COVID-19.
  Keywords: COVID-19; economic impact; social impact; Middle East; stress.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10043984
   
  
• Acceptance of Mobile Advertising among Gen Z in Malaysia: Implications for Business Sustainability Through Digitalisation in Post COVID-19  
  by Gek Siang Tan, Kamarulzaman Ab Aziz, Xin Lin Ng 
  Abstract: The phenomenal growth of smartphone penetration rate is reflected in Malaysia, alluring marketers to deliver mobile advertisements directly to targeted consumers. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has placed many industries to a near stand-still with huge reduction in advertising budget, mobile advertising spending increases. Consumers who stay home spend more time on their mobile devices for work and leisure purposes, giving marketers a great opportunity to deliver marketing messages via mobile devices. However, consumers show negative attitude towards mobile advertising messages, particularly among the young consumers. Using virtual snowball and purposive sampling technique, this study examines the determinants of mobile advertising acceptance among 200 respondents aged between 18
  Keywords: acceptance; mobile advertising; Generation Z; Malaysia; business sustainability; digitalisation; COVID-19; UTAUT.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10044013
   
  
• Modeling the Barriers that are Preventing E-commerce to Thrive  
  by Joana C. Machado, Susana C. Silva, Paulo Duarte, Carla S. C. Martins, Joao Alexandre Lobo Marques 
  Abstract: The identification of barriers for e-commerce to thrive in specific countries is a topic of great interest. This work proposes two models to study the barriers to B2C e-commerce adoption in Portugal, highlighting obstacles less exploited by previous research: the impact of offline shopping pleasure and the influence of the distance to shopping malls on online shopping intent. An online survey was conducted based on different constructs. A multivariate OLS hierarchical regression was used to analyse the proposed models regarding the intention to buy online and the number of online purchases. The results revealed that customer satisfaction is a strong predictor of intent to buy online and that perceived product risk remains a barrier to e-commerce. Consumers living in high urbanised areas have more propensity to buy online. Helpful information is provided regarding the impact of context, culture, product, and individual barriers, showing that multichannel strategies are best suited for success.
  Keywords: online shopping; e-commerce barriers; retail; Portugal.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10044133
   
  
• Readiness Assessment of Integrated Manufacturing Business Excellence Model in Indian Manufacturing Industry Using Multi-Grade Fuzzy Approach  
  by K.P. Paranitharan, Balaji Venkataraman, Sabitha M.S, Ramesh Babu T 
  Abstract: Today manufacturing industries are moving towards quality and manufacturing management practices in an integrated manner for maintaining high-level performance and sustainability. In support of this, an integrated manufacturing business excellence system (IMBES) assessment model is developed, which comprises three levels and consists of ten enablers, divided into 25 criteria for obtaining information about the performance and sustainability readiness of an organisation. To which, the multi-grade fuzzy (MGF) logic approach has been proposed for assessing the performance and sustainability readiness. ABC manufacturing organisation was taken as a case to implement the IMBES model. The data were gathered by experts from the ABC and tested using the MGF approach. The IMBES index value was enumerated, and further these enablers were classified using IPA and the weak criteria were identified through PII. The result ensures that the organisation readiness exercise would be suitable for IMBES model to survive in the competitive market environment.
  Keywords: readiness; integrated manufacturing business excellence system; IMBES; multi-grade fuzzy; MGF; performance importance index; PII; importance performance analysis; IPA; sustainability.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10044179
   
  
• Study on Workcation Tourism: Buying behavior and the Mediating Role of Travel Intentions during COVID-19 Pandemic: An Empirical Study in Uttarakhand  
  by Anuj ., Deepak Kaushal, Rajesh Kumar Upadhyay, Akhilesh Sharma, Jitendra Chauhan 
  Abstract: The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) had actually provided the world with a lot of new insights in terms of work culture and status quo. Employees and Employers both are comparatively flexible and ready to adapt to the quickly changing dynamics of the scenario. Workcation is one such innovation in terms of working from home, yet not staying in home and exploring some tourist destination. The motive behind such kind of innovation is basic which is breaking the boredom and monotony of being at home 24*7. The present study is aimed to study the concept of workcation in the consumers opting for. The study revolves around the consumer buying behaviour relating to workcation with the assumption that travel intentions are the most crucial intermediately factor which mediates the role of BB which is dependent on electronic word-of-mouth, safety trust on destination and the internet service quality.
  Keywords: workcation; work-related tourism; buying behaviour; travel intentions; electronic word-of-mouth; eWOM; COVID-19.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10044270
   
  
• Influence of organizational climate on employee engagement: Personality Type as a moderator  
  by Jaya Ahuja, Vani Narula 
  Abstract: The present study attempts to examine the relationship between overall employee engagement and perceived organisational climate (OC). The study further tries to investigate the impact of type a and type b personality in perceived OC and overall employee engagement. The sample comprised of 229 middle level managers who were representatives of 11 private sector organisations in North India. Data analysis is done through moderated regression. The results outline the role of personality as a moderator between perceived OC and overall employee engagement. The current research instigates the managers to understand the role of personality and its impact on overall employee engagement. The present study is an attempt to provide a new insight in dealing with different personality types, perceived OC and its impact on overall employee engagement.
  Keywords: organisational climate; intellectual; social and affective employee engagement; personality; type a and type b; and moderator.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10044374
   
  
• Competencies and Organizational culture: An impact analysis to determine Managerial Effectiveness  
  by Mahak Mahajan, Hemant Bhanawat, B.P. Bijay Sankar, Jai Kumar Sharma 
  Abstract: This study focuses on competencies and their role in increasing employees’ effectiveness in the higher educational institutions (HEIs) in Delhi-NCR. Additionally, the significance of organisational culture in improving the performance of these employees was also taken into consideration. This exploratory study has used a structured questionnaire to collect the data from executives, administrative and academic employees as respondents who were chosen from Delhi-NCR using a multi-stage sampling technique. One hundred sixty usable samples were gathered and analysed for factor analysis using SPSS and AMOS version 22.0. The results highlight the association between competencies and managerial effectiveness, which organisational culture improved. It is essential to develop an organisational culture that emphasises the influence of competencies on managerial effectiveness for the organisational success and growth of HEIs. Employees with a true blend of interpersonal and professional competencies and adapting to the organisational culture effectively contribute to the competitive advantage of HEIs, thus adding to the study’s novelty.
  Keywords: competencies; organisational culture; managerial effectiveness; performance; higher educational institutions; HEIs.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10044477
   
  
• The relationship between environmental disclosure and influencing factors in an emerging market: evidence from Vietnamese enterprises  
  by Tai Thanh Nguyen, Cong Van Nguyen 
  Abstract: This study aims to investigate and identify factors influencing environmental disclosure in an emerging market. Data is collected through a survey from 431 enterprises in Vietnam by convenient non-probability sampling method. The study combines the use of both qualitative and quantitative methods through consultants with the use of statistical methods such as Cronbach’s alpha test, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and tests the linear structural equation model (SEM) to analyse the collected data. Research results have confirmed that seven factors are affecting environmental information disclosure in enterprises. They are staff qualifications, enterprise size, legal regulations, perception of enterprise leaders, industry characteristics, financial resources, and stakeholders. Contrary to many previously published studies, in this study, the audit factor does not affect information disclosure because, in Vietnam, auditing is only required for companies listed on the stock exchange while most Vietnamese enterprises are not listed.
  Keywords: environmental information disclosure; enterprise size; financial resources; legal regulations; stakeholders; Vietnam.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10044526
   
  
• Contradictions in global economic development  
  by Jing Du, Larisa Efimov, Mengze Zhang, Valeriy Prasolov, Vladislav Ananishnev 
  Abstract: The aim of the study is to demonstrate empirically the convergent and opposing dynamics of modern economic systems in order to assess their socio-economic environment during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study revealed that the market economy and the command-administrative economy both had co-directional and divergent dynamics of economic development, which was reflected in the changes of economic indicators. The study of empirical data showed that GDP, GDP per capita, gross savings, consumer spending, and the share of income of the poorest 20% of the population were changing similarly in Russia and China. At the same time, such indicators as inflation rate, imports of goods and services, external debt and unemployment had opposite trends. The findings show that the command-administrative system is more stable in times of crisis, characterised by greater inflation stability, reduced dependence on imports, and increased equity in income distribution.
  Keywords: economic system; market economy; command economy; Russia; China.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10044527
   
  
• An Application of ARIMA Model: Evidence from selected stocks of export-based countries  
  by Himani Gupta, Miklesh Prasad Yadav 
  Abstract: To make today better than yesterday and tomorrow better than today, investors want to invest in those stocks which generate lucrative return. They can earn good return if they can predict the stock of their interested stocks. We forecast the stock return of top five export economies to check whether there are opportunities for investment. The select countries considered in study are China, Germany, Hong Kong, the USA, and Japan. Based on the closing price extending from 2001 to 2020, we check the stationarity and forecast stock return applying ADF and ARIMA models respectively. The result reveals that the stock returns of Hong Kong can be forecasted while the stock return of rest of the countries cannot. The study concludes that an investor can invest in Hong Kong stock to generate an excess return, but they have to be cautious while investing in the rest of constituent stocks.
  Keywords: forecasting; export countries; stock return; autoregressive; moving average.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10044579
   
  
• Development & Validation of Business Excellence Framework for Indian Manufacturing MSMEs  
  by Unnikrishnan PM, Jyoti Tikoria, Arun Kumar Agariya 
  Abstract: The present study aims at exploring the status of business excellence practices, proposing and validating a framework and prioritisation of validated factors for Indian manufacturing MSMEs. A structured methodology was followed for achieving the three-fold objectives of present research work. The findings present the awareness and status of business excellence practices in MSMEs followed by validation of eight factor multidimensional construct of business excellence comprising of factors namely organisational culture and stakeholder engagement; quality systems and business orientation; self-managed teams with diverse work force; competitiveness and market orientation; result orientation; innovation and continuous improvement; inclusive organisational environment and leadership and top management commitment; out of these leadership and top management commitment received a higher weightage. The implications for practitioners and policy makers have also been discussed. The novelty of this research work lies in proposing a framework for business excellence assessment of MSMEs for fueling the growth of Indian economy.
  Keywords: business excellence; India; micro; small and medium enterprises; MSMEs; framework; economy.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10044723
   
  
• Do online reviews help in perceiving the desired service? A study based on Indian consumers  
  by SADIYA FATIMA, Anupam Ghosh 
  Abstract: Despite the fact that online consumer reviews are becoming increasingly important in marketing literature, research regarding the impact of online consumer reviews is very limited in the Indian context. Existing literature in conjunction with interviews, under the guidance of prospect and uncertainty reduction theory was used to develop foundation for the current study. This research paper aims to conceptualise the impact of online consumer reviews among the Indian consumers in predicting their desired service. It focuses on three vital components of online reviews namely valence, content, and source credibility. Web survey was used for data collection. Pearson correlation and simple linear regression method were used to derive findings of the study. Results reveal that the valence and content of online reviews help consumers to perceive their desired service while the source of the review has no such impact. Based on the findings, theoretical and managerial implications are also presented.
  Keywords: electronic word of mouth; e-commerce; online consumer review; perceived desired service; expected service; review valence; review content; source credibility; service quality.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10044763
   
  
• Measuring Perceived Value and Customer Loyalty of an Online Retailer Using Confirmatory Analysis with Consistent PLS - Application of E-Squal model  
  by Sandhya Rao, Shilpa Praveen, Karthik Kudroli 
  Abstract: Internet technologies enable online retailers to provide products and services to consumers. Superior service quality is crucial to ensure a steady base of loyal satisfied customers. This study measures service quality impact on perceived value and customer loyalty for online transactions using E-Squal model. A survey research design is used where data is collected from 250 respondents using convenience sampling method. Partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) in Smart PLS is used to assess the validity and reliability of the measurement. Composite reliability (CR), factor loading, and average variance extracted (AVE) is used to test the convergent validity. The results of the study indicate that efficiency and privacy were most important dimensions having an impact on the overall loyalty. Findings indicate that speed of online service, easy access and use and safety of customer information are the main attributes that make customers prefer online shopping.
  Keywords: e-commerce; electronic commerce; online shopping; customer loyalty; service quality; perceived value; E-Squal.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10044818
   
  
• New insights on employee retention through employer branding: A multiple mediation study on the healthcare sector in Pakistan  
  by Attia Aman-Ullah, Azelin Aziz, Hadziroh Ibrahim 
  Abstract: This study aims to test the employer branding as an antecedent of employee retention along with serial mediation relationship of job satisfaction, organisational identification, and employee loyalty. For the data collection purpose survey method was used and data was collected from 380 doctors from fifteen selected hospitals of Pakistan. This study found a significantly positive relationship between employer branding and employee retention under social exchange theory and organisational identification theory. Also, the findings confirm multiple mediation relationships through job satisfaction, organisational identification, and employee loyalty. Additionally, sequential mediation is confirmed. By paying attention to branding practices healthcare organisations can enhance retain their employees. With this they can also enhance employees’ job satisfaction, identification, and loyalty of employees, which will help improve the retention rates of doctors. Healthcare organisations should have better understanding of employer branding and its impact on employee’s behaviour in order to get the employees retained.
  Keywords: employer branding; employee retention; job satisfaction; organisational identification; employee loyalty; healthcare sector; Pakistan.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10044835
   
  
• SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER MARKETING: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW  
  by Udita Trehan, Imran Nadeem Siddiqui, Jay Kumar Dewangan 
  Abstract: Social media influencer marketing is a growing area and becoming an inevitable part of the marketing mix of companies. The study realises that there is a necessity to conduct a systematic literature review available on social media influencers. This review gives a detailed insight into the literature available on social media influencers to shed light on domains that have been researched and the ones that are still unexplored. Accordingly, the study aimed to systematically review the current literature on social media influencer marketing. By reviewing 50 articles, this study provides an overview of the trends and themes covered by relevant literature such as the role of social media influencer in buying behaviour, the impact of social media influencers on firm’s image and performance, and highlights the domains where influencers play a significant role. The findings of the review throw light on geographical locations, context, and journal type of the articles taken in the study.
  Keywords: social media influencer marketing; social media influencers; Instagram; YouTube Bloggers; buying behaviour; purchase intention; consumer behaviour.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10045019
   
  
• COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE THROUGH COMBINATION OF SUSTAINABILITY SUPPLY CHAIN PRACTICES AND DYNAMIC ORGANIZATIONAL CAPABILITIES: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK  
  by Mohamad Hasib Uddin, Azmawani Abd Rahman, Yuhanis Abdul Aziz, Mohammad Razzak 
  Abstract: Traditional sources of competitive advantage through control of resources are insufficient in a dynamic business world. Hence, organisations need to search for new sources of competitive advantage for growth and survival. The extant literature appears to be skewed in favor of the resource-based theory (RBV). Nevertheless, recent academic discourse reveals that the sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices framework along with the dynamic capabilities view (DCV) offer a window into new avenues of competitive advantages for businesses. Therefore, this study leverages both the above theoretical views to propose a conceptual framework that presents a set of propositions linking the three dimensions of SSCM Practices (environmental, social and economic), along with two dimensions of dynamic organisational capabilities (management and technological) arguing that they influence competitive advantage. The outcome of this study is expected to pave the path for empirical studies that may identify new predictors of competitive advantage.
  Keywords: competitive advantage; sustainable supply chain management; SSCM practices; dynamic capabilities view; DCV.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10045247
   
  
• Relationship between Involvement Climate and Autonomous Motivation: Results from the Indian context  
  by Aditi Bisht, SANTOSH RANGNEKAR 
  Abstract: This paper aims to identify the impact of employee perceptions of involvement climate on work motivation. Employee motivation is still regarded as a critical outcome in the organisational behaviour literature. The data has been collected through survey questionnaires of 310 managers currently working in organisations in North India. The hypothesised relationship between employee involvement climate and work motivation has been tested using multiple hierarchal regression. Employee involvement climate is found to be positively correlated with autonomous motivation. The results indicate that participative decision-making and performance-based rewards facilitate autonomous motivation. This study provides insights for organisations regarding increased participative decision making and performance-based reward that influence employee behaviour. This study contributes to the literature on the phenomenon of involvement climate efforts that facilitate employee motivation at work.
  Keywords: employee involvement; climate; work motivation; self-determination theory; SDT; Indian organisations.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10045251
   
  
• Examining the relationship between transformational leadership and employee creativity: moderation and mediation across proactive personality and work engagement  
  by Nejib Ben Moussa  
  Abstract: The objective of the article is to identify the effect of transformational leadership on employee creativity in Tunisian SME’s. We conducted a survey of 95 Tunisian SME employees. Smart PLS 3 software was used to test our research hypotheses. The results revealed that transformational leadership is strongly correlated with the employee’s creativity. This relationship is reinforced by the effect of mediation of work engagement. The employee’s proactive personality moderates the employee’s work engagement and creativity. On the other hand, it does not moderate the relationship between transformational leadership and work engagement. Managers should be aware that improving employee creativity through transformational leadership is facilitated by the interaction between proactive personality and work engagement. The originality of our study is that it incorporates both the moderators and mediators who for the first time are studied together to explain the relationship transformational leadership and employee creativity.
  Keywords: transformational leadership; employee creativity; work engagement; proactive personality.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10045450
   
  
• FACTORS AFFECTING THE SKILLS AND OVERALL CAREER DEVELOPMENT: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS AMONG THE EMPLOYEES OF BANKING SECTOR  
  by Manuja Garg, Sanjeev Bansal 
  Abstract: Training and development are the most vital component of any organization to build efficient and skilled manpower. The training program aims to give the knowledge, instructions, needful skills and instructions to the existing and new employees to perform the particular job. Therefore, this article analyses the various demographic variables related to the employees of the banking sector and their impact has been studied on the various extracted components like internal motivation, training objective and overall career development. It has been found that variables like the age group of the employees and the number of training programs attended by the bank employees have a significant impact on one of the three extracted components.
  Keywords: Training and development; Career development; ANOVA; principal component analysis.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10045671
   
  
• Emotional coping ability and its significant impact on Health in Nurses: A systematic review  
  by Sumit Debnath, Puja Khatri 
  Abstract: The coping style represents the ability of a person to use certain styles or groups of coping methods that the person prefers. It is also significant that burnout leads to depletion of energy as a result nurses feel depressed because they cannot efficiently perform their duties. Hence coping mechanisms can play an important role in managing such symptoms. The study aims to make a systematic analysis of the literature related to coping with stress concerning nurses. Articles were searched from the period 2015
  Keywords: nurses; stress; coping; emotion.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10045813
   
  
• TPM as an Organizational Motivator for Gaining Business Excellence and Sustainability in Competitive Environment: An Empirical Exploration  
  by Pardeeep Gupta, SUMIT KUMAR 
  Abstract: Total productive maintenance (TPM) is a globally acknowledged business management tool utilised by industry for improving equipment and people for attaining business excellence. This paper aims to examine how TPM implementation at XYZ Auto Limited, India contributed in motivating its leadership, employees, suppliers and dealers for improving their performance capabilities. This industry adopted TPM for attaining long term sustainability in the ever growing and highly competitive automobile market. TPM implementation facilitated the industry in imparting higher job satisfaction through empowerment, knowledge enrichment and appreciation among its employees, suppliers and dealers in an effort to improve its business performance. After TPM implementation, the overall plant efficiency increased to 90%, warranty claims reduced by 68%, in-process defects reduced by 95%, manufacturing cost reduced by 37% and lead time reduced by 25%. This study is a novel and distinctive empirical exploration that establishes a relationship among TPM, organisational motivation and business performance.
  Keywords: total productive maintenance; TPM; organisational motivation; employee motivation; business excellence; quality management; organisational capabilities.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10046118
   
  
• Confusion to Clarity: Role of online reviews on purchase decision of online Customers  
  by Rakhee Chhibber, A.K. Srivastava 
  Abstract: The research is for the study of the impacts of the importance of review, nature of review and nature of customers on a purchase decision of online Customers. A quantitative research methodology was used and using 208 online customer’s data of Delhi/NCR. The tools used for research are factor analysis and structural equation modelling uaing Smart PLS. All the statements regarding the impact of online reviews for the purchase decision of customer had been converted into factors. Total 18 statements were converted into 4 variables- three independent variables like importance of review, nature and need of Customers and of review and nature of reviews (Qualitative/Quantitative (scale or rating) and one dependent variable as purchase decision of online customers. The outcomes of this study also indicated that the obtained independent variables have a substantial positive effect on consumer’s purchase decisions once they do online shopping.
  Keywords: Purchase decision; Nature of Customers; online review; star rating; Need of Customer; Scale rating.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10046292
   
  
• A META-RELQUAL Framework for B2B Sales Partnerships: Empirical Findings from Spain  
  by Carlos Ferro, Carmen Padín Fabeiro, Isolde Lubbe, Göran Svensson, Nils M. Høgevold 
  Abstract: The purpose of this study is to verify the validity and reliability of a META-RELQUAL (MRQ) framework in B2B sales partnerships. A questionnaire was distributed to a sample of Spanish businesses across a variety of industries that have a B2B focus. The study confirms the satisfactory validity and reliability of the MRQ-framework in B2B sales relationships. The MRQ-framework can be applied with salespeople in a Southern European B2B partnership settings, specifically Spain. The study also provides guidance to manage B2B purchase and sales partnerships based on a ten-dimensional foundation of concepts. Furthermore, the study amplifies the universal applicability of the MRQ-framework in B2B sales partnerships, specifically in a different country setting.
  Keywords: relationship marketing theory; salespeople; relationship quality; META-RELQUAL; social exchange theory; SET; transaction cost analysis; TCA; business to business partnerships; Spain.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10046296
   
  
• Liquidity Management and Profitability: Evidence from Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in China  
  by Chen Yu, Md Jahidur Rahman, Md Moazzem Hossain 
  Abstract: This study examined the relationship between the profitability and liquidity of Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and its effects by using ten-year data of 249 Chinese SMEs listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange from 2009 to 2018. A pooled regression analysis and a pairwise Granger causality test were performed to examine the relationship between the liquidity and profitability of these SMEs. Multiple proxies were utilised to measure SME performance, including: 1) return on asset (ROA); 2) return on equity; 3) net profit ratio (NPR). Results show cash conversion cycle (CCC) has a significantly negative relationship with SME performance. In the robustness test, results of a pairwise Granger causality test revealed that liquidity affects the profitability of Chinese SMEs, especially between ROA and cash ratio and between NPR and CCC. Regardless of the type of company, capital structures and working capital management are basic transactions in corporate finance. This research offers comprehensive information on the selected topic to compensate for the lack of evidence supporting the profitability and liquidity management of Chinese SMEs.
  Keywords: liquidity; Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises; small and medium-sized enterprises; SMEs; profitability; Granger causality; China.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10046586
   
  
• Impact of Covid-19 on entrepreneurial intentions of management graduates: A comparative study amongst business students in India and UAE  
  by Anam Akhtar, Khurram Ajaz Khan, John Amoah 
  Abstract: The present study has dual objectives. First, to examine how the COVID-19 affected entrepreneurial intentions of business students in India and UAE. Secondly, to compare the entrepreneurial intention of business students of India and UAE, and conclude whether gender, location, and specialisation depict similarities or differences in the entrepreneurial intentions during COVID-19. Researchers collected a sample of 234 business school final semester students in India and UAE. The data were analysed through SPSS, and non-parametric tests Mann-Whitney and Kruskal Wallis were used to detect the differences. The findings revealed no differences based on gender, location, and specialisation in the entrepreneurial intentions among business school students. Instead of negatively impacting students due to the COVID-19 impact, it reflected that student have a positive inclination towards entrepreneurial intention, and results reflect that most students take the present situation as an opportunity rather than a threat.
  Keywords: business students; entrepreneurship; intentions; India; UAE; COVID-19.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10046599
   
  
• Work-life balance and Organizational effectiveness: An emphasis on mediating effect of employee commitment  
  by Ansumalini Panda, Swati Bankar 
  Abstract: In today's world, balancing work and life is a never-ending issue. Today's global marketplace necessitates unwavering "work-life commitment" in the form of conflicting professional responsibilities. In the context of an organization, maintaining a high level of work
  Keywords: Work-life balance; employee commitment; organizational effectiveness; business process outsourcing; organization devlopment.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10046618
   
  
• The Role of Organizational Fit and Implementation Contingencies in the Success of ERP Projects in a Developing Country  
  by Minwir Al-Shammari, Younis Abdulla 
  Abstract: Several challenges could appear during the implementation process of enterprise resource planning (ERP) projects that need to be managed and appropriately planned to ensure successful implementation. This paper examines the role of ERP organisational fit and implementation contingencies in ERP projects’ success in medium and large companies in a developing country, Bahrain. Data has been gathered from a sample of 78 respondents actively involved in their companies’ ERP implementation process. The results support previous research concerning the significant relationship between organisational fit, process adaptation, ERP adaptation, and training and ERP project success. In contrast, a negligible correlation was found for some classical success factors, such as organisational resistance to ERP projects’ success. It is recommended for future research to investigate more factors relevant to ERP implementation to improve ERP implementation success.
  Keywords: enterprise resource planning; ERP; ERP projects; organisational fit; implementation contingencies; Bahrain.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10046635
   
  
• Exploring project excellence concept: How the potential and its reinforcement contribute to achieving excellent project results  
  by Mariusz Hofman, Grzegorz Grela 
  Abstract: Searching for excellence is an important direction in developing modern organisations that, more and more often, regard striving for excellence as a way of strengthening their competitive edge. The article discusses issues of project excellence and ways of achieving it. The deductive model developed assumes that the existing potential, consisting of the attitude of the management, competencies of the project leader, and efficiency of the project team, and appropriately reinforced through the effective management of project implementation processes, makes it possible to attain excellent project results. The deductive model is based on the assumptions of the project excellence baseline (PEB) model. The conducted studies indicate that the measurement and structural model show a very good match with empirical data and a high predictive capacity. It was found that the potential of excellence existing in an organisation determines the excellence of project results in a similar way as the reinforcement of the potential even though differences occur depending on the project category and the methodology used. It was also found that the project team, a key element of the potential of excellence, influences the manner of reinforcement by appropriately using the available and initiated project implementation processes and the related resources.
  Keywords: project excellence; potential of excellence; excellence reinforcement; project excellence models; PEMs.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10046660
   
  
• Entrepreneurial Knowledge Management Model: A Panacea for Start-Up Failures in Emerging Markets  
  by Priyadarshini Jayaraj Perumal, Vaneeta Aggarwal 
  Abstract: Knowledge is a very crucial and inevitable resource for new ventures to sustain competitive advantage. In this technology-driven dynamic world, the process of knowledge management of start-ups is not efficient enough to meet the competitive demands existing in the market. Huge differences exist between the knowledge management activities between the established firms and new firms. The process of knowledge management in start-ups is a relatively new and least explored area in entrepreneurship. The primary objective is to study the knowledge management process for start-ups through a qualitative approach; the secondary objective is to offer suggestions for knowledge acquisition and improving knowledge management in the start-ups; and the tertiary objective is to develop a model for effective knowledge management process for gaining sustainable competitive advantage. This paper is based on grounded theory. The authors of this study have collected data from ten entrepreneurs running start-ups in Chennai, an emerging market. NVivo 12 Plus qualitative software is used for analysing the data collected through the interview schedule. An entrepreneurial knowledge management model based on the insights and analysis from the interview schedule was developed, and suggestions were given regarding entrepreneurial knowledge management for start-ups.
  Keywords: entrepreneurial knowledge management; start-ups; entrepreneurial knowledge management for problem solving; emerging markets; Chennai; qualitative study; new ventures; knowledge management model.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10046662
   
  
• Bridging credit risk using comprehensive credit analysis: evidence from Palestinian banking sector  
  by Lina Jardaneh, Zahran Daraghma 
  Abstract: This paper investigates the adoption of the credit analysis techniques that bridges credit risk and provides live evidence on the reality of the Palestinian banks. However, in order to achieve its aims, the study adopted the quantitative approach. It also achieved the required data by designing a questionnaire that targets respondents working at seven banks that work in the Palestinian territories in the West Bank. Out of (248) distributed questionnaire forms, we received (189) completed forms. The findings show that the Palestinian banks follow all the instruments of credit risk analysis and adhere to them to reduce credit risk. This step contributes in creating a strong credit Palestinian banking sector. One of the reasons for this is that Palestine Monetary Authority imposed strict rules and regulations, which the banks follow and adhere to. These results are considered to be positive and of great importance in providing the Palestinian banks with an opportunity to grant credit expansion; and to participate in financing investment development and long term infrastructure projects, as a substitute to financing consumer retail products and short terms loans.
  Keywords: credit risk; comprehensive credit analysis; Palestine monetary authority; PMA; Palestine exchange.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10046677
   
  
• Investigating employee engagement practices using information technology during COVID-19 crisis: evidence from panel of industries  
  by K.S. Lavanya 
  Abstract: : Employees are an integral part of the organisation who contribute to organisational goals. The engagement of the employees has considerably evolved to motivate and enhance commitment towards the job. With the ongoing crisis, business activities took a halt causing considerable stress among the employees. In this study, a critical review is undertaken to identify and narrate various creative and innovative employee engagement practices followed among the panel of industries. Results of this study indicate that online platforms have paved the way to connect the organisation and its employees. Further, the introduction of virtual communities of practice is considered an important mechanism for facilitating effective knowledge sharing and collaboration among employees. Also, the study has discussed various engagement practices adopted by different organisations to engage its employees. These practices can be used to provide an overview and reference on some of the future development in the employee engagement practices.
  Keywords: employee engagement; human resources; industry; information technology; online platforms.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10046962
   
  
• new Study and analysis of the PFMEA approach for the aerospace manufacturing industries: evidence from aircraft manufacturers
  by Tarik Saikouk 
  Abstract: Aeronautics, space and defence industry is characterised by the usage of highly regulated and technically complex inputs. Most regulatory agencies and buyers of products or services in the industry, instruct firms to conduct business with partners that possess a supplier quality management system (SQMS). SQMS includes documented processes and procedures for managing ones suppliers. Keeping this in mind, the present work focus on demonstrating the implementation of a variant of failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) which is process FMEA in the aeronautics, space and defence industry. Using an action research methodology, we present and discuss the case of original brand manufacturer (OBM) that has implemented PFMEA to manage suppliers risks. As part of a quality early warning system (QEWS), the approach was implemented for the fairings sub commodity for a total of 11 work packages, five suppliers and one product program. Further, the present work serves as a reference mechanism for practitioners and academicians in aerospace manufacturing industries.
  Keywords: failure mode and effect analysis; FMEA; risk management; quality management; supplier management; PFMEA.
  
  
• The chaos on U.S. domestic airline passenger demand forecasting caused by COVID-19  
  by Nahid Jafari 
  Abstract: Commercial aviation is a major contributor to the US economy, directly or indirectly generating approximately US$680 billion, or 4% of GDP, and supporting millions of jobs. Approximately 965 million passengers flew to US destinations in 2017 (https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/37861). Given the importance of the industry, accurate forecasting of air passenger demand is valuable, and the most sophisticated forecasting technologies can be applied to this endeavour. The ongoing COVID-19 crisis has had an unprecedented impact on air traffic. Effective forecast of passenger demand would benefit airlines to develop adequate recovery plans and prevent (or minimise) any catastrophe in handling passengers during and post pandemic. The purpose of this study is to investigate COVID-19s impact on the US domestic air passengers demand, identify the most influential features on air passenger demand, and design more accurate forecast models. In addition, we address a computational challenge in developing forecasting models due to the volatility of the recent data as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. We use both traditional and artificial intelligence methods and discuss their capabilities to handle the challenge
  Keywords: air passenger demand; the US airlines market; seasonal time series forecasting; deep learning; gated recurrent units.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10046963
   
  
• Managing marketing mix competition dynamics  
  by Mehir Kumar Baidya 
  Abstract: Studies suggest that competition is inevitable as well as spoils brand performance. There are various forms of competition between brands. This study attempts to understand of marketing mix competition between brands in a mature product category. Three primary and 12 secondary hypotheses were framed. Panel data on sales and marketing mix variables were gathered from ten brands in a CPG category over a period 20132018 in India. Thereafter, multivariate autoregressive integrated moving average with predictors model (MARIMAXM) and double-log regression model (MRM) were fitted to data. All hypotheses such as asymmetries in cross effects are validated. The findings should assist managers in deciding whether to react or not react to competition using the tested evidence. This paper contributes to marketing practice and research because it produces insights into competitive structure and its evolution over time.
  Keywords: marketing mix; competition; economic; dynamics.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10046996
   
  
• Extrapolation of talent acquisition in AI aided professional environment  
  by Rajashree Karbhari Gethe 
  Abstract: AI works like a human brain and it helps in automating the recruitment system. In HR department, AI is used in recruitment which smartly enables recruiters and it helps to screen resume of candidates, to analyse speech pattern of candidate using natural language processing tool, conducting some skill tests in addition to video interview, conducting some advanced competency tests and neuroscience games in order to demonstrate candidates emotional and cognitive ability. AI is a human made software to make work easy and ongoing without any interruptions. AI replaces repetitive, time consuming work of sourcing and screening the candidates also improves candidates experience and companys productivity by lowering the cost of recruitment. Major objective of this paper is to study how artificial intelligence effects on recruitment and talent acquisition process. This study highlights some AI techniques that companies are using for recruitment. Study based on use of secondary sources of information
  Keywords: artificial intelligence; talent acquisition process; human resources.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10046997
   
  
• Organizational justice perception and job satisfaction of professors  
  by Ilse Maria Beuren, Vanderlei Santos 
  Abstract: The study analyses the effects of the organisational justice perception in the commitment and in the job satisfaction of professors. A survey was conducted with a sample of 317 university professors and the data analysis was performed through the structural equation modelling. The survey results indicate that the three dimensions of organisational justice influence the job satisfaction, being the procedural justice the biggest predictor, whereas the distributive justice had the lowest effect. The interactional justice was the biggest predictor of the affective commitment. The job satisfaction influences the affective and normative commitment and mediates the relationship of the distributive and procedural justice with the affective commitment, besides mediating the relationship of the procedural and interactional justice with the normative commitment.
  Keywords: organisational justice; organisational commitment; job satisfaction.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10047109
   
  
• Investigating employee engagement practices using information technology during Covid-19 crisis: Evidence from panel of industries  
  by Lavanya K.S., Rajesh Kalli, DEEPAK MD, Swamy Perumandla, Shridev . 
  Abstract: Employees are an integral part of the organisation who contribute to organisational goals. The engagement of the employees has considerably evolved to motivate and enhance commitment towards the job. With the ongoing crisis, business activities took a halt causing considerable stress among the employees. In this study, a critical review is undertaken to identify and narrate various creative and innovative employee engagement practices followed among the panel of industries. Results of this study indicate that online platforms have paved the way to connect the organisation and its employees. Further, the introduction of virtual communities of practice is considered an important mechanism for facilitating effective knowledge sharing and collaboration among employees. Also, the study has discussed various engagement practices adopted by different organisations to engage its employees. These practices can be used to provide an overview and reference on some of the future development in the employee engagement practices.
  Keywords: employee engagement; human resources; industry; information technology; online platforms.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10047132
   
  
• Impact of Green Supply Chain Management on extractive industries Performance of jordan  
  by Ayat Mohammad, Sulieman Al-hawary, Lina Al-Abbadi, Rawan Alshawabkeh, Ali Al- Quran 
  Abstract: The studys goal is to determine the influence of green supply chain practices on Jordans extractive industries performance. The current studys population consisted of senior executives from extractive firms, totalling (647) executives. The current studys data was gathered through a self-report survey distributed to senior executives at Jordanian extractive industries. Because this questionnaire was created using Google forms and disseminated to the study sample by email, environmental responsibility was taken into account. The study hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling (SEM).According to the findings, the green distribution had the greatest impact, followed by the green production. Green design came in third, followed by green suppliers, with green procurement having the least impact.
  Keywords: green supply chain management; GSCM; performance; extractive industries; Jordan; structural equation modelling; SEM.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10047136
   
  
• Competitive Intensity, Market and Nonmarket Strategies, and Firm Performance: Evidence from Malaysia  
  by John A. Parnell, Ruzita Jusoh, Tarannum Azim Baigh 
  Abstract: This paper reports on findings from a survey of 129 managers in Malaysia. Cost leadership, differentiation, and political non-market strategy (NMS) were significant drivers of firm performance. Competitive intensity was positively associated with performance and negatively moderated the relationship between cost leadership and performance but did not moderate the relationship between differentiation and firm performance. Political NMS positively moderated the competitive intensity-firm performance link. In conjunction with the Twelfth Malaysia Plan (12MP) crafted to pursue high-income nation status by the year 2025, the results of this study can help Malaysian firms identify strategic tools to enhance global competitiveness. The findings also help Malaysian policymakers and regulators strengthen their mechanisms to fight corruption and mitigate Malaysian firms from engaging in political NMS.
  Keywords: non-market strategy; NMS; corporate political analysis; uncertainty; strategic competitive intensity; performance; Malaysia.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10047156
   
  
• Entrepreneurial Bricolage, New-Product Development and Entrepreneur’s Creativity  
  by Dina Khreis, Shafig Al-Haddad 
  Abstract: The main objective of this study is to investigate the impact of entrepreneurial bricolage on new-product development and entrepreneur creativity and investigate if the entrepreneur’s creativity mediated the impact of entrepreneurial bricolage on new-product development. The methodology of this research relied on collecting data through a quantitative survey, the population of the study consists of Jordanian entrepreneurs who own micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and develop products. A convenient sample of 100 surveys and analysed the data using a Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The study findings showed that an entrepreneurs’ creativity mediated the impact of entrepreneurial bricolage on new-product development. Results have also showcased the impact of applying bricolage in entrepreneurial ventures on their ability to gain new-product development advantages, which includes the product’s creativity and development speed. This sheds light on the importance of changing managerial policies that do not support bricolage application if needed, to help entrepreneurs gain a competitive advantage in the market.
  Keywords: entrepreneurship; bricolage; new-product development; creativity; Jordan.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10047332
   
  
• Annual reports and company announcements utility for investment decisions: An Indian study  
  by Meena Bhatia 
  Abstract: This study explores the perceptions towards corporate annual reports and its sections, and other announcements used for investment decisions by Indian individual investors’; and to study differences in perceptions between user groups based on occupation. The data were collected through a questionnaire; descriptive statistics, and Kruskal?Wallis tests were used to analyse the results. Findings reveal that the three financial statements are most important, and performance highlights are the most understandable section in annual reports. Announcements on stock exchanges are most used other announcements, and users reported that it has new information. User groups differed significantly in their perceptions about the importance and understandability of various sections of annual reports, and other announcements used for investment decisions.
  Keywords: annual reports; emerging markets; investment decisions; occupation; investors; other announcements; India.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10047341
   
  
• Designing a coaching model for Isfahan's Mobarakeh Steel Company  
  by Parisa Kashani, Ali Shaemi Barzoki, Hadi Teimouri 
  Abstract: This study was conducted to explain the necessity of designing a coaching model in the workplace. Semi-structured interviews, purposeful sampling, and conventional data analysis were used in this qualitative study. The participants and informants included 22 experts and managers in Isfahan’s Mobarakeh Steel Company (MSC). The data were analysed in three stages, namely, open coding, axial coding, and selective coding, which resulted in the emergence of six core categories: 1) phenomenon; 2) causal conditions; 3) context; 4) intervening conditions; 5) strategies; 6) consequences. Standard training according to educational principles is one of the coaches’ requirements and an essential condition for coaching process efficiency. Therefore, it is necessary that a scientific and functional guide be used for coordinating and integrating the coaching process.
  Keywords: coaching; grounded-theory approach; model designing; workplace coaching.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10047345
   
  
• Enhancing usability of digital technologies in small medium enterprises with search engine optimization and flow theory  
  by Khaled ABOALGANAM, Hussain Awad 
  Abstract: The purpose of this research is to unfold how different digital marketing strategies impact usability of digital technology and firm performance. More specifically, current research investigates the influence of search engine optimisation, customer database, perceived utility, landing page and flow theory on usability of digital technology. Data were collected through a research survey, administered among 365 employees working in small and medium size enterprises. The empirical investigation reveals that altogether search engine optimisation, perceived flow theory, customer database, internet marketing, landing page and perceived utility explained substantial variance R2 78.8% in usability of digital technologies. The moderating effect of perceived efficiency is confirmed between usability of digital technology and firm performance. Findings of the structural equation modelling disclosed several contributions to theory and practice which in turn assist policy makers to understand factors which impact usability of digital technology in small medium size enterprises.
  Keywords: search engine optimisation; customer database; flow theory; perceived utility; usability of digital technology; structural equation modelling.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10047432
   
  
• Factors affecting SMEs entrepreneurship development: a study on northern region of Bangladesh  
  by Md. Motahar Hossain, Nitin Pathak 
  Abstract: SMEs are considered the arising area for the economic development of any country on the planet. This area is impacted significantly with less capital contrasted with different business areas. Bangladesh has an incredible opportunity to advance SMEs area like other non-industrial nations. This examination pointed toward investigating the factors influencing the performance of small and medium enterprises in the northern area of Bangladesh. The investigation approach is quantitative. Sixty SMEs, proprietors/managers, were interviewed from Bangladesh’s north area for the examination. The affecting factors examined in this study were socio-economic background (age, sex, education level and parental occupation of SMEs owners and managers); work experience, technical skills, business characteristics (source of initial capital); financial constraints; enterprise management and government support. The regression results uncovered that the significant variables influencing the development of SMEs demonstrated by income in the examination region.
  Keywords: small and medium enterprises; SMEs; gross domestic product; poverty reduction strategy paper; SMEs entrepreneurship development; SED; Bangladesh.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10047473
   
  
• Modelling the drivers of brand love for encapsulating purchase intention of customers in the stores of hypermarket brands  
  by Deependra Singh, Naval Bajpai 
  Abstract: The study aims to form a research framework for the relationship of various branding determinants with brand love. Besides, this report inspects the probable effect of brand love on customers’ purchasing intention in their loving hypermarket brand’s stores. For achieving the objectives, we collected a sample of 513 customers through a structured questionnaire. The sample size is analysed using structural equation modelling and logistic regression. The research model supports the proposed hypotheses and recommends that brand love is positively influenced by the branding determinants. Furthermore, this study also expresses the pivotal function of brand love for developing customers’ purchasing intention in the stores of hypermarket brands using a logit model. Thus, the current study adds to the concerned literature by outlining a framework for forming customer-brand love in the research setting of hypermarket brands, which is an under-researched context relatively for studying customers’ loving relationship with the brand.
  Keywords: brand love; customer-brand relationship; purchase intention; hypermarket brand stores; structural equation modelling; logistic regression analysis.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10047572
   
  
• Guidelines to handle technology disruption for the adaptation of Thai financial institutions  
  by Chatchai Poungsuwan, Raknarin Sanrach, Thanin Silpcharu 
  Abstract: This study aimed to investigate guidelines to handle technology disruption for the adaptation of Thai financial institutions and to develop those guidelines into a structural equation model. Both qualitative and quantitative studies were conducted. Questionnaires were used to collect the quantitative data from 500 executives in Thai financial institutions. Descriptive, inference and multivariate statistics were used to analyse the data. The finding indicated that guidelines to handle technology disruption for the adaptation of Thai financial institutions consisted of the four latent variables arranged in the order of the obtained means of importance as follows: business development, competitiveness, resource management and workforce management, respectively. Unequivocally, the developed structure equation modelling analysis was confirmed under the empirical data and passed the SEM evaluation criteria.
  Keywords: structural equation modelling; SEM; adaptation; problem of technology disruption; Thai financial institutions; guidelines.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10047809
   
  
• Adoption of Insurance Products among Low-income Consumers (Subsistence Marketplaces)  
  by PREETI DEVI, Tejinder Sharma 
  Abstract: Insurance is of utmost importance for the people at subsistence marketplaces as they are more prone to financial and life-related risks than others. However, the rate of adoption of insurance products is very low as far as the subsistence marketplaces are concerned. Keeping this in view, the study investigates the major determinants contributing towards the adoption of insurance products at subsistence marketplaces. Initially, a qualitative survey has been conducted through a personal interview method followed by a primary research survey with 422 respondents (who are already insured or are willing to get insured) belonging to subsistence marketplaces in the Haryana state of India. The factors extracted from exploratory factor analysis are taken as input for applying the regression analysis and artificial neural networks techniques. The study concludes that customer relations, service quality and influence of reference groups are the major factors having a significant impact on the adoption of insurance products at subsistence marketplaces.
  Keywords: subsistence marketplaces; adoption; insurance products; customer relations; service quality; influence of reference groups; India.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10047813
   
  
• Identifying the Predictors of Business Excellence: An empirical evidence from Dubai Public Entities  
  by Ali Alnyeadi, Meor Azli Ayub, Mohd. Faiz Hilmi, Anas Abudaqa, Gouher Ahmed 
  Abstract: Organisational culture is inclusive of the norms of members within an organisation. These are experienced by the individuals working within an organisation, which describes the environment at an organisation. The organisational culture norms regulate the behaviours of employees working within an organisation and influence how the objectives are accomplished in organisational culture that results in business performance. The current study examines the relationship between organisational culture and business excellence. The main results of the SPSS and PLS-SEM analysis from 338 valid samples demonstrate that empowerment, human resources orientation, improvement orientation, and interdepartmental coordination significantly influence business excellence. In contrast, the external orientation and business excellence relationship did not find any statistical support. Thus, the study benefits managers of organisations to refine cultural orientation to boost business excellence and derive prolific benefits.
  Keywords: Business Excellence; Empowerment; Improvement Orientation; External Orientation; Business Results.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10047814
   
  
• Impact of CSR spending on Corporate Financial Performance -An Empirical Evidence from the Indian Manufacturing Sector  
  by Sreepriya J, Suprabha K. R 
  Abstract: The article’s prime objective is to explore the influence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) spending on the corporate financial performance (CFP) of Indian manufacturing firms. The study examines a sample of 233 manufacturing firms listed on the Nifty 500 index over six years from 2014 to 2019. The author has used the generalised method of moments (GMM) to study the impact of CSR spending on corporate financial performance. Additionally, the pooled ordinary least square (POLS) and random effect model (REM) were employed to confirm the validity and robustness of the model. The findings add to the existing discussion by revealing a mixed but significant association between CSR spending and CFP. CSR investment has a short-term negative impact on profitability. However, positive influence in the long run. Furthermore, both long and short-term CSR spending positively affects firm value. The study’s outcome delivers insights for managers, policymakers, and academicians.
  Keywords: CSR spending; corporate financial performance; generalised method of moments; GMM; Indian manufacturing sector.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10047857
   
  
• Emotional Intelligence and Employee Innovativeness: Mediating Role of Employee Psychological Well-being  
  by Devulapalli Kiran Kumar, Rama Krishna Gupta Potnuru 
  Abstract: The study aims to address the uniqueness of a model of mediation in which a test is conducted to determine the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and employee innovation (EInn) in the presence of employee psychological well-being (EPWB). Two hundred and ninety-six workers were contacted, and replies were recorded through email, with the respondents’ and researcher’s conveniences in mind to maximise resources such as time, effort, and money. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to evaluate the model. The connections between emotional intelligence and employee innovation were shown to be important in the presence of employee psychological well-being. Based on the dynamic link between emotional intelligence and employee innovation, it is feasible to claim that psychological well-being would predict employee innovation. At the same time, it has the potential to boost employee innovation.
  Keywords: emotional intelligence; EI; employee psychological well-being; EPWB; employee innovation; EInn; mediation model; business excellence.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10048181
   
  
• Revisiting Work-Family Conflict and Affective Commitment among Health Care Professionals: Mediating Role of Psychological Safety  
  by S. Mufeed Ahmad, Juman Iqbal, Shameem Shagirbasha 
  Abstract: Work-family conflict has grown in importance as a study subject in organisational behaviour. The phenomenon of work-family conflict of doctors is particularly imperative as healthcare providers are exposed to high job demands. Against this backdrop, the purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the mediating role of psychological safety between work-family conflict and affective commitment among doctors in North India. Data was collected from 357 respondents and was tested by structural equation model using SPSS AMOS 21. The results indicate that work-family conflict has significant negative impact on affective commitment and psychological safety while psychological safety mediates (partially) the relationship between work-family conflict and affective commitment. The work-family conflict and affective commitment association has been largely investigated, and is firmly established in the literature, however there is an absolute dearth of studies which has studied this association with psychological safety as a mediator, especially in healthcare sector.
  Keywords: work-family conflict; WFC; affective commitment; psychological safety; doctors; hospitals; India.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10048298
   
  
• An analysis of Psychological well-being  
  by Richa Banerjee, Subeer Banerjee 
  Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic period since December 2019 has a huge psychological impact. Everyone is facing mental health issues and problems. The increasing anxiety, uncertainty has raised concern. The objective of the study is to explore the interaction of happiness, self-esteem and psychological well-being of educators. Educators are on an entirely different front during this period. The studies have been done to allying self-esteem and happiness, in the investigation we attempted to investigate the two factors self-esteem and happiness corresponding to the psychological well-being of educators. Present study considered self-esteem and happiness which are predicting psychological well-being. Participants in the study were 113 female and 127 male academicians. The three variables were checked against relationships between the variables with the help of SEM. Structural equation modelling was done with the help of Amos18. The results indicated that happiness, self-esteem affects psychological well-being. Simultaneously self-esteem is not influencing the happiness of academicians.
  Keywords: psychological well-being; PWB; happiness; self-esteem.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10048305
   
  
• Grit Won’t Quit: How Hiring for Grit May Help Predict Employee Turnover  
  by Nikolaus Butz, Reed Stratton, Abigail Schmidt, Emily E. Gruber 
  Abstract: Employee turnover has the potential to cause considerable financial liability for any organisation, regardless of size or locality. Therefore, assessing job candidates with hiring criteria that will identify applicants least likely to quit is essential. One overlooked hiring criterion is grit, passion plus perseverance toward long-term goals (Duckworth et al., 2007). While grit has long been studied in psychology and education for predicting success, research connecting it to turnover is limited, especially in business. This longitudinal study explored grit’s potential relationship to turnover. Online survey data were collected at two time points from 53 employers in the Midwest USA. Results indicated that, when hiring, companies valuing grit effort, the perseverance portion of passion plus perseverance, at time 1 saw lower turnover at time 2. Even while controlling for other skills commonly associated with job performance, companies hiring for grit effort tended to see lower turnover. Recommendations for grit-focused hiring are provided.
  Keywords: grit; turnover; hiring; applicant screening; human resource management; retention; passion; perseverance; interest; effort.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10048385
   
  
• The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Business Performance: A Proposed Conceptual Framework  
  by Simonov Kusi-Sarpong, Sharfuddin Ahmed Khan 
  Abstract: Artificial intelligence (AI) enable organisations to enhance performance through the implementation of various applications in the organisational structure. But unfortunately, the hidden factors of AI become the hurdle for organisations which abandon the organisations to implement it. Therefore, this paper attempts to find the business performance by analysing such factors which are essential while implementing the AI applications or systems. A hybrid methodology based on interpretive structural modelling (ISM) and analytical network process (ANP) is used to identify inter-relationships among AI factors. A result shows that deep learning, neural networks and employee motivation are the factors with highest weightage and ranking. This study presents a new look to the firms, especially in Pakistan in order to enhance the performance. Eventually, this paper offers a useful map and perspectives into additional investigation in a Pakistani context in particular for AI.
  Keywords: artificial intelligence; business excellence; business performance; machine learning; deep learning; neural network; leadership; organisational change.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10049018
   
  
• Investigating the Influences of Range of Products and Promotional Offers in the Retail Store on Shoppers’ Satisfaction- Towards Excellence in In-store Retail  
  by Parag Shukla, Parimal Vyas 
  Abstract: This research paper is aimed at measuring shoppers’ satisfaction based on the influences of range of products offered and the promotional schemes floated to shoppers selected from the cities viz., Vadodara, Surat, Ahmedabad and Rajkot. The primary data were collected from 1,500 shoppers using the mall intercept interview technique and convenience sampling method. The range of the products available in the retail store as well as promotional elements of the retail store would play a crucial role in the brick-and-mortar store not only to draw shoppers to the store but also to distinctively portray an image in the current disruptive retail environment with the onslaught of COVID-19 pandemic. The present study unveils the shoppers’ predispositions regarding the range of the products in the retail store and the promotional campaigns of the retailers and its resultant impact on shoppers’ choice of a retail outlet especially in the
  Keywords: shoppers’ satisfaction; range of products; promotional offers.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10049307
   
  
• A Parsimonious Measure of the Interpersonal Orientation of Salespeople  
  by Subhra Chakrabarty, Robert E. Widing 
  Abstract: Salespeople in the Pharmaceutical Industry were surveyed to assess the degree to which they were high/low on interpersonal orientation (IO). Swap and Rubin’s (1983) 29-item IO scale was used. Unfortunately, to date, no one has analyzed the reliability and validity of the 29-item IO scale. This study corrects this deficiency and the results of a psychometric analysis revealed that a reduced version of the scale is reliable and valid. In using the scale, we were able to confirm that as salespeople’s IO scores increased, they were more engaged in adaptive selling, which supports the scale’s nomological validity. The reduced IO scale has a practical effect of having one-third fewer items, which should help reduce respondent fatigue and survey abandonment. We recommend that for future research, the reduced scale presented here be considered by researchers.
  Keywords: Interpersonal Orientation; Salespeople; Reliability; Validity.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10049375
   
  
• DETERMINANTS OF COMMERCIAL BANKS' PROFITABILITY IN MALAYSIA  
  by Joan Lee Jing Yee, Suganthi Ramasamy 
  Abstract: Commercial bank is an important financial institution as it is the major sources of money in Malaysia banking industry. Thus, the profitability of commercial banks is an issue to be further studied. The aim of this research is to identify the determinants of commercial banks’ profitability in Malaysia. The source of data gathered is secondary data for the period between 2010 to 2019. From the finding, bank size, liquidity risk and cost efficiency are significant towards bank profitability whereas capital adequacy and non-performing loans are insignificant are insignificant towards bank profitability. Next, the factor that has positive relationship with bank profitability is capital adequacy. On the other hand, bank size, liquidity risk, non-performing loans and cost efficiency show negative relationship with bank profitability. The result also concludes that the cost efficiency is the most influencing factor towards the bank profitability in Malaysia among all the factors studied in this research.
  Keywords: profitability; commercial banks; bank size; Malaysia.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10049395
   
  
• Women participation in tech workforce: Unveiling of challenges through systematic review and bibliometric inquiry  
  by JiaYing Li  
  Abstract: Business excellence cannot be reached without the widespread participation of women in the tech workforce. Since women’s representation in the tech workforce has been on a low trajectory, the current systematic review with bibliometric inquiry aims to find the challenges for women in the technology workforce. Using the PRISMA flowchart, a total of 132 academic research papers from the mainstream research archives were inspected to classify the appropriate 12 publications. For each of the 12 publications, bibliometric data were compiled. The word co-occurrence network maps were created using VOSviewer, and significant terms were selected afterward. By critically reviewing the appropriate papers, associated issues were revealed. Using the cross-mapping technique, broad groups of challenges as themes, such as healthcare facility, gender inequity, and technological leadership were recognised. According to the findings of the study, challenges for women in the technology workforce include healthcare facility, gender inequity, and technological leadership.
  Keywords: women in technology; qualitative; systematic review; bibliometric; PRISMA; VOSviewer.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10049486
   
  
• Does Generational Cohorts Effect Student’s Self Efficacy? The Moderating Role of Social Support  
  by Sonali Narbariya, Musarrat Shaheen, Ashish Arya 
  Abstract: In light of the growing importance of the academic performance of students in the educational sector, this paper aimed to investigate the impact of student’s perceived social support and their generational cohort on individual self-efficacy. Statistical techniques such as correlation and multivariate regression analysis (with dummy) using SPSS and syntax were applied to analyse responses of 314 management students, considering their generational cohorts as categorical variables, Gen Z students and Gen Y. The results of data analysis indicate that both perceived social support and generation of the student, significantly influence their self-efficacy. The significant differential impact of the generational cohort was moderated by the students’ perceived social support. Finally, this study provides vital insights into the composition of self-efficacy skills for two different generations and implications for future pedagogical practices are discussed.
  Keywords: self-efficacy; perceived social support; generation Y; generation Z.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10049518
   
  
• Lean Management and Competitive Advantage: A Systematic Literature Review  
  by Abdel-Aziz Sharabati, Shafig Al-Haddad, Azzam Aboumoghli 
  Abstract: This article aims to study the relationship between the lean concept and competitive advantage in different industries and countries. The article uses a qualitative research method, the systematic literature review of previous related studies with keywords lean and competitive and lean and competitiveness. The search was based on screening research papers through the Internet specially Google scholar, then the most reputable journals. The data were collected, analysed, and summarised to come up with a suitable synthesis, followed by conclusions and recommendations. The result shows that lean management can be used in all industries and in all countries whatever they do and wherever they perform their activities. Moreover, it shows that lean management positively affects all competitive advantage dimensions except innovation, where there is a debate about the relationship between Lean and innovation, some authors said there is a trade-off between Lean and innovation.
  Keywords: lean practices; competitive advantage; systematic literature review.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10049799
   
  
• DOES BOARD SIZE MATTER FOR CSR PERFORMANCE A GMM- BASED DYNAMIC PANEL DATA APPROACH  
  by SUCHISMITA GHOSH, Ritu Pareek, Tarak Nath Sahu 
  Abstract: The growing numbers of corporate and environmental scandals in the previous few decades have brought about the emergence of rules and regulations regarding CSR practices in the corporate world. Amidst the rising trend of socially responsible practices, the study attempts to explore in-depth consequence of board size on CSR performance of Indian organisations from the year 2010 to 2020. The study utilises both static and Arellano-Bond estimator panel data approach and divulges that there subsist a nonlinear connection amongst board size and CSR, with threshold level of board size at 11 members, beyond which the CSR enforcement of corporation starts decreasing because upsurge the numbers of board associates can persuade the management to boost socially responsible work up to certain level, surpassing the negativities of increase in firm’s board size outweighs the benefit gained, in regards to its CSR performance.
  Keywords: board size; corporate social responsibility; GMM-based panel data analysis; inverted-U shaped relationship.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10049821
   
  
• The Impact of the Excellence Awards in Creating and Sustaining a Culture of Excellence from the Assessors’ Perspectives  
  by Khleef Alkhawaldeh, Ross Chapman 
  Abstract: This research examined the impact of the excellence awards in creating and sustaining a culture of excellence from the point of view of excellence assessors. It also investigated the relationship between the impact of excellence awards on the examined pillars of excellence (future shaping and agility, alignment and integration, and sustainable performance) and the impact of excellence awards on creating and sustaining a culture of excellence. The results showed that the impacts of excellence awards on future shaping and agility, and alignment and integration are slightly below the moderate level but statistically different from it, while the impacts of excellence awards on sustainable performance, and creating and sustaining a culture of excellence are not statistically different from the moderate level. The results also indicated that there are statistically significant relationships between the impacts of excellence awards on these excellence pillars and impact of excellence awards on creating and sustaining a culture of excellence.
  Keywords: excellence; excellence awards; excellence culture; future shaping; agility; alignment; sustainable performance; excellence assessors; Middle East.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10049857
   
  
• A Retrospective Overview of Organic Products in the Personal Care Category: Science Mapping, Themes, and Future Research Scope through Bibliometric Analysis  
  by Surbhi Sharma, Bijay Kushwaha 
  Abstract: The present study attempts to scrutinise the progression of research conducted on organic products in the personal care category using bibliometric analysis. A bibliometric analysis is conducted on biographies of articles published in the area of organic products in the personal care category using the VOSviewer application and Scopus analysis. A total of 475 publications were obtained from the Scopus database that was published between 2002 and 2021 to investigate research trends in this area. Total citations, most cited articles, writers and journals, notable institutes, and country contributions were all investigated. This study gives insight of top ten leading journals of organic product in personal care categories along with list of top ten most influential articles with their years of publication and total citations. Additionally, the USA and the UK are two top countries with highest citations and documents in the field of organic products in last 20 years. Moreover, the top 10 most widely published journals in the specialised field, as measured by SNIP, SJR, and cite scores, are identified and thoroughly examined in this study.
  Keywords: organic products; personal care products; bibliometrics analysis; VOSviewer.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10049926
   
  
• Can Employee Relations be Attained Through Positive Self-disclosure and Happiness The Mediating Role of Emotional Stability  
  by Nagendra Singh Nehra, Vimal Pant, Jitender Kumar, Bregham Dalgliesh 
  Abstract: This paper conceptualises the capitalisation theory, which can support as a major theoretical framework to investigate the mediating role of emotional stability between positive self-disclosure and happiness in understudied non-Western cultures like India. The survey was conducted through paper-pencil survey and distributed 472 questionnaires via a convenience sampling method and a cross-sectional survey-based research design. In the final analysis, only 398 responses were considered for analysis using multiple hierarchy regression analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and bootstrapping test. Results indicate that emotional stability partially mediates the relationship between positive self-disclosure and happiness via applicability of capitalisation theory in the Indian context. The findings of this study enrich the literature on said relation from capitalisation theory perspective that has not been examined before and serve as a potential policy guideline in Indian organisations.
  Keywords: positive self-disclosure; emotional stability; happiness; Indian context.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10049927
   
  
• ASSESSING THE EFFICACY OF TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON EMPLOYEE EMPOWERMENT IN AUTOMOTIVE COMPANIES: A Study in SIIDCUL, Haridwar, Uttarakhand  
  by Sweta Gaur, Neha Yajurvedi 
  Abstract: The main purpose of this research study is to assess the efficacy of total quality management (TQM) practices on employee empowerment in automotive companies in SIIDCUL, Haridwar Uttarakhand. The research design includes the PLS-SEM method. Data is gathered through sample of 180 employees working in the automotive companies. The data was analysed through PLS-SEM method to arrive at the results. The finding of the study demonstrates the relationship of TQM practices on employee empowerment. The research study demonstrated that there is a significant impact of the implementation of TQM practices on employee empowerment. The study contributed to in establishing a positive relationship between the defined TQM elements with employee empowerment, which supports the organisation to achieve its business objectives through motivated and engaged employees. The study makes a significant contribution to the literature on the subject. The findings are expected to be helpful to TQM practitioners in various sectors.
  Keywords: total quality management; TQM; employee empowerment; top management commitment; training; reward; teamwork; efficacy.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10049975
   
  
• Digital Manufacturing Readiness Assessment using fuzzy logic: A case study in a SME  
  by Phanendra N, S. Vinodh 
  Abstract: Digital manufacturing can help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to deal with aggressive competition, volatile market, and ever-changing demand for new products. But SMEs face different challenges while adaptation of new technologies due to their limited resources. Hence, SMEs are to be analysed in the perspective of readiness towards digital transformation. Readiness models help to visualise the current state of the enterprise and can help to guide their resources. In the current study, digital readiness of an SME is computed using fuzzy logic approach. The dimensions are selected using systematic literature review method and data is collected with the help of questionnaire circulated among experts in the selected SME. Readiness index has been computed and weaker areas are identified. Fuzzy Digital Readiness Index is calculated as (4.54, 6.10, 7.68). Weaker areas are identified and appropriate improvement actions are suggested.
  Keywords: digital manufacturing; Industry 4.0; readiness assessment model; fuzzy logic; small and medium enterprises; SME.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10050007
   
  
• PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF CASHLESS PAYMENT RESEARCH IN TRANSFORMING CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR: A BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS  
  by Rahul Meena, Varun Chotia, Samar Sarabhai 
  Abstract: Conceptual knowledge of cashless payment methods and consumer behaviour affects its origin and its network. This paper aims to analyse past and present research conducted in consumer behaviour on shopping and buying preferences having an impact due to available payment methods. Through bibliometric study, this paper tries to understand and discover trends relating to research in consumer behaviour considering payment methods as a significant factor. The data collected for the study goes back to 43 years, i.e., from 1978 to 2021. The existing articles in this area belong to high-impact journals, arousing interest among researchers which in turn should have increased the number of articles as well, but ironically we could not confirm this through our analysis. A lack of research in willingness to pay (WTP) and willingness to buy (WTB) with an emphasis on payment methods was identified upon investigation.
  Keywords: consumer behaviour; cashless payment methods; bibliometric; willingness to pay; WTP; willingness to buy; WTB.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10050045
   
  
• Strategies to enhance the performance of MSMEs: A developing nation perspective  
  by SUBHODEEP MUKHERJEE, Manish Mohan Baral, Ramji Nagariya, Venkataiah Chittipaka 
  Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to develop strategies for reviving Indian MSME in the face of the current pandemic of COVID-19. An exhaustive literature review is being undertaken to identify various strategies to mitigate MSMEs’ performance in developing nations. Resource-based theory (RBT) and dynamic capability view (DCV) are used in this research. Major factors identified are digitalisation, inventories and reserve capacity, business continuity plans, decision-making proximity, building resilient transportation and logistics facilities, and delivery reliability. A total of 303 responses were received, and six hypotheses were formulated. Structural equation modelling (SEM) has been used for the analysis of the collected data. From the statistical analysis, it can be concluded that the identified latent variables contribute towards the model fit. The model empirically validated that the identified factors significantly contribute towards MSMEs performance. The findings of the study will be productive for MSMEs for improving their performance.
  Keywords: COVID-19; resource-based theory; RBT; dynamic capability view; DCV; digitalisation; MSMEs; resilient; performance.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10050076
   
  
• Dynamic capabilities for socio-economical sustainability management: evidence from international clothing firms in Ethiopia industrial zones  
  by Fitsum Bayu, Eshetie Berhan, Frank Ebinger 
  Abstract: This paper introduces the strategic micro-foundational construct of dynamic capabilities and explores their causal relationship with socio-economical sustainability variables by considering relational capabilities and focusing on the external environment as a mediating factor. The study used a case study approach targeting export-oriented international clothing firms investing in the industrial zones of Ethiopia. Primary data were gathered for the measurement variables and presented with descriptive and multivariate statistics. Moreover, a system dynamics model was applied to model the dynamic relationship and understand the dynamic capability growth for socio-economical sustainability. The findings show that the firm’s accumulated operational capabilities have not significantly influenced socio-economical sustainability. However, a firm’s dynamic capabilities to sense, seize, and reconfigure sustainability requirements from the external environment through relational capabilities were more influential. In this regard, it was understood that the firms have a good opportunity to adopt a dynamic capability-driven strategic management approach for sustainable development.
  Keywords: dynamic capabilities; social sustainability; economic sustainability; Ethiopia industrial zones; international clothing firms; Ethiopia.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10050078
   
  
• A mixed method approach to understand Service Quality-satisfaction-loyalty linkage for video-on-demand service  
  by Satyaki Datta, Tathagata Ghosh 
  Abstract: According to extant literature, if something cannot be measured properly, it cannot be managed either. The merit of service of a business is measured by the construct service quality, which has been operationalised uniquely through different attributes and corresponding psychometric instrument across different service industry. In the absence of any such attribute and instrument, the service quality of the novel video-on-demand service through OTT media is difficult to understand and measure. Further for sustained growth and increased profitability of the video-on-demand service business, it would be prudent to understand in what manner, the various dimensions of service quality can satisfy the users and further impart loyalty in them, in the present context. To answer these research gaps, the current study was conducted to explore dimensions of service quality and investigate the corresponding relationship with satisfaction and loyalty for video-on-demand service.
  Keywords: video-on-demand; V-o-D; over-the-top; OTT; service quality; mixed method; Process Macro.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10050080
   
  
• The Influence of Society on the Behavioral Intention to Use a Technology: Evidence from the Battery Electric Vehicles Domain  
  by Alessandro Lampo, Susana C. Silva, Paulo Duarte 
  Abstract: Despite several benefits, the market penetration of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) is below expectation. In light of studies suggesting the significant role of society in enhancing the uptake of technology-driven products, it is important to better understand how social factors affect consumers’ intention to use technologies. Data gathered from 120 self-administered surveys were analysed using structural equation modelling (SmartPLS) to examine the effect of subjective norms (SN) and image (IM) on adoption intentions for BEVs. The result showed that social factors played important roles in the decision to adopt the technology. Image, in particular, was a significant behavioural drive for current BEV owners. Social norm and image factors should be considered in research frameworks and communication strategies, especially in contexts where the choices that individuals make are public and subject to the judgement of the members of society. The study’s limitations and future research directions are also discussed.
  Keywords: subjective norm; image; social influence; battery electric vehicles; BEVs; structural equation modelling; SmartPLS.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10051975
   
  
• Cultural Conditionality of Board Gender Diversity and Firm Performance: Evidence from Pakistan  
  by Aisha Yusuf Mesiya, Nawaz Ahmad, Helena Nobre, Abdur Rahman Aleemi 
  Abstract: Despite having almost 50% share of the total population, women have not gained equivalent representation in the senior-level workforce in Pakistan. This study attempts to look at the impact of female inclusion in the corporate boards on the performance of firms through accounting and marketing-based measurements while shedding light on the moderating effect of national culture on this relationship. The sample comprises data from 50 firms in Pakistan. A dynamic model of the generalised method of moments (two-step system) supported the data analysis. Findings indicate that firm performance is positively affected by board gender diversity. The power distance dimension of national culture interacting with the female director ratio seems to affect firm performance positively. However, this dimension, in combination with the critical mass (three women directors) variable, negatively affects performance. The other dimension of culture, masculinity
  Keywords: corporate governance; female directors; critical mass theory; firm performance; board gender diversity; national culture; Pakistan.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10050083
   
  
• Digitalisation for Subsidiary Knowledge Creation: The Mediating Effect of Organisational Agility  
  by Joonghak Lee 
  Abstract: Digitalisation has been identified as one of the major trends driving business change around the world. Digitalisation influences how multinational corporations (MNCs) work, communicate, and collaborate. Scholars and professionals are interested in knowledge creation in subsidiaries because it provides a competitive advantage for MNCs. However, little research has been conducted to investigate the mechanisms underlying the relationship between digitalisation and subsidiary knowledge creation. This study investigates the relationship between digitalisation and knowledge creation by focusing on the mediating effect of organisational agility in 89 MNCs from 25 countries, as viewed by headquarters (HQs) and subsidiary managers. As a result, this paper can contribute to academia and practice by revealing the impact of digitalisation on knowledge creation, particularly in the relationship between HQs and subsidiaries. Furthermore, this company’s confirmation suggests that organisational agility is an important factor for multinationals during a pandemic.
  Keywords: igitalisation; knowledge creation; organisational agility; sustainable organisation.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10050350
   
  
• The Impact of the organizational factors on the intention to adopt cloud-based accounting information system among Jordanian financial SMEs  
  by Qasim Alawaqleh, Jaffar Alsawalhah, Nashat Almasria, Rana Airout, Mohammad Amireh 
  Abstract: This study aims to investigate the impact of organisational factors such as organisational culture, organisational support, and organisational structure on the intention to adopt cloud accounting information systems. Based on previous research, this study proposed a conceptual model. The data was gathered from Jordanian financial SMEs. Just 213 of the 263 questionnaires provided of the selected SMEs were included in the study. The PLS-SEM tool was used to analyse the empirical evidence. The results revealed that organisational culture, support, and structure all had a substantial effect on the intention to adopt cloud accounting information systems. Managers, analysts, and decision-makers will benefit from the findings, which will help them appreciate the value of implementing a cloud accounting information system.
  Keywords: cloud computing; accounting information system; organisational culture; organisational support; organisational structure; financial SMEs.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10050439
   
  
• Board diversity in family firms: Female and foreign directors’ effects on financial efficiency  
  by Ana Gonzalez L., Yeny E. Rodriguez Ramos, Miguel Ángel Pérez-Uribe, Julian Benavides Franco 
  Abstract: Based on resource dependence theory, this study focuses on the effects of board of directors’ diversity on gender and nationality on financial performance and the effect of CEO duality on the diversity in board-financial performance, in privately held family firms. A diversity index, in both gender and nationality is built to measure its relationship with family firms’ financial efficiency, using data envelopment analysis (DEA). We find that diversity is a resource that increases the efficiency effects of decisions, especially in the case of diversity in nationality. The study results also reflect that CEO duality in family firms does not help financial efficiency, meaning that the positive effects of board diversity are overturned by a CEO in control of both management and governance.
  Keywords: diversity; foreign directors; gender; data envelopment analysis; DEA; governance.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10050448
   
  
• The nexus between knowledge management practices and firm innovation  
  by Packiyanathan Mathushan, Navaneethakrishnan Kengatharan 
  Abstract: While firms operate in an extremely hyper-competitive environment, innovation becomes the invader of the competitive game. Over the past two decades, knowledge management practices have gained considerable attention among researchers and practitioners as a salient enabler of firm innovation. Notably, the extant literature on knowledge management practices and firm innovation is sparse and evidences contradicting findings. Therefore, the study was designed to examine the effect of knowledge management practices on firm innovation. Data were garnered using a self-reported questionnaire from 118 managers and owners of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Sri Lanka. The model’s validity and hypotheses were tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The study found that knowledge acquisition, knowledge application, and knowledge sharing have a significant positive effect on SMEs innovation. The findings shed new light on the importance of knowledge management practices and its interventions on firm innovation in SMEs from the perspective of a developing country.
  Keywords: knowledge management practices; knowledge acquisition; knowledge application; knowledge sharing; firm innovation.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10050490
   
  
• The Role of Absorptive Capacity on the Dispositions and Thriving  
  by Mahreen Amjad, GHULAM ABID, Natasha Saman Elahi, Bindu Arya 
  Abstract: Employees play an essential role in absorbing knowledge from external sources and combining that with existing knowledge to contribute to organisational competitive advantage. This study seeks to identify critical antecedents of individual-level absorptive capacity and its mediating influence on personality traits and employee thriving relationships. Specifically, we draw on self-determination theory to investigate the impact of two personality traits (i.e., proactive personality and prosocial motivation) on employees thriving via the intervening mechanism of absorptive capacity. A time-lagged study design was used for collecting data from bank employees using the multistage sampling technique. Our results indicate that proactive and prosocially motivated employees experience thriving through the mediation mechanism of absorptive capacity. Our research offers theoretical and practical implications along with directions for future research.
  Keywords: absorptive capacity; prosocial motivation; proactive personality; self-determination theory; thriving at work.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10050491
   
  
• Determinants of Sustainable Competitive Advantage: Evidence from Sudan  
  by Nahla Hagoug, Yousif Omar, Yudi Fernando 
  Abstract: The paper examines the strategic capabilities’ roles in attaining sustainable competitive advantage in Sudanese private universities. Specifically, this paper investigates the role of technological and financial resources in achieving sustainable competitive advantage among Sudanese private universities. The study used an explanatory, quantitative research design. Furthermore, the population was Sudanese private universities targeting top and middle managers. The research divulged that the association of strategic capabilities dimensions, namely financial and technological resources and sustainable competitive advantage, is significant and positive. As such, this research concludes that strategic capabilities create the bedrock for reaching sustainable competitive advantage. The study recommends that board members and senior managers of non-public universities must increase their universities’ resources and strategic capabilities to attain sustainable competitive advantage. The study is considered among the premier that scrutinises the association between strategic capabilities and sustainable competitive advantage in the Sudanese context.
  Keywords: strategic capabilities; technological resources; financial resources; sustainable competitive advantage; organisational excellence; organisational effectiveness.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10050528
   
  
• Rediscovering life through minimalism: a qualitative perspective of millennials using MCDM approach  
  by Vijay Kumar Jain, Anu Gupta, Hemraj Verma 
  Abstract: Consumption is now a major contributor to environmental degradation and consumer activity. It is responsible for up to 60% of greenhouse gas emissions. The excessive consumerism has put question mark on sustainability, therefore, a new consumption lifestyle is mandated. Minimalism is a prominent low-consumption lifestyle in which people intentionally live with fewer belongings. Its proponents believe that the lifestyle provides a slew of well-being benefits, including happiness, life satisfaction, meaning, and improved personal relationships. The current study aims to identify and prioritise the enablers of minimalism. The interpretive structural modelling (ISM) approach has been used to prioritise the enablers of minimalism. Total 16 enablers were finalised based on literature and experts’ consultation. The analysis revealed that sustainability orientation, innovation and reducing inessentials are the most important enablers for minimalism. The findings of study have implications for the environment and society. The findings will aid policymakers and marketers to encourage minimalist lifestyle among millennials. Further, the adoption of minimalism will lead to saving of valuable resources, improvement in environment and wellbeing of millennials.
  Keywords: minimalism; sustainability orientation; modern aesthetic; normative influence; wellbeing; interpretive structural modelling; ISM.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10050807
   
  
• The roles of parasocial relationship, length of an episode and cliffhanger in binge watching behaviour  
  by Lidwin Kenneth Michael, Sumukh Hungund, Asish Oommen Mathew, Shubham Das 
  Abstract: Video-on-demand has become a popular platform for viewers to binge-watch anything at any point in time. The advancement of high-speed and affordable broadband internet has led to the increased subscription of Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar, and other platforms in the Indian market. These platforms increase the desire to binge-watch. The purpose of the study is to identify the factors that will influence binge-watching in the context of India, an emerging economy. This research’s viewing behaviour factors are parasocial relationship, Length of an episode, cliffhanger, and social media hype. A theoretical framework is built based on the theory of planned behaviour to explore the individual’s binge-watching behaviour. A questionnaire survey was conducted among the younger population, collecting 273 responses from various regions of India. The data were analysed using the partial least square
  Keywords: binge-watching; attitude; cliffhanger; theory of planned behaviour; TPB; Indian consumers; emerging economy.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10050861
   
  
• National quality infrastructure: Resources, Services, and collaboration-oriented capability assessment framework  
  by Mesfin Demissie Woldecherkos, Birhanu Beshah, Frank Ebinger 
  Abstract: This paper aims to review the existing national quality infrastructure (NQI) capability assessment approaches and ultimately develop a more inclusive framework that addresses all components of NQI. Therefore, the study reviewed previous efforts and noticed that most of them lack comprehensiveness or focus on a few NQI elements and use few indicators readily available online. Therefore, this study addresses these issues and allows future researchers to consider this conceptual model for NQI capability assessment. Accordingly, the study review documents focused on NQI capability collected from different sources. Backward and forward literature searches were conducted to identify additional and up-to-date documents. Finally, content analysis was performed on selected literature to identify the possible NQI capability indicators. The identified indicators were further simplified and segregated into five NQI categories: standardisation, metrology, accreditation, conformity assessment, and the regulatory system. And three NQI capability alternatives: resources, services, and collaboration. Figure 1 shows the framework. Table 1, Figures 3, 4 and 5 summarise and depict each capability assessment indicator under the five capability categories and three alternatives. Therefore, this framework is used as an index to assess the capability of the NQI system.
  Keywords: national quality infrastructure; NQI; standardisation; metrology; accreditation and conformity assessment; technical regulation; resources; services; collaboration.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10050862
   
  
• Impact of Eco-friendly Marketing Strategies on purchase intention  
  by Vasanthakumar Kumaradeepan 
  Abstract: The paper investigates the impact of eco-friendly marketing methods on customers' green purchasing intentions in Sri Lanka, a special reference to Jaffna District, Sri Lanka. A recent trend of 'eco-concern' has affected Sri Lankan customers. Data were collected through questionnaire to explore the impact of various strategies on customers' eco-purchasing intentions. A total of 197 customers were participated in this study. The demographic characteristics clearly show the respondent's uniqueness and variations. Findings disclose that eco-labelling, green advertising, green packaging, and branding have a significant positive impact on customers' green purchasing intentions. The study has made substantial contribution to the frontiers of marketing strategy and offered useful practical implications that have been discussed at the end of the paper.
  Keywords: eco-labelling; green-advertising; green packaging; branding; green purchase intention; eco-friendly; green purchasing; eco-concern; purchase intention.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10050963
   
  
• Influence of Intangible Factors on Service Quality: A Study with Reference to Restaurants in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.  
  by Kota Sreenivasa Murthy, Kanagaluru Sai Kumar 
  Abstract: Service quality is critical for the survival of any organisation. While there are many studies related to service quality, the majority of those studies investigated the effect of different dimensions on service quality giving less importance to the specific factors that influence the service quality. As such the study is aimed to identify the influence of various intangible factors on service quality in restaurants. The data were collected from the customers who come to the restaurants located in and around Chennai. An analysis of the data reveals that food quality is the major intangible factor followed by value for money, staff behaviour, and service time. Regression analysis of testing the impact of various intangible factors on service quality also identified that food quality is the important factor. The opinion of male and female customers on the intangible factors that influence the service quality concluded that there is no significant difference of opinion exists between them except for a few intangible factors such as restaurant ambiance, customer privacy, and customer entertainment.
  Keywords: customer privacy; food quality; service time; staff behaviour; value for money.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10051417
   
  
• DETERMINANTS IMPACTING THE FINTECH ADOPTION: A CASE ON INDIAN MSME SECTOR  
  by Upasana Gupta, BHAWNA AGARWAL, Neeraj Nautiyal 
  Abstract: Fintech usage in India has increased to 87% in 2019, up from 52% in 2017. India’s Fintech industry is being propelled forward by rising internet usage and better digital infrastructure. The purpose of this paper is to examine the most influential factor impacting the intention of small business units for adopting financial technology. The behavioural intention of MSMEs is measured with TAM and UTAUT models. The paper was based on a descriptive and inferential research design for which original data is collected. Questions were asked from the owners/managers of MSMEs. Facilitating conditions and subjective norms influenced financial technology adoption, whereas the original TAM variables such as perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness were found to be insignificant in the case of MSMEs.
  Keywords: technology acceptance model; TAM; Fintech; micro; small; and medium enterprises; MSMEs; small businesses.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10051527
   
  
• Customers' Acceptance of Artificial Intelligent Robots in the Insurance Industry: Evidence from an Emerging Market  
  by Sumathi Kumaraswamy, Yomna Abdulla, M. Suresh 
  Abstract: There is a growing consensus among Indian insurance firms, which have been increasingly attempting to adopt and integrate artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic process automation in the recent past. This calls for a heated debate on how far the machines that read algorithms will replace human intelligence and satisfy the customers who always expect error-free and faster processing of insurance services. This research paper is the first of its kind in analysing the customers’ acceptance of adopting artificial intelligent robots (ART) in the insurance sector for its sustainable growth methodology. The interrelationships among the factors were analysed using the total interpretive structural modelling (TISM) approach. The results suggest that individuals’ knowledge about artificial intelligent robots and performance expectancy from AIR in terms of accuracy and consistency as the main triggering factors of customer acceptance of AI robots in the Indian insurance industry.
  Keywords: artificial intelligence; robotic technology; robots in insurance; total interpretive structural modelling; TISM.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10052033
   
  
• Operational Risk Management: Artificial Intelligence's Contributions to Business Excellence  
  by Carolina Carvalho, Renato Lopes Da Costa, Rui Gonçalves, Álvaro Dias, Leandro Ferreira Pereira 
  Abstract: Operational risk is a growing field because of the recent decades and numerous economic crises, and businesses are gradually realising that the more they invest in it, the less money they lose. The most important topic of the century is artificial intelligence, which spans all possible fields and offers quick, less expensive, and more accurate ways to complete tasks. This paper details the developments in the application of artificial intelligence technology for operational risk management. The qualitative study showed a lack of investment and a lack of information about advancements in AI technology that may be used for OpRisk controls. This automation is hampered by issues including a lack of human resource capabilities and giving other industries priority. Given the present AI solutions that enable the maturation of OpRisk controls and, consequently, limit losses from them, businesses must invest in the OpRisk departments.
  Keywords: artificial intelligence; automation; operational risk.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10052167
   
  
• MODEL FOR MEASURING INNOVATION CAPACITY IN SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED ENTERPRISES: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE)  
  by Eseroghene Udjo, Shahira O. Abdalla, Giovanna Bejjani 
  Abstract: The literature on innovation capacity is fraught with ambiguities. Innovation capacity of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) has a wide range of interpretations, making it a difficult construct to examine. The ambiguity is a challenge, and it shows that our current understanding of the topic is inadequate. Therefore, the study examines the dimensions of innovation capacity of SMEs in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The objective is to explore what drives innovation and how it may support SMEs in the UAE to remain competitive. Drawing on insights from theoretical studies of innovation capacity, the research identifies seven innovation capacity dimensions and uses factor analytic technique to evaluate these dimensions for consistency with those presented in the literature. The analysis extends to the use of structural equation modelling (SEM) to assess how well the hypothesised model fits the data. The results demonstrate that our research model fits the data well.
  Keywords: small and medium sized enterprises; SMEs; competitiveness; innovation dimension; creativity; innovation capacity; structural equation modelling; SEM; United Arab Emirates.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10052303
   
  
• A Systematic Lean Implementation for Process Efficiency in a Knowledge Intensive Firm  
  by Sujatha R, Sekkizhar J, Laavanya P. R 
  Abstract: Process efficiency is critical for service organisations, irrespective of their size. They can practise lean by using a step-by-step approach to identify problems and document processes in every functional domain. This research study investigates the lean management practises in a knowledge-intensive data analytics firm, which helps its customers convert raw data into valuable insights for decision making. A case study based methodology is used to demonstrate the implementation of lean tools such as standard operating procedures (SOP), mistake proofing, root cause analysis, problem solving techniques, skill matrix, value stream mapping (VSM), layout modification, and dashboards. A Gantt chart was used to measure the process efficiency and reduction in time duration for the projects. The average time taken for projects witnessed a decrease of 42% after lean implementation. This case study showed that reengineering of business practices and adequate training for employees are mandatory for lean implementation in an organisation.
  Keywords: lean implementation; standard operating procedure; SOP; mistake proofing; root cause analysis; problem solving techniques; skill matrix; value stream mapping; VSM.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10052530
   
  
• THE IMPORTANCE OF TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP IN TIMES OF PANDEMIC COVID-19: AN APPLICATION OF PLS-R  
  by José Manuel Vicente, Felipa Lopes Dos Reis, João Lamy Gil 
  Abstract: In this pandemic period that we have been going through since March 2020, transformational leadership is increasingly important, in the resilience of companies and economic groups at the same time safeguarding the needs of its most important assets, its employees (Abad-Varas and Pino, 2022). The primary objective of this investigation is to demonstrate the strategic importance of the need for transformational leadership in the aeronautical management sector in a pandemic context, and reflect on the variables that contribute to transformational leadership in a context of a pandemic and in which adaptation, taking advantage of synergies between resources and work and an attitude of resilience, in the airports of the VINCI Airports group. For this purpose, a relationship will be established between the different variables, the identified problem and the transformational leadership, using statistical data collected and worked through the partial least squares regression analysis (PLSR).
  Keywords: transformational leadership; airport management; COVID-19; Vinci Airports; PLSR.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10052532
   
  
• An Empirical Analysis of Financial Risk Tolerance of Mobile Banking Users According to their Demographic Profile  
  by Alok Bansal, Prerna Bagadia 
  Abstract: Financial risk tolerance as an attitudinal input plays an important role in deciding an individual comfort level in willingness to adopt new technology. Each individual has his or her own financial risk tolerance levels like
  Keywords: financial risk tolerance; mobile banking users; demographic profile.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10052772
   
  
• Goods and Service Tax: A Compromise or Breakthrough  
  by Neba Bhalla, Inderjit Kaur, Rakesh Kumar Sharma 
  Abstract: The present paper examines the impact of goods and service tax (GST) on the financial performance of Indian micro, small and medium enterprises. We employed structured equation modelling (SEM) on 600 units to examine the impact of GST. The empirical results suggest that change in the tax system and technological advancement in the tax system has enhanced the firms’ net profits, return on investments, and equity. Further, the new tax system has enabled the easy flow of input tax credit on the sale/purchase of goods and services throughout India. This led to reduction in working capital blockage and has raised the firms’ sales. However, contrarily, the compliance system has increased the burden on the firms, which has harmed the profit margins. The results may benefit the policymakers and other emerging economies in focusing on the tax reform factors which enhance the performance so that higher returns may be achieved, leading to better economic growth in the future with the support of MSMEs’ better performance.
  Keywords: tax reform; MSME; business performance.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10052849
   
  
• AN ANALYTICAL REVIEW ON THE END-USER PERCEPTION OF DISTRIBUTION MATRIX DURING COVID-19 OUTBREAK  
  by Shankar Kumar S, Jeyaprabha B 
  Abstract: COVID-19 has made a huge impact towards the production and distribution system, the buying behaviour of customers turned to alternative distribution formats. The main objective of the study is to examine the factors influencing the preference of consumers while purchasing fruits and vegetables from different distribution formats during COVID-19 pandemic. This research is based on descriptive research design using convenience method of sampling and the sample size of 100 responses has been finalised for analysis. The finding revealed that the respondents choice of preference before COVID, they prefer super markets and then vegetable market which is nearer to them and choice of preference during COVID, consumers avoid visiting public places as safety measures which made street vendor to gain their market by delivering consumers needs at their door-step. From this study, we came to know that customers prefer the distribution format, which is highly influenced by hygiene factors.
  Keywords: consumer perspective; COVID-19; pandemic; distribution; hygiene; buying behaviour.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10052852
   
  
• Does Financial Inclusion Lead to Women Empowerment?  
  by Avani Shah, C.S. Karishma Butani, Udai Lal Paliwal 
  Abstract: Women empowerment is a deep-seated approach concerned with transforming power relations in favour of the female gender and is considered essential for global progress. The current paper investigates the impact of financial inclusion on women’s empowerment in rural Gujarat. It also identifies the barriers to financial inclusion for women. A questionnaire on financial inclusion and women empowerment was used to collect data from 200 females living in rural Gujarat. Logistic regression and the Chi-square test were applied to know the impact of financial inclusion on women’s empowerment and, to identify the barriers to financial inclusion respectively. The results indicated the positive and significant impact of financial inclusion on women’s empowerment. The study revealed that education, work status, and monthly income significantly influence women’s financial inclusion.
  Keywords: financial inclusion; women empowerment; bank account; savings; borrowings; education; marital status; work status.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10052923
   
  
• Transformational Leadership and Team Effectiveness: the Moderated Model of Organisational Commitment and Perceived Organisational Support  
  by Khaliq Ansari, Rajesh Kumar Upadhyay, Km Rohini ., Ranit Kishore 
  Abstract: This study aims to examine the relationship between transformational leadership and team effectiveness, mediated by organisational commitment and moderated by perceived organisational support. The research was conducted in the service sector of Uttarakhand State, and the data was collected from the employees working in different service organisations (like educational institute, banking, insurance, and several others). The result of the study reveals that transformational leadership has a positive impact on TE, and the relationship between them is mediated partially by organisational commitment and positively moderated by perceived organisational support. This study contributes to the existing literature on transformational leadership and team effectiveness.
  Keywords: team effectiveness; transformational leadership; organisational commitment; perceived organisational support; human resource management.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10052924
   
  
• Research landscape of customer retention literature : A comprehensive bibliometric analysis of 20 years  
  by Meenakshi Sharma, Rajeev Srivastava 
  Abstract: The rising challenges for sustainable business create an opportunity to understand how to gain customer retention and how its discussion in the literature has progressed. This study is conducted to examine research landscape of customer retention by applying bibliometric approach which included 864 articles extracted from the Web of Science database during last 20 years. The study analyses yearly growth pattern, trend, scientific production and presents a thematic analysis in the field of customer retention. The analysis provides an outlet for the young scholars to understand how the research in the field of customer retention has progressed over the last 20 years and contributes to the theory of retention by finding that satisfaction, loyalty, service quality, performance, commitment, and trust help improve customer retention rate. Implying the themes identified by thematic analysis, the managers can focus on key drivers responsible for retention and build strategies to improve customer retention rate.
  Keywords: customer retention; bibliometric analysis; bibliometrix R package; science mapping; research trends; biblioshiny.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10053025
   
  
• Transformational Leadership for Job Satisfaction and Employee Engagement: a Study on Indian Banks during COVID 19 Pandemic  
  by Vincy Kachhap, Tripti Singh 
  Abstract: In the present dynamic world, leaders are continuously facing challenges related to employee engagement in order to maintain a satisfied and motivated workforce. The leadership styles and theories recognise transformational leadership as an effective style, resulting in enhanced performance and amplified employee engagement (Burns, 1978). The objective of this paper is to explore how transformational leadership might impact the Job Satisfaction of the employees in the banking sector of India during difficult times, such as a pandemic. A mediated mechanism is hypothesised in which transformational leadership leads to job satisfaction in employees through their engagement. A reliable and validated measurement instrument is proposed using a survey questionnaire. Hypothesis proposing, employee engagement as a mediator between transformational leadership and job satisfaction is duly supported. A comparison between public and private sector banks was also undertaken concerning the impact of transformational leadership style. Further, research implications, recommendations, and scope for future research is accordingly discussed.
  Keywords: transformational leadership; employee engagement; job satisfaction; Indian banking sector; systematic literature review; COVID-19.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10053040
   
  
• Understanding Shopping Addiction: The Case of Management Students  
  by Govind Srivastava, Harsh Purohit, Digvijay Malik 
  Abstract: Shopping addiction, compulsivity is important area of the concern as it develops shopping disorder and lead to negative consumption phenomenon. This study was conducted to diagnose compulsive buying behaviour among the management students who hold distinctive personality traits. Total 472 samples were finally selected for the study and data were analysed using multivariate analysis. The result of the study depicts that management students are indulged in compulsive buying due to their concern for self-image and social status. It was also found that female students are more prone to shopping disorder than the male students. The result of the study can be used to improve mental health and happiness index of the students.
  Keywords: compulsive buying; brand equity; impulsive buying; visual merchandising.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10053189
   
  
• Effect of High-Performance Work Systems on Employee Performance in Luxury Hotels: A Sequential Mediation Analysis  
  by HENRY KOFI MENSAH, Gilbert A. Okyere, Eric S. Forenten 
  Abstract: This study tested the arguments that the relationship between HPWS and employee performance is channelled sequentially through Grit and job resourcefulness, using a dataset from 234 hospitality professionals in star hotels in a developing economy in sub-Saharan Africa. The results demonstrated that HPWSs, Grit and job resourcefulness have a direct effect on employee performance. Furthermore, Grit and job resourcefulness partially mediate the relationship between HPWSs and employee performance. The results imply that employee performance is a function of the work environment (HR systems) and employee distinguishing qualities. The result is useful for managerial decisions in the hospitality sector.
  Keywords: high-performance work systems; HPWSs; grit; job resourcefulness; employee performance.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10053395
   
  
• Interconnection among Cryptocurrency, Commodity and Stock Indices: A Study in the Light of Binance Coin  
  by ANSHUL AGRAWAL, Mukta Mani, Sakshi Varshney 
  Abstract: The ever booming cryptocurrency market suggests growth of risk-taking financial investors. The undertaken research involves bi-focal objectives: first, it probes into the relationship of financial indicators
  Keywords: cryptocurrency; binance; co-integration; error correction; impulse-response; variance decomposition; vector error correction; VEC.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10053482
   
  
• Organizational Change Towards Green Marketing: Future Research Agenda  
  by DEEPA JAIN, Manoj Kumar Dash, Dr. Akankshya Patnaik 
  Abstract: The growing concern towards environmental problems and issues has resulted into abundance of literature on green marketing. But still there is scarcity of literature on systematic and comprehensive research focusing on importance of this field. The main objective of present study is to unearth and consolidate the published literature on green marketing by identifying the most influential keywords, authors, publishers, countries in green marketing to understand well the need for organisational change towards green marketing. The study employs a meta-literature review of green marketing, covering 1,021 articles from Scopus database (from the year 1960
  Keywords: green marketing practices; bibliometric approach; eco-marketing; sustainability; green environment; green strategy.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10053626
   
  
• Returning home: Proactive behaviours and Adjustment  
  by Kengatharan Navaneethakr, Robinson James 
  Abstract: This study examined the role of individuals in the adjustment process by investigating the influence of repatriates’ proactive behaviours on repatriation adjustment. This study found that the three proactive behaviours have a significant and positive influence on repatriation adjustment. It shows that when repatriates engage in proactive behaviours such as positive framing, negotiation and information seeking and networking they better adjust their repatriation. This study identifies individuals’ roles in the adjustment process and suggests repatriates need to engage in proactive behaviours to better adjust their repatriation transition. This study contributes to the current discussion on repatriation and moves this discussion to a new group of repatriates
  Keywords: repatriation; proactive behaviour; positive framing; networking; relationship building.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10053657
   
  
• Examining the Relationship among Talent management, Employee engagement and Organizational effectiveness: A Machine learning approach  
  by Maitrayee Rout, Ashutosh Muduli, Biswajit Satpathy 
  Abstract: The talent management process can contribute to increased organisational effectiveness through an innovative business excellence model by optimising the managerial processes. Influenced by the Black Box approach, employee engagement has been proposed as a mediating variable capable of contributing to better organisational effectiveness. The research aims at examining the innovative business excellence model consisting of talent management practices, employee engagement and organisational effectiveness in the context of the public and the private sector of India. Data has been collected and analysed through an innovative machine learning approach. The result of the study proved that the business excellence model using employee engagement as a mediating variable between talent management practices and organisational effectiveness in the private sector is accepted. The same model is found insignificant in the context of the public sector. The implication of the result for managers of both sectors has been discussed.
  Keywords: neural network; machine learning; private sector; public sector; talent management; organisational effectiveness; employee engagement.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10053661
   
  
• Application of systems approach to assess the effectiveness index of CMMI: a case study in the manufacturing industry  
  by Tharun Thomas, Saleeshya P.G 
  Abstract: Capability maturity model integration (CMMI) is a process improvement methodology employed in software industries for process appraisal. The success of CMMI in software engineering is the inspiration behind this interdisciplinary investigation to find how suitable CMMI is in the manufacturing sector. One of the critical process areas of CMMI, known as
  Keywords: capability maturity model integration; CMMI; effectiveness index; systems approach; performance objective; performance measurement.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10053687
   
  
• Women in Fintech: Uncovering the snags through systematic assessment and bibliometric investigation  
  by Zheng Minyu, Normaziah Mohd Nor, Abu Naser Mohammad Saif, K. M. Anwarul Islam, Md. Fakhrudoza Bari 
  Abstract: Financial technology (Fintech) has transfigured business excellence making the globe smaller. In contrast, as women’s representation in Fintech has been on a low trajectory, the present systematic assessment with bibliometric investigation aims to uncover the extensive clusters of snags for women in Fintech (WIFT). From a total of 194 documents published between 2016 and 2022 and archived in four mainstream research databases, 14 relevant publications were traced using the PRISMA flowchart. Bibliometric information was compiled from each of the 14 publications. Significant terms were revealed by crafting word co-occurrence network maps with VOSviewer 1.6.18. Different allied snags were reported by thoroughly reviewing the identified papers. The cross-mapping procedure documented extensive clusters of themes, such as social inequality, Fintech literacy, and psychological construct. The findings indicate that social inequality, Fintech literacy, and psychological construct remain major snags for WIFT.
  Keywords: Fintech; women in Fintech; WIFT; systematic assessment; bibliometric; qualitative; PRISMA; VOSviewer.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10053848
   
  
• From Commanding to Compassionate: Examining the Changing Face of Leadership, Communication and the Post-Pandemic Workplace  
  by Anindita Sarkar, Vineeta Prasad, Ghazala Naaz 
  Abstract: This paper explores Compassion as a hallmark of leadership and communication in the professional of the post-pandemic world Compassion, a hitherto unexplored trait for a leader, will gain prominence in the new world As people recover from personal and professional upheavals after the pandemic, they will seek a leader who is kind and sensitive to their needs This empirical study is based on primary/secondary data with the aim to study how compassionate leadership and workplaces are viewed in current times Our findings suggest that employees are viewing the workplace in terms of its culture - they prefer the supportive over the competitive; they would rather be seen as a compassionate professional than a driven professional, and they want to work for an organisation that values people over profits Compassion in leaders, in workplace communication and in the organisational culture seems to have emerged as a mandatory qualification.
  Keywords: compassion; leadership; communication; new normal; turbulent times; pandemic; mindfulness; people over profits; supportive work culture.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10053954
   
  
• The impact of corporate social responsibility and state ownership on investment efficiency of Chinese listed firms  
  by Xiaoqian Wang, Lian Kee Phua, Aziatul Waznah Ghazali 
  Abstract: This study aims to investigate the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and state ownership on the corporate investment efficiency of listed companies in China. A dataset containing 24,752 firm-year observations of A-Share public firms in China for the years 2010 to 2020 was employed. Through ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions, the findings demonstrate that CSR can contribute to higher investment efficiency of listed companies because it lowers information asymmetry and mitigates agency issues. In addition, the empirical evidence reveals that state ownership can increase investment efficiency by alleviating firm's financial constraints. Importantly, the empirical evidence illustrates that state ownership has a moderating positive effect on the relationship between CSR and investment efficiency. This study contends that CSR and state ownership are critical in improving corporate investment efficiency because it reduces information asymmetry. These findings are also useful for other emerging markets.
  Keywords: investment efficiency; state ownership; corporate social responsibility; information asymmetry; agency issues; China.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10054147
   
  
• Analyzing the Moderation Effect of Advertisement and Word of Mouth on Green Purchase Intention  
  by Dr Mayank Pant, Rajeev Kumar, Mohd Tariq Intezar, Omdeep Gupta, Shubham Chaudhary, Arun Kant Painoli 
  Abstract: Green purchase intention (GPI) is the primary consideration for green products and avoidance of conventional products. The word intention is a behavioural inclination that results in action. In other words, GPI is a crucial determinant of actual purchase behaviour. The present study analyses word of mouth (WOM) and advertisement’s moderating effect on GPI through green knowledge.
  Keywords: advertisement; word of mouth; WOM; green purchase intention; GPI; green product knowledge; GPK; greenwashing.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10054348
   
  
• A study on the impact of COVID-19 on the business operations of MSMEs  
  by Naseem Twaissi, Jehad Aldehayyat, Moid Ahmad 
  Abstract: COVID-19 has brought in a lot of uncertainty in the global businesses, particularly the small businesses and startups. The primary objective of the research is to understand more about the impact of COVID-19 and the government’s support for the business operations of MSMEs in the context of four firm level moderating variables. The study is based on a sample (342 responses) of entrepreneurs/managers from the service oriented MSME sector in Jordan. The research found a mismatch between the government’s economic relief for the MSME sector and the expectations of the MSME sector. Another significant finding of the research is that number of owners in a firm and the flexibility in business model of firms were the two variables which moderate the impact of government’s support on MSME operations.
  Keywords: COVID-19; MSME; Jordan; moderation analysis; firm operations.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10054464
   
  
• Analysis of the impact of different maintenance practices on business performance of SMEs using structural equation modeling.  
  by Simrajit Singh Sidhu, Kanwarpreet Singh, Inderpreet Ahuja 
  Abstract: The structural equation modelling (SEM) technique has been deployed in current study to empirically assess the justification of significant variables of the study on business performance of SMEs. To examine the contributions of various maintenance practices implementation in Indian small and medium enterprises (SMEs), 216 usable questionnaires from northern region of SMEs were obtained from maintenances personal, shop floor technicians and maintenance managers. The data was critically examined using various data reliability and statistical examination techniques. In the next step data was analysed with the ADANCO 2.0.1 programme to provide concrete validations to illustrate the best fit of models based on historical data for the identified factors of the study. A study on maintenance practices in manufacturing SMEs aims to measure the impact of such practices on overall business performance, and to facilitate maintenance managers in determining the important factors that contribute to effective maintenance practices.
  Keywords: structural equation modelling; SEM; ADANCO; business performance; maintenance practices; small and medium enterprises; SMEs.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10055141
   
  
• The role of religious values and power distance on the association between servant leadership and job satisfaction  
  by Mohammed Zaber Hossain, Harshita Aini Haroon, Md. Mohidul Islam, Md Shamimul Islam 
  Abstract: Since reaching excellence in leadership has always been challenging, the current study intends to determine the association between servant leadership and job satisfaction by testing the role of power distance as a moderator and religious values as a mediator. The research model based on servant leadership as the underpinning theory has been developed. Using a self-administered survey instrument, a total of 335 valid samples were collected from Bangladeshi schools and colleges where religious values and power distance are ubiquitous. The data were analysed using SmartPLS 3.3.9, and PLS-SEM was applied to test the hypothesised structural model. The findings reveal that principals’ religious values and servant leadership positively impact the teachers’ job satisfaction. Besides, Islamic values mediate principals’ servant leadership and teachers’ job satisfaction. Our aggregate findings also contribute to the existing literature by extending servant leadership theory, especially in a setting where religious values are predominant.
  Keywords: servant leadership; job satisfaction; power distance; Islamic values; mediation; moderation; SmartPLS; PLS-SEM.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10055188
   
  
• An empirical exploration of the continuance intention of m-shopping app users through the lens of smart experience co-creation  
  by Ravi Sankar Pasupuleti, Usha Seshadri 
  Abstract: Marketers and academics are interested in co-creating new products and services by involving customers in the ideation, design, and development process. Smart technologies in service contexts like hospitality, travel, and retail are generating memorable experiences for customers. A network of players, including employees and others, interacts in the context of smart services, not only between service providers and their customers. So, smart customers form social networks based on their shared interests and do things like cross-promotion. The purpose of this research is to examine mobile shopping users’ continuance intention (CI) through smart experience co-creation (SEC). Existing literature was used to develop the study’s model, and data was gathered through the use of a Google Form. AMOS 21 was used to test 278 questionnaires for model testing. The SEC has been found to have a substantial impact on satisfaction, according to the findings of the research. Satisfaction directly affects CI, while SEC acts as a mediator.
  Keywords: smart experience co-creation; SEC; satisfaction; continuance intention; CI; mobile shopping; hedonic experience; cognitive experience.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10055330
   
  
• Toward a Smart Corporate Governance Scorecard: A Case Review of the UAE Listed Companies  
  by Sonia Abdennadher 
  Abstract: This study aimed to propose a smart corporate governance scorecard that focuses on the innovative aspects and tools used by companies to respect the common principles of corporate governance. The methodology comprised the creation of a database of the innovative corporate governance practices employed by listed companies in the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange during the COVID-19 pandemic. A weighted scoring system was calculated and analysed based on the four identified components and 78 criteria of the scorecard. The scoring analysis showed that there was a direct relationship between a company’s size and its SCG score. Additionally, the highest scores were achieved in the banking sector, followed by the energy sector. This novel scorecard can not only measure legal and optional compliance with corporate governance principles but also identify the best innovative corporate governance practices to enhance relationships between issuers and investors, especially during crisis periods, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
  Keywords: smart corporate governance; SCG; mobile corporate governance; scorecard; UAE; listed companies.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10055380
   
  
• To whose Benefit - Single Earner vs. Dual-earning Couples Comparative investigation of User Experience of Work from Home  
  by Jawadul ISLAM, Toan Luu Duc Huynh, Mohammad Ashraful Ferdous Chowdhury, Mohammad Zahir Raihan, Md. Abul Kalam Azad 
  Abstract: During COVID-19, employees have been restricted to their dwellings and compelled to work online to replace in-person work mobility. Hence, both single and dual earning employees have redesigned their living process. Literature on work-from-home (WFH) is abandon where who’s benefited the most remain unexplored. This study comparatively examines the user experience of both single and dual earning employees for WFH. This study uses a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) with a sample of 121 corporate single and dual earning employees who had user experience of WFH along with their families during COVID-19. Research constructs assessment for reliability and internal consistency was later undertaken utilising intermediate solutions and gathering respondent input. Findings from the fsQCA analysis highlight four essential factors that drive WFH. Alternative ways are suggested depending on genders of both single and dual earning members of family combining WFH.
  Keywords: learning opportunities; single earner; dual earner; work-home interface; WHI; work-from-home; WFH; adaption to WFH; user experience.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10055555
   
  
• Student Entrepreneurship: A systematic review and bibliometric analysis  
  by Gourav Aggarwal, Smita Kashiramka 
  Abstract: Entrepreneurship is an evolving field of research with several emerging domains gaining attention. This study focuses on analysing one such emerging area of student entrepreneurship using a mix of systematic literature review, bibliometric analysis, cluster analysis and content analysis. The findings suggest that most of the studies in the field are focused on entrepreneurial intentions amongst students. There is a wide scope of research towards measuring and reducing intention-action gaps along with certain areas like, understanding the influence of regional culture on intention-action, overall impact and benefits of promoting student entrepreneurship, difficulties faced by educational institutions in nurturing entrepreneurial talent.
  Keywords: entrepreneurship; student entrepreneurship; entrepreneurial intentions; bibliometric analysis; cluster analysis; intention-action gap.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10055560
   
  
• Towards A Comprehensive Framework for Audit Quality Measurement: Conceptualization and Operationalization  
  by Rania AbuRaya 
  Abstract: This paper aims at constructing a comprehensive practical framework for measuring the external audit quality of historical financial statements. An extensive review of prominent professional audit quality initiatives is conducted and complemented by prior literature review of audit quality measurement and interpretation. Exploratory analysis revealed that existing evidence of audit quality does not consistently support a specific measurement approach and some audit quality features are missing from existing frameworks, leading to inconsistency between audit quality conceptualisation and operationalisation. This research is a unique attempt to develop an integrated multidimensional conceptual framework and operational model for audit quality measurement using a single coherent construct that embraces key elements of inputs, process, outputs, interactions, and contextual factors, comprising interdependencies among the constructed measurement schematic dimensions. The study has important implications for researchers, stakeholders, corporates and managers, auditors, as well as regulators and standard setters in terms of audit quality assessment and benchmarking in a global capital market context.
  Keywords: audit quality; measurement framework; audit quality indicators; comprehensive composite proxy; conceptualisation; operationalisation.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10055565
   
  
• Selection of portfolio of innovation projects considering sustainable parameters: a systematic literature review  
  by Jamile Eleutério Delesposte, Luís Alberto Duncan Rangel, Marcelo Jasmim Meiriño, Carlos Manuel Dos Santos Ferreira, Rui Jorge Ferreira Soares Borges Lopes, Ramon Baptista Narcizo, André Armando Mendonça De Alencar Jr 
  Abstract: This work objective is to presents a systematic literature review (SLR) to identifying and analysing criteria, methods, models, and rules related to the selection of a portfolio of innovation projects considering sustainable parameters. The analyses were based on content coding and bibliometric techniques, which were processed through the blibliometrix library of the R package. Among the main results it can be highlighted that: there is a restricted number of documents that consistently integrate the sustainability aspects in the context of innovation projects; the criteria for selecting sustainable innovation projects (SSIP) identified in the literature were synthesised and classified into sixteen relevant dimensions; and SSIP models must be targeted to a specific sector or situation. This research performs a review of the unpublished literature on SSIP, and contributes to expand discussions on this topic, and addresses the need identified in the literature Foron integrating aspects of sustainability assessment in innovation projects.
  Keywords: project decision processes; sustainability; innovation projects; systematic literature review; SLR; evaluating and selecting projects.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10055571
   
  
• Efficiency Measurement of Indian Banking Sector: Malmquist DEA Approach  
  by Priya Manchanda 
  Abstract: This study attempted to measure output-input productivity of select Indian Public and private sector banks. The study used the Malmquist DEA approach on various quantitative variables of Bank Efficiency for the period 2009 to 2018. This approach allowed for the decomposition of total factor productivity into technical change, scale change, technological change, and allocative efficiency. The results revealed that the total factor productivity of most of the banks increased from 2006 to 2015. However, these changes in TFP were due to improvement in technological change alone. TFP growth for the period under study is not on account of managerial efficiency or scale change as the technical efficiency scores remained 1 for all the banks under study. The sample banks were small owing to time constraints. Also, the data collected from the public and private sector banks might not indicate the perspective of employees working in foreign banks in India.
  Keywords: efficiency; Indian banking sector; Malmquist DEA approach.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10055605
   
  
• The contribution of key firm-specific advantages to perceived performance of distinct MNE subsidiary types during severe recessions in Greece  
  by Antonios Georgopoulos, Eleftherios Aggelopoulos, Elen Paraskevi Paraschi, Maria Kalogera 
  Abstract: Based on the resource- based view and the contingency perspective, we investigate the perceived performance of 187 creative, and experienced MNE subsidiaries in Greece during two recession peaks caused by the imposition of capital controls and the COVID-19 pandemic accordingly. We explore three distinct subsidiary types, i.e., market-based subsidiaries, efficiency-based subsidiaries, and technology-based subsidiaries, captured by interviews with their CEOs. We find that all subsidiary types perform well in the financial recession and the pandemic, due to the exploitation of distinct firm-specific advantage (FSA) reflected in product differentiation, product standardisation, and product innovation respectively that act as performance mediators. The primary contribution of the study is the precise measurement of the contribution of the key FSA to subsidiary performance in turbulent periods. The findings have important managerial and policy implications.
  Keywords: MNE subsidiary performance; firm-specific advantages; FSA; subsidiary typology; resource-based view; RBV; contingency perspective; Greece.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10055950
   
  
• Balanced Scorecard Model Based on Quality Management System Requirements: evidence from the Iranian Ferro Industry  
  by Nasrin Asgari, Soroush Avakh Darestani, Md Yusof Ismail, Leila Ahmadpour 
  Abstract: Performance evaluation is to ensure performance consistency with plans and compare actual performance with targets that have already been set. BSC is one of the convenient and efficient means for evaluating performance as well as measuring understanding of organisations' strategies and goals. The purpose of this study is to provide a model for assessing key indices of BSC in a QMS. As importance of quality is growing in today's world, integrity of balanced scorecard (BSC) and quality management system (QMS) can create a significant combination approach. Accordingly, tree methods including Fuzzy DEMATEL, Fuzzy ANP and Fuzzy VIKOR with the theme of multi criteria optimisation were integrated by the authors and then, solutions were compromised. Furthermore, this novel hybrid methodology was applied in developing an assessment model. Results of the proposed model implemented in a Ferro Complex industry and show that production and quality control departments are known as optimal units with high performance. R&D, financial, administrative and marketing departments are ranked third to sixth respectively.
  Keywords: performance evaluation; balanced scorecard; BSC; quality management system; QMS; key performance indices; fuzzy DEMATEL; fuzzy ANP; fuzzy VIKOR.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10056092
   
  
• Motives behind consumers to buy organic food in an emerging economy: A customer perceived value approach  
  by Kavita Kamboj, Nawal Kishor 
  Abstract: The major goal of this study is to understand how customer perceived value (hedonic and health value) motivate an individual to choose organic food in a growing economy. The theory of reasoned action has been chosen as a theoretical lens for this study. 202 responses were collected through an online questionnaire from Delhi NCR, India. For this study, organic vegetables and fruits were chosen as the preferred category of organic food. Data were analysed by employing PLS-SEM using SmartPLS 3.0. The findings posit that both perceived values and subjective norms impact green purchasing attitude (GPA), which in turn positively drives green purchase intention (GPI). The study is original in its field and investigated consumers’ health and hedonic values together in a growing organic industry. As a result, the current study provides marketers with useful insights into the most effective ways to persuade consumers in developing economies to begin adopting organic consumption.
  Keywords: organic fruits and vegetables; emerging economy; perceived hedonic value; perceived health value; subjective norms; organic consumption.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10056094
   
  
• Consumers' Attitude and Purchase Intention Towards Herbal Personal Care Products: Some Qualitative Insights  
  by Ayushi Sethi, Preeti Thakur, Rakesh Gupta 
  Abstract: Herbal personal care products are emerging as a significant market in India. Although this segment has been operating in the market for decades, due to increasing modernisation and popularity, more awareness about herbal personal care products has been raised. Moreover, synthetic products enhance beauty for the moment but, at the same time, prove to be very harmful. Moreover, the herbal personal care brands promoted by celebrity endorsement act as an attractive force for the adoption of herbal personal care products. This paper is an effort to understand the attitude and purchase intention of consumers toward herbal personal care products by developing a conceptual model. A qualitative study was conducted in Jalandhar and the grounded theory was used for analysis. The findings of the study are influenced by a holistic approach that identified five antecedents to the attitude and adoption of herbal personal care products discussed in a further section. In particular, for marketer's study suggests that the Indian herbal care segment of consumers is emerging as a significant market for the future.
  Keywords: herbal personal care products; celebrity endorsement; beauty consciousness; grounded theory; conceptual model; qualitative study.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10056263
   
  
• Systematic Review with Bibliometric Analysis On Institutional Investors  
  by Pooja Rani, Rachna Agrawal, Taufeeque Ahmad Siddiqui 
  Abstract: This article aims to conduct a systematic literature review with the help of bibliometric analysis to swot the trading behavior of institutional investors The top contributing universities, authors, keywords, journals, and citation statistics help to define the field's intellectual structure and identify gaps and future directions Altogether 818 articles were extracted from the Scopus database for the years 20002021 with the keywords (institutional investors, stock market, foreign institutional investors, domestic institutional investors, mutual fund, liquidity, volatility, and India). For the sampling procedure, The PRISMA technique is applied, and eventually, 818 articles are obtained for the comprehensive review. The following are the four main clusters that have been identified from this literature review trading preferences of institutional investors, herding behaviour of institutional investors, institutional investors, liquidity and volatility, and the consequences of institutional investors trading activities. The literature indicates that institutional investors engage in intentional herding and use positive feedback trading strategies that help to keep the stock market stable by maintaining market liquidity. This study will benefit all world economies because it meticulously examines institutional investors trading behaviour and identifies areas that need further research.
  Keywords: Institutional investors; Systematic literature Review; bibliometric analysis; Herding behavior; liquidity; volatility; trading preferences; positive feedback trading.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10056411
   
  
• Bhagawad Gita -the embedded code for corporate excellence through principles of spiritual intelligence  
  by Rajan Sharma, SUMIT SAINI 
  Abstract: Spiritual intelligence is the capacity to imbue greater meaning, values, and purposes to life and unconscious components of the self, and to live richer, more meaningful, and more creative lives as a result of these meanings, values, and purposes (Zohar and Marshall). In Bhagawad Gita through its teaching Maharishi Ved Vyas had given some exemplary and immutable principles of achieving excellence in individual and corporate life of spiritual intelligence through the discussion between Krishna and Arjun. It is the highest realms of spiritual intelligence that work in every situation and every kind of organisation correlated with its excellence. The research paper is based on the extensive literature review of the various textbooks, research papers in context of Bhagawad Gita and spiritual intelligence. Diverse interpretations through hermeneutical approach have been taken into account to bring out and reflect upon the immutable principles enshrined in the gospel of corporate excellence.
  Keywords: Bhagawad Gita; principles; spiritual intelligence; work effectiveness; organisation; karmic principles; prajanya; atmano moksharth jagat hitay cha; concept of yagna.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10056635
   
  
• Behavioral Adoption of Influencer Marketing: A Review Study  
  by Sayantan Mukherjee, Hemlata Gangwar 
  Abstract: This study evaluates attitude and purchasing intention toward e-influencers. It also seeks customer mindset factors. To attain this purpose, the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and academic outcomes of existing e-influence research are analysed, and a new behavioural approach model is developed. This study reveals that customer perceptions regarding influencers affect brand and purchase intent. E-influencer content shapes brand image and buying intention. E-influencers are essential for company promotion in the digital age of virtual reality. The approach emphasises consumer mindset, brand image, and purchasing intention. Marketers and advertisers will learn how influencer marketing affects client buy intent through the study. They also help marketers assess customer sentiments about influencers and choose influencers who can affect buy intentions. The latest paper addresses customer views toward influencers and buying intent. This is the first fashion industry study to examine how influencer attitudes affect brand attitude and purchase intention.
  Keywords: e-influencers; influencer marketing; theory of planned behaviour; TPB; purchase intention; consumer behaviour; behavioural adoption.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10056789
   
  
• The Process of Intrapersonal Willingness or Unwillingness to Share Knowledge  
  by Fatemeh Shakeri, Ali Shaemi Barzoki 
  Abstract: This research is related to the intra-personal factors that have an impact on the willingness or unwillingness to share knowledge (KS). The strategies of grounded theory in the qualitative section and the SEM in the quantitative section are used. Data were collected from organisations associated with the Yazd power industry. Based on the coding and qualitative analysis, a questionnaire was designed and distributed to 248 members of the mentioned organisations. The research model, which is the effect of KS enabler intra-personal factors (except personality) on the creation of good feeling and finally willingness to KS, were confirmed. Also, effect of KS inhibitor intra-personal factors on creation of negative attitude to KS and leading to unwillingness to KS were confirmed. In this research, to avoid complexity, KM enablers and their impact on the inner person were not addressed. This paper tracks the human-psychological factors (cognitive, perceptual, personality/trait, and attitudinal) involved in individual employees' engagement in knowledge sharing process.
  Keywords: knowledge sharing; grounded theory; power industry.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10056847
   
  
• A Systematic Review on Technology in Sensory Marketing  
  by Ashish Wilson, Uma Vakadae Ramkumar 
  Abstract: The systematic review has been undertaken to identify how businesses have used technology to facilitate the use of sensory marketing in order to influence consumer product choice and preferences. Journal articles have been obtained from electronic databases, of these articles, 72 were shortlisted based on our inclusion-exclusion criteria. In conducting the review, we noted that the use of technology in the application of sensory marketing has been effective in heightening customer engagement, enhancing consumer experience and influence purchase intention and behaviour. Moreover, it was noted that perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, design and trust were key contributors in encouraging repeat purchases and usage of the product platform (mobile applications and website). The systematic review provides key insights for the management as to how they can incorporate and use technology to provide sensory stimuli to customers.
  Keywords: sensory marketing; purchase intention; purchase behaviour; consumer behaviour; neuromarketing.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10057024
   
  
• Characteristics of Inimitable Strategic Resources in the Oil Industries: A Developing Countries Perspective  
  by Hatem Ali Abdullah  
  Abstract: The study aimed to research the reality of the characteristics of inimitable strategic resources (CISRs) from the perspective of developing countries, specifically in Iraq, through the characteristics of physical uniqueness (PU), path dependency (PD), causal ambiguity (CA) and social complexity (SC) in an analytical study of the opinions of a sample of 92 engineers working in North Refineries Company (NRsC), Baiji refinery (BR). Data were collected by the questionnaire that represented the main administration of the study. The sampling was in an intentional way. Their questionnaire boxes were distributed in the direct way and they were fully retrieved. The study concluded that the CISRs exist according to the sample in a way that achieves the possibility of adopting scale in future studies. The characteristics of PU and PD do not have the technological and digital dimension, while the CA and SC were well available as it depends on the human, cultural and organisational resources.
  Keywords: inimitable strategic resources; ISRs; material uniqueness; path dependency; PD; causal ambiguity; CA; social complexity; SC.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10057150
   
  
• How brand performance during COVID-19 affect brand orientation after the pandemic ends?  
  by Ahmed Rageh Ismail, Reham Ebrahem 
  Abstract: A path model is tested in an endeavour to explain the relationship among brand orientation, internal branding and brand performance in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) pre-, during and post-COVID-19 pandemic. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted to collect data from Egyptian SMEs. PLS-SEM was used to test proposed hypotheses of the study. The results suggested that brand performance during the pandemic has a significant impact on post-pandemic brand orientations for SMEs. Additionally, this relationship is mediated by internal branding during the crisis. This study addresses the research gap in branding literature regarding the roles of brand orientations, internal branding and brand performance. Few managerial implications are provided for brand managers.
  Keywords: COVID-19; internal branding; brand orientation; brand performance.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10057340
   
  
• Electronic Word-of-Mouth for Improving the Business Innovation for the Start-ups  
  by Jayanta Chakraborti, Anirban Dutta, Bhaswati Jana 
  Abstract: Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), a form of digital marketing, offers a viable alternative where reach and conversions can be maximised with optimum financial investment. eWOM is growing in popularity because the internet is accessible to the masses, and the cost of smartphones has decreased drastically. This research explores whether eWOM can be an effective marketing tool for start-ups by conducting a cross-sectional study in ten major cities in India. In this research, we have identified that social capital, tie strength, homophily, trust, attitude towards information shared in social networking sites and attitude towards information shared in web stores are the main factors that play a crucial role in creating the purchase intention among customers. The findings are significant as they will help start-up companies fine-tune their digital marketing strategy and correctly use digital marketing and social media marketing tools.
  Keywords: electronic word-of-mouth; eWOM; start-up; social capital; trust; attitude.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10057341
   
  
• Identification of the Socialization Agents in Children’s Buying Decisions  
  by Swapna Menon, Sree Kumar, Bikash Debata 
  Abstract: Family decision making is a complex process and different family members influence the decisions to varying degree. The conventional process of decision making in family considers dyadic interaction as the ultimate decision output to family purchase decision making. But the role of family members are growing and children as an emerging key decision-making unit cannot be ignored anymore. This paper intends to identify the important socialisation agents which influences the children’s buying decisions in Indian context. The study uses factor analysis to identify the important dimensions of socialisation agents from children’s perspective. The study identifies eight dimensions of socialisation agents which influences the children’s buying decision making are internet, shopping experience, television, friend’s involvement, parent’s involvement, friend’s influence, parent’s influence and media access. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) method is used to verify the factor structure of a set of observed variables.
  Keywords: children; socialisation; decision making; family socialisation; group socialisation; media socialisation.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10057342
   
  
• An empirical analysis of student’s experience towards educational loan service offered by banks  
  by Rajashree K. Gethe 
  Abstract: Government of India committed to furnish primary education to all, but the higher education is nowadays becoming the domain of private sector. As the Government of India gradually reduced government subsidies for higher education which made it costly to pursue. Developing human capital is any nations priority and thus any deserving student should get an opportunity to pursue higher education loan for education need to be considered as an investment for the economic development. On 13th June 2000, the Honble Finance Minister while in the meeting with chief executives of public sector banks promoted the need of a comprehensive educational loan scheme which should be adopted by all banks; the educational loan scheme outlined by Reserve Bank of India whose objective is to furnish financial support to deserving and meritorious students so as to pursue their higher education in India or abroad by the banking systems with affordable terms and conditions. In this background, the proposed research paper tries to analyse the trends and patterns of educational loan taken by students. Paper also finds the correlation between students family background/income, type of university, students experience for loan processing and disbursement and service offered by banks while loan application.
  Keywords: educational loans; education financing; Reserve Bank of India; higher education.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10057410
   
  
• Integrated reporting: a conceptual framework for corporate reporting practices in India  
  by Suman Devarapalli, Sasikanta Tripathy, Lalita Mohan Mohapatra, Abdul Rahman Shaik 
  Abstract: The study examines the conceptual framework of integrated reporting (IR) adopted by Indian companies. The present study highlights the six capitals, seven guiding principles, eight content elements, and the uniqueness of integrated reporting compared to other reports. The study reviewed fifteen highly cited articles and also used the case study approach to highlight the motivations for IR adoption in India. The study identifies that the IR practicing companies in India adheres framework of IR and disclose the information in single-stand-alone document. Through case study observations, the study found that reports are published with the highlighted concept of materiality, capital trade-offs, linking of sustainable developmental goals with capitals and stakeholders’ engagement. The study found the trend of IR adoption is increasing at a rapid pace among the Indian corporates. The conceptual model of our study enumerates that the IR framework needs to be examined thoroughly in Indian context in future research.
  Keywords: conceptual framework; six capitals; guiding principles; content elements; integrated reporting; case study; India.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10057411
   
  
• CSR in India and Covid-19 Pandemic: Interventions and Implications from Stakeholders' Perspective for Fostering Business Excellence  
  by Ramroop Sharma, Parag Shukla 
  Abstract: CSR spending has been a contentious research issue. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has been proved a catalyst causing business disruptions. A review of studies has indicated that CSR spending might foster business excellence by creating trust between companies and stakeholders in adverse business conditions and shock periods. Accordingly, during challenging periods, CSR-compliant companies remain resilient provided they could sustain their CSR spending practices. In this context, the paper attempts to examine CSR spending practices in India based on secondary data from 20142015 to 20202021 from the national CSR Portal. The study highlights the empirical evidence of a significant difference in spending on various CSR activities pre and during the COVID-19 period, CSR spending on the education and healthcare categories, CSR spending between PSUs and non-PSUs and the relationship between CSR spending on education and healthcare. Finally, the study has concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic has intervened in CSR spending. The study has vital implications for managers, regulators and stakeholders to achieve business excellence.
  Keywords: corporate social responsibility; CSR; COVID-19; interventions; environmental; social and governance; ESG; stakeholders; business excellence; emerging Indian economy.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10057577
   
  
• The impact of vaccine confidence index on environmental performance and digital transformation: Evidence from Southeast Asian countries during the COVID-19 pandemic period  
  by Nha Nguyen Minh, MALIK A.B.U. AFIFA 
  Abstract: This study focuses on investigating the shift of environmental performance and digital transformation of listed companies in Southeast Asian countries, by considering the impact of the vaccine confidence index. Quarterly data, from the first quarter of 2020 to the second quarter of 2022, is used to test our hypotheses. Our research findings show that comprehensive COVID-19 vaccinations have had a beneficial and substantial influence on environmental performance during the COVID-19 pandemic period. This demonstrates that the vaccine confidence index improves economic recovery and growth for companies. This study not only establishes the vaccine confidence index in the context of Southeast Asian countries, but also its interaction with an essential environmental indicator. Additionally, our research findings also indicate that the vaccine confidence index positively affects the digital transformation of Southeast Asian countries. This contributes to strengthening and raising the awareness of digitising the economies of these countries in the post-COVID-19 period.
  Keywords: digital transformation; environmental performance; Southeast Asian countries; vaccine confidence index; VCI; COVID-19.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10057581
   
  
• The Critical Success Factors (CSFs) of the Lean Six Sigma (LSS) Implementation; a Systematic Literature Review  
  by Alaa Ubaid, Laith Abdullah Al-Juboori 
  Abstract: This research highlights the Lean Six Sigma (LSS) critical success factors (CSFs) literature's strengths and weaknesses, generates a unified list of the LSS CSFs, and proposes future research agenda. The research methodology used encompasses three stages. First, a systematic literature review (SLR) was used to extract and analyse the literature's strengths and weaknesses and propose future research agendas. Second, the focus group discussions approach was used to generate a unified list of the LSS CSFs. Third, two layers of Pareto analysis were used to extract the vital few and useful many of the LSS CSFs. A list of 37 CSFs that represent the unified list of the LSS CSFs was generated. Then, the vital few and useful many CSFs were extracted from the 37 LSS CSFs. The top three LSS CSFs were management involvement and leadership, training and education, and LSS approach integration in business strategy.
  Keywords: critical success factors; CSFs; Lean Six Sigma; LSS; unified list; systematic literature review; SLR.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10057588
   
  
• Past, Present, and Future of Research on Global Poverty: A Retrospective Review Using Bibliometric Analysis  
  by Aarti Dawra, Prince Vohra, Bijay Kushwaha, Madhu Ruhil, Abhinav Chandel 
  Abstract: The study aims to present the literature on global poverty over the last four decades, classifying the sub-themes, and setting future research agendas. We applied two research approaches: the first is the literature review on global poverty, and the second part shows a detailed presentation through maps and figures of the literature through VOSviewer software. This study presents the literature reviews and bibliometric study of the last four decades of documents published since 1980. Since its inception, studies on global poverty got dominant in the economics domain however it is now becoming a multidisciplinary research domain. This paper caters to a decentralised framework of publications on global poverty. The US and the UK are the most productive countries. Further, this paper examines the year in which maximum studies are conducted, the most cited authors, journals, main keywords, and their discussions. Seven thematic clusters of the papers are presented and discussed.
  Keywords: global poverty; literature review; bibliometric analysis; thematic clusters; Scopus.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10057652
   
  
• Impact of Liquidity and tail risk factor on pricing of assets: Evidence from the Indian equity market  
  by SHWETA BAJPAI, Alok Dixit 
  Abstract: This study examines the relevance of the two important risk factors in explaining the cross-section of stock price returns, namely, the downside and illiquidity risks in the context of the Indian stock market. We compute the expected-shortfall based tail-betas to form the downside risk factor, and use the Amihud (2002) measure to construct the illiquidity risk factor. The study utilises the Carhart's four-factor model as the base case to control for the well-known asset pricing risk factors while examining the role of these two risk factors in explaining the risk-return relationship. The study period spans from January 2000 to December 2020, and utilises the generalised method of moments (GMM) estimator. We provide evidence that the downside risk factor appears to be an important factor in explaining the risk-return relationship of stocks in the Indian context. Also, the new factors outweigh the momentum factor in explaining the cross-section of expected returns in the Indian context.
  Keywords: asset pricing; multifactor model; liquidity; downside risk; tail beta.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10057801
   
  
• The use of technological service tools and the determinants of customer satisfaction  
  by Evra Suelany Albuquerque Bruno, Daiane Rodrigues Dos Santos, Alberto Besser, Ana Jordânia De Oliveira Nicolay 
  Abstract: Customer satisfaction has become one of the major organizational goals, as it is strongly related to the loyalty process. This study aims to define the main determinants of customer satisfaction with digital service and, to define these attributes that best explain customer satisfaction. In addition to understanding the main factors that makeup customer satisfaction, satisfaction was also analyzed according to the different customer profiles. The collected data were analyzed using the logistic regression model and are the object of this study, which aims to serve as a construct for improving business processes and consequently increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty. After analysis, the pre-defined attributes as necessary for customer satisfaction were validated through the survey. However, there was a slight difference between the results obtained through the exploratory analysis and the logistic regression model adopted, which considered only part of the attributes essential to customer satisfaction with digital service.
  Keywords: digital service; satisfaction; loyalty; customer relationship; attributes.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10057831
   
  
• Fund selection or star gazing? Analysing retail investors’ preferences for mutual fund selection using conjoint approach  
  by Amit Goyal, Gurcharan Singh, Atul Shiva, Robin Inderpal Singh 
  Abstract: Selection of mutual funds is an important task for the investors. The present study examines various attributes of mutual funds and retail investors’ preferences while incorporating investment decisions. The study uses traditional full-profile conjoint design to collect the data from retail investors hailing from Northern Region of India. The results revealed that most preferred choice of retail investors were systematic investment schedule with monthly investment schemes. The second choice of retail investors were of the time period of investment in mutual funds. The investors preferred experience of fund managers over their qualification and to invest primarily for tax benefits as the investment objective in mutual funds. Lastly, the retail investors prefer debt oriented funds and inspect performance against index for performance of investment. The study offers interdisciplinary research by integrating the techniques of conjoint analysis used primarily in investing consumers’ choice into investors’ preferences in behavioural finance context.
  Keywords: mutual funds; conjoint analysis; financial markets; retail investor behaviour.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10057834
   
  
• Impact of Institutional investors on financial performance: Malaysian evidence  
  by Ahmad Firdhauz Zainul Abidin, Hafiza Aishah Hashim, Akmalia Ariff, Waleed M. Alahdal 
  Abstract: This paper examines the association between the different types of institutional investors and the financial performance of publicly listed companies in Malaysia. The panel data method is used in analyses involving 1,070 firm-year observations. Institutional investors are categorised by investment behaviour (transient or dedicated), and types of institutions (banks, insurance companies, mutual funds, pension or provident funds, pilgrim funds, government ownership and others). Financial performance is represented by two measures: ROA and ROE. The association between institutional investors and financial performance exists only in ROA. When institutional investors are separated based on investment characteristics and business operations, banks, mutual funds, pension funds and government agencies indicate that those institutions influence companies' performance. The findings suggest that each type of institutional investor has different preferences in their investment portfolios, and accordingly, different impact on corporate performance.
  Keywords: institutional investors; financial performance; corporate governance; government ownership.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10057878
   
  
• Systematic Literature Review and Future Prospective of Cloud-Based Human Resources Management System (Cloud-HRMS)  
  by MADHURI KANOJIYA, Sarika Yadav 
  Abstract: The advancement of technologies has provided the organisation with various alternatives and benefits for many businesses to run and grow their operations. Likewise, cloud computing is a modern and innovative solution and a relatively new business model that can be used in any organisation. This article aims to provide a prismatic view on the extensive research and development state of cloud computing (CC) in the domain of human resource management (HRM). Systematic literature review (SLR) is considered to evaluate existing publications on HRM, information systems (IS), and cloud computing (CC). The primary objective is to identify the current state of cloud computing research in HRM and categorise published research into different categories to understand the available knowledge in this area better. In addition, it identifies potential research directions and the most recent breakthroughs in cloud computing for HR. The findings provide theoretical knowledge about cloud-based HRMs, which may aid academic debates. This study also offers valuable direction to those working in HRM by integrating the cloud computing environment.
  Keywords: human resource management; HRM; cloud computing; cloud-based human resource management; cloud-HRMS; systematic literature review; SLR.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10057896
   
  
• Consumer Behaviour Towards Food and Nutrition Labelling- A Review of Theories.  
  by Priya K.M, Sivakumar Alur 
  Abstract: Many consumers realise that eating ultra-processed packaged foods leads to a bad diet, a major cause of poor health. Food and nutrition labelling (F&NL) has become an essential tool for consumers to make informed decisions about their food choices and to identify nutrient levels, ingredients, and allergens. Several theories have been used to explain the different dimensions of consumer behaviour towards F&NL. This study attempts a review of these theories. The review identified 108 empirical studies based on an extensive literature search. The most used theories are theory of planned behaviour and social cognitive theory. Different respondents like adults, children, low-income individuals, and pregnant women have been used in contributing to the use of these theories. Among the key dependent variables that have been used, intention to use nutritional information, label efficacy and health outcome are some of the significant ones. Furthermore, attitude, perceived behavioural control and subjective norms are frequently used as independent variables.
  Keywords: food and nutrition labelling; F&NL; theory of planned behaviour TPB; processed packaged food; antecedents; social cognitive theory; SCT; consumer behaviour; CB; key theories.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10058024
   
  
• The Moderating Effect of Earnings Persistence on the Relationship between Intellectual Capital and Investment Efficiency: Evidence from an Emerging Market  
  by Ayman Abu Haija  
  Abstract: Understanding and managing intellectual capital has become a critical aspect of modern business strategy. By recognising the value of their intangible assets, organisations can gain a competitive advantage, drive innovation, and achieve long-term success. This study, therefore, aimed to investigate the moderating effect of earnings persistence (EP) on the relationship between intellectual capital and investment efficiency (InvEff). The sample consists of 52 listed companies on the Amman Stock exchange (ASE) during the period 2001 to 2021. This study used data collected from published annual reports and adopted panel data analysis. The econometrical approaches involved multiple regressions analysis, using value added intellectual capital (VAIC) as a proxy for intellectual capital and VAIC components represented by human capital efficiency (HCE), structural capital efficiency (SCE) and capital employed efficiency (CEE).A positive significant relationship was found between intellectual capital (VAIC) and VAIC components on investment. Moreover, the study revealed a strong positive relationship between the intellectual capital with EP and InvEff. Our findings recommend adopting the component of intellectual capital to create a good environment for investment opportunities and to enhance the InvEff of the firm.
  Keywords: VAIC; human capital efficiency; HCE; structural capital efficiency; SCE; capital employed efficiency; CEE.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10058104
   
  
• The performance impact of export activity: Do firm size and economic conjuncture matter?  
  by Maria Kalogera, Antonios Georgopoulos, Maria Jade Catalan Opulencia 
  Abstract: This paper investigates the impact of export on performance in terms of labour productivity and return on equity and the extent to which firm size and economic circumstances moderate the relationship between export and economic performance. Using the GMM approach, we utilise a pool of micro-specific data from 284 Greek firms, covering a period of growth and the subsequent memorandum period. After examining our four hypotheses, we find that export intensity boosts labour productivity and weakens ROE; therefore, its performance impact needs to be clarified. Firm size moderates the export-performance relationship in the case of ROE. Economic conjuncture generally does not affect the export-performance relationship. This means export firms also have labour productivity gains and profitability losses in expansion and recession. Further, firm size and economic conjuncture moderate the export-performance relationship regarding both performance indices under examination. The findings are consistent across the different economic scenarios of the local economy.
  Keywords: export activity; firm performance; labour productivity; profitability; SMEs; recession; moderating effect; small open economies.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10058126
   
  
• Big Five Personality Traits and Retirement Financial Planning Behavior- The Moderating Role of Financial Literacy  
  by Diksha Choudhary, Ashu Khanna 
  Abstract: Population ageing and increasing life expectancy led to an increase in the number of retirees in a growing world. Also, the recent financial crisis highlights the significance of personal financial planning besides that, very few people save for retirement. Thus, our study seeks to explore the big five personality traits and the moderating effect of financial literacy on retirement financial planning behaviour. Data was gathered from 403 working individuals through an online survey-based questionnaire. Our findings demonstrated that out of the big five personality traits, only conscientiousness and agreeableness are significantly and positively related to retirement planning behaviour. Financial literacy moderates the relationship between neuroticism and retirement planning. This study contributes to the existing literature on retirement planning. In addition, policymakers and market regulators can take benefit from the study by understanding individual psychological mechanisms via personality traits and cognitive abilities, which can predict why some people plan less than others for retirement.
  Keywords: retirement planning; financial planning behaviour; financial literacy; big five personality traits; saving behaviour; India.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10058129
   
  
• Electronic Word of Mouth- What motivates one to share his views online - A Study in the Indian Context.  
  by Krishna Roy, Arunava Mookherjee, Ujjwal Kanti Paul 
  Abstract: In order to determine the factors that influence an online shopper’s decision to share his shopping experience with other online users, this study uses binary logistic regression. In the focused study, three behavioural theories have been considered to formulate the theoretical framework and testify in the Indian context. 16 variables were initially identified through qualitative methods. The final, conclusive study was on a sample of 310 responses to a structured questionnaire from all over India through snowball sampling. It was observed that eight of the considered variables namely age, education, past experience, ease of usage, subjective norm, usefulness, attitude and distributive justice contributed to the logistic regression-binary response. The remaining variables had no considerable impact. The logistic regression-binary response model formulated in the study was used to classify the observations and tested using machine learning performance parameters. The results showed good accuracy indicating that the model has adequate strength.
  Keywords: binary logistic regression; confusion matrix; data science; eWOM; machine learning; predictive analytics; ROC curve; India.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10058385
   
  
• Impact of Investor's Horizon on Financial Decisions  
  by Muhammad Usman, Amreen Ishaq, Faiq Mahmood, Mohsin Bashir, Sana Saleem 
  Abstract: This study examines the influence of investor's investment horizons on corporate financial decisions of mispriced firms listed on Pakistan Stock Exchange during the period from 20082017. The study regresses the investors horizon on three major corporate financial decisions, i.e., investments, equity financing and dividend payout. Whereas the investors are divided into short-term and long-term investors. The endogenous variable corporate policy is computed by three indicators investment, equity financing and dividend payout decisions. This study reveals that long-term investors horizons reduced the effect of equity mispricing on corporate financial decisions. Consistent to this implication, the findings of this study indicate that undervalued firms with long-term investors make investments, issue equity to finance the investments and payout less as cash dividend to shareholders. Conversely, overvalued firms with long-term investors, issue equity to finance the investments when there is a positive wave in the industry and high growth prospects, and payout more as cash dividend to shareholders. This study supports catering theory of market timing that mispriced firms tap to the market in order to increase earnings of short-term investors rather than long-term investors.
  Keywords: investor's horizons; asymmetric information; mispricing; catering theory.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10058406
   
  
• Leave no stone unturned when valuating startups and unicorns: A bibliometric analysis with VosViewer  
  by Shreya Arora, Pankaj Madan 
  Abstract: This study outlines and evaluates a global study on start-up and unicorn valuation. Scholars from several academic fields have expressed interest in the idea of start-up valuation, and it has been used to explain a wide range of occurrences. The authors examined aggregate data of 89 documents published between 20012023 taken from the Scopus database using the bibliographic technique. VOSviewer software is used for the analyses. The findings indicate that valuation is a topic of interest in many academic disciplines. The results underline the crucial role that journals, including those from disciplines other than business, management, and economics, have played in disseminating this idea and demonstrate that some institutions and countries are more productive than others and that they participate in more collaborative research projects.
  Keywords: start-up; bibliometric analysis; bibliometric mapping; Scopus database; VOSviewer; unicorn; valuation.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10058498
   
  
• Efficacy of AI to bring Banking Excellence in India: An Empirical Investigation  
  by Dinesh Seth, Meenu Gupta, Bikram Jit Singh 
  Abstract: Artificial intelligence (AI), also used as machine intelligence synonymously, refers incorporation of human intelligence into a practical process. This piece of technology possesses intelligence that is far superior to that of a human mind. AI has numerous applications especially in the financial segment. The present study intends to study the insight of AI in the Indian banking sector, examining the transformations it has led to and also examines the bearing of AI on the human resources, as well. This survey will try to define the present (or factual) state of AI in Indian banking sector along with viewpoints of diversified demographic Indian stakeholders, about its efficacy. The outcomes of this rarely seen survey, especially in Indian private banking sector, will definitely be quite helpful to financial practitioners and policy makers for drafting an appropriate AI deployment plan, without ignoring the prevailing Indian economical terrains and constraints.
  Keywords: machine learning; Indian private banks; profitability in banks; Kruskal-Wallis test; Moods-Median test; Mann-Whitney test; fraud detection; customer satisfaction; India.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10058502
   
  
• Bringing Excellence in Drinking-Water Distribution through Six Sigma's DMAIC Approach: An Indian Case Study  
  by Chadetrik Rout, Bikram Jit Singh 
  Abstract: This study uncovers the Six Sigma's well-structured DMAIC approach's troubleshooting capability by applying it to a public water supply system. Since the last decade, the mean water supply of the city as 135.6 million cubic metres (MCum), whereas its residents have an average drinking water demand of 192.1 M.Cu.m and moreover this gap is mounting at a rate of around 4 MCum every year. The impact of strategic-blending of surface water with ground water would be realised after calculating the capabilities (Cpk and Ppk) and are evaluated as 1.16 and 0.40, respectively. These improved values of capability indices would further reveal the fact that there would be a paradigm shift from 0 to 3.5 sigma level, as far as quality of water-supply system is in question. It’s quite rare to see the application of Six Sigma to manage civil services in public sector.
  Keywords: water supply; process capability; water quality; Ishikawa diagram; double exponential smoothening model; main branch lower; MBL.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10058503
   
  
• Analyzing the Role of Total Rewards and Compensation in Increasing Employee Motivation  
  by Indrajit Goswami, Ankesh Mittal, Vimal Kumar, Priyanka Verma, Akansha Mer 
  Abstract: Employees are the key strengths of an organisation and employee motivation can improve performance. There are several ways in which employees can be motivated. The aim of this study is to understand the role of total rewards and compensation in increasing employee motivation. A questionnaire-based survey methodology has been used to carry out this work. The survey was conducted by 80 participants and the findings of the survey were analysed using the regression and ANOVA methods. The result conveys that there is a positive relationship between employee motivation and engagement. Employee motivation has strong relation with employee engagement and increasing organisational performance. Motivating employees can help foster a positive workplace culture. The research will contribute to understand the role of compensation and total rewards in case of employee motivation. Besides this, this research is also helpful to understand the importance of employee motivation in case of organisational performance.
  Keywords: employee motivation; total rewards; compensation; employee engagement; organisational performance.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10058513
   
  
• Work-life balance with bibliometric analysis - a conceptual review  
  by Reeta Singh, Monica Sharma, Rifa Nadeem 
  Abstract: The term work-life balance (WLB) is becoming more prevalent in both academics and business. This studys main objective is to locate current understanding of WLB literature by examining the available documents. The study also provides a conceptual framework for antecedents and outcomes in WLB. An integrated method combining conceptual review and bibliometric analysis was used to examine a total of 456 published articles that were pulled from the Scopus database. Software called VOS viewer was used to carry out the bibliometric study. The comprehensive analysis of the literature is provided by the systematic mapping of this area, which identifies the most influential journals, authors, countries, trending keywords, and themes. The most contributing journal Sustainability, and the USA contributed the most. WLB tops the list of keywords with a significant footprint. The results of the literature review provide a solid roadmap conceptual review for future research in this field. This study enriches the body of knowledge on WLB by presenting a conceptual review of the existing publications along with bibliometric analysis.
  Keywords: work-life balance; WLB; antecedents; outcomes; bibliometrics; literature review.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10058639
   
  
• Operating Models: Status Quo of the Current Literature  
  by Arnauld Schaller, Ronald Vatananan-Thesenvitz 
  Abstract: This paper explores and captures the body of knowledge of the operating model (OM) concept through a comprehensive literature review, including academic and practitioner publications. The review applied a systematic, adapted, and traditional literature review analysing 43 articles, books, conference papers, and management consulting firm reports and studies. Accordingly, the literature review conducted by the authors synthesises both the state-of-the-art and the state-of-the-practice, benefiting from research and industry knowledge to reveal the current status of the literature and gain additional insights into the OM concept. Due to its business popularity, the OM concept is prevalent in various disciplines, leading to multiple industry-specific understandings. Consequently, different interpretations of the term operating model exist, confusing the concept. Therefore, this paper aims to consolidate knowledge about the OM concept and bring academic clarification to this research field.
  Keywords: operating model; body of knowledge; grey literature; literature review.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10058690
   
  
• Development of Performance Evaluation Indicators for Table Grape Packing Units. 3. Guidelines for Operational Excellence  
  by Edson Tetsuo Kogachi Kogachi, Marcelo Embiruçu, Carlos Arthur Mattos Teixeira Cavalcante, Adonias M. S. Ferreira 
  Abstract: This work presents guidelines for operational excellence for table grape packaging units (TGPUs) located in Northeast region of Brazil. It makes use of reference partial indexes (PIs) and global indexes (GIs) specially designed to analyse the performance objectives of these processes. The guidelines seek to translate the main managerial peculiarities related to the performance PIs, namely, cost, quality, speed, flexibility and reliability, as well as those related to the developed GIs. Statistical analyses of correlations and standard deviations of the partial performance indexes and the association of global indexes with benchmarking techniques are used to provide management guidelines. A set of guidelines was defined to obtain better results in the short- and long-terms, and to make the TGPUs' internal processes more effective. With the proposed recommendations, it is possible to guide increasingly consistent actions for the achievement of good management practices and business excellence.
  Keywords: performance indicators; partial index; global index; table grape packaging; Submédio São Francisco Valley; guidelines for operational excellence.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10058693
   
  
• Study of the performance of European companies since the beginning of the financial crisis, with the use of PCA  
  by Panagiotis Charalampakis, Antonios Georgopoulos, Ilias Makris, George Mavridoglou, Stavros Stavroyiannis 
  Abstract: The aim of this research is to study how factors such as debt, market, internationalisation and country, influence the performance of companies located in five European countries. From a database of 1,160 publicly listed companies, we used samples consisting of 25% of those companies with higher rates of market capitalisation. We grouped the samples of companies from France and Italy, which are two of the biggest European economies and the samples of companies from Spain, Portugal and Greece which suffered from the financial crisis and received financial rescue packages. We used PCA, to produce four new principal components of performance, debt, market and internationalisation. We performed panel data analysis focusing on the period of financial recession 20082017. Preliminary findings indicate a significant influence between the market and the group of countries and the dependent factor. Debt and internationalisation do not seem to have statistical importance according to our sample.
  Keywords: financial performance; enlisted companies; France; Italy; Spain; Portugal; Greece; European South; principal component analysis.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10058786
   
  
• Human Resource Management Model in the internationalisation of Multinational Corporation  
  by Shalimar Gallon  
  Abstract: Expatriation is a current process used by multinational corporations (MNCs) expanding their international businesses. However, international Human Resource Management (HRM) models do not show the influence of the internationalisation typology on HRM orientation and expatriation when it comes to accommodating the management at the global level and the subsidiaries' local HRM needs. This study proposes an HRM model that stresses the influence of expatriation as MNCs begin the internationalisation process. The research is descriptive and qualitative, based on 30 semi-structured interviews with managers and expatriates from Brazilian and Portuguese MNCs. The results show that Brazilian MNCs do not have an HRM that contemplates particularities of expatriates, which is explained by the lack of maturity of these MNCs in internationalisation processes. On the other hand, Portuguese MNCs engage in expatriation for longer and do not wait for the return of expatriates, showing greater fluidity for internationalisation.
  Keywords: human resource management model; internationalisation; expatriation; emerging countries.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10059104
   
  
• Raising the bar: analyzing innovation-led social entrepreneurial perspective in postpandemic revival of SMEs  
  by José Anselmo Pérez Reyes, Miguel Cervantes Jimenez, Ananya Rajagopal 
  Abstract: Since the recent health crisis, countries are facing a systemic crisis with implications on the economic and social dimensions of development in emerging countries. This has led to numerous consequences among stakeholders, leading to a redesigning of business strategies. The concept of corporate social responsibility has drawn attention due to its implications on strategies, practices and policies. Based on the maxims of theory-based approach, this study highlights effect of corporate social responsibility in a context of crisis wherein the prominent recovery alternatives lie in a multidimensional vision that involves economic, political, social and cultural factors. Accordingly, the study proposes that the secondary sector has to contribute in terms of job creation, competitiveness, social responsibility and economic development. The study analyses the connections between the taxonomy of corporate social responsibility in small companies, the corporate decision-making based on a new social commitment, and the determination of innovative and socially responsible actions.
  Keywords: corporate decision making under risk; industry studies; corporate social responsibility; CSR; innovation.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10059126
   
  
• The influence of the community's purchase intention on produced electric cars: A Case study of the Indonesian market of Electric Vehicles (EV)  
  by Roy Poan, Dhydan Syefaya 
  Abstract: The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of environmental impact, price value, range confidence, government factor, charging infrastructure, and attitude toward the perspective in influencing purchase intentions for electric vehicles (EV) in Indonesia. Quantitative techniques are used in this study. Online surveys are sought from Indonesians who are interested in switching from driving conventional vehicles to driving EV. The study used a non-probability purposive sampling technique, with a total of 85 valid answers were gathered. SEM is used for hypothesis testing. The results show that attitude is significantly affected purchase intention regarding electric car adoption. In addition, environmental impact, price value, range confidence, and government factors were all taken into account throughout EV adoption in Indonesia. However, the research discovered that charging infrastructure was not taken into account by Indonesians when purchasing EV.
  Keywords: Indonesia; attitude; environmental impact; purchase intention; price value; range confidence; government factor; charging infrastructure.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10059282
   
  
• Revisiting the future of employment and rethinking great resignation: A South Korean multinational enterprise case  
  by Joonghak Lee, Sungjun Kim 
  Abstract: Technological advancement has caused a debate among scholars and practitioners about replacement and augmentation in jobs. Taking Frey and Osborne's (2017) research as a starting point, we explored the impact of computerisation in South Korean context and verified previous prediction using actual data from the conglomerate. We clustered jobs based on replaceable probabilities and changes in the number of jobs between 2017 and 2020. In doing so, we elaborated on how jobs might emerge and disappear in varied ways based on the contingency theory and argue a comprehensive view is required in understanding the impact of artificial intelligence and great resignation.
  Keywords: future employment; great resignation; contingency theory; prediction.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10059287
   
  
• Is Responsible Consumption Everyone Business. Why? Understanding Responsible Consumption and its Linkage to Consumer Well-being for Better Tomorrow  
  by Aditi Dahiya, Vijay Jain, Puja Jain, Vijay Prakash Anand, Shipra Agarwal Graphic Era University 
  Abstract: During the past two centuries of industrialisation, our planet has undergone significant transformation. The achievements of the 20th century focused on the expansion of possibilities and amenities. Consumption needs to bear more responsibility for its consequences on social welfare and the viability of the environment. In this era of consumption-driven society, very few studies have addressed the issue of responsible consumption, where living with less is the way of life. The current study aims to identify the antecedents of responsible consumption and further examine the impact of responsible consumption on consumer well-being. Five antecedents - ethical consumption, local consumption, minimalism, rational consumption, and sustainable consumption - have been used as exogenous variables in the study. The model was tested and validated with the help of structural equation modelling using the data of 500 respondents. Rational consumption has emerged as the most important antecedent of responsible consumption, followed by local and ethical consumption. The results of the studies will help marketers and policymakers develop strategies to encourage consumers to consume responsibly. Consuming responsibly will lower carbon emissions, enhance environmental performance, and conserve priceless resources.
  Keywords: responsible consumption; ecological footprint; minimalism; wellbeing; circular economy.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10059370
   
  
• Knowledge energy, information policy and electricity-saving behavior of households  
  by Dat Ngoc Nguyen, Nguyen Van Duy, Thuy Than Trong, Loc Xuan Tran, Dat Dinh Nguyen 
  Abstract: Research on the electricity-saving behaviour of households plays a crucial role in environmental protection and sustainable development in every country. This study aims to evaluate the impact of awareness of electricity-saving, behaviour control, and subject norm on the attitude, intention, and behaviour of households that save electricity in Vietnam. The research employed a quantitative study with PLS-SEM analysis on Smart-PLS software. The analysis results of 560 respondents indicate that knowledge of energy and information policies positively influences the attitude towards electricity-saving. The theory of planned behaviour (TPB) was also supported in this study, as behaviour control and subject norm positively influence households’ intention to save electricity. Additionally, the intention to save electricity mediates the relationship between attitude and electricity-saving behaviour.
  Keywords: knowledge energy; information policy; energy-saving behaviour; intention to electricity-saving; household.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10059429
   
  
• Does Multiple Borrowing, Progress Lending and Repeated Borrowing Matters in a Microfinance Contract: a Case of Microfinance Institutions in Pakistan  
  by Zahid Iqbal, Zia Ur Rehman Rao, Maqsood Ahmed 
  Abstract: The main goals of this research are to measure the depending structure of multiple borrowing, progress lending, and repeated borrowing on over-indebtedness and issues of loan payback as well as the mediating/ intermediating role of over-indebtedness between multiple borrowing, progress lending, repeated borrowing, and issues of loan payback in the context of microfinance institutions in Pakistan. In this study partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) has been considered to evaluate the scale reliability and validity (through a measurement model) as well as to test the model’s hypothesis (through a structural model).The findings of this study support the following statements: 1) multiple borrowing, progress lending, and repeated borrowing have positive effects on issues of loan payback; 2) multiple borrowing, progress lending, and repeated borrowing have positive effects on over-indebtedness; 3) over-indebtedness has a positive mediating effect between multiple borrowing, progress lending, repeated borrowing, and loan repayment issues.
  Keywords: multiple-borrowing; progress lending; repeated borrowing; over-indebtedness; issues of loan payback; Pakistan.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10059469
   
  
• Factors Facilitating and Impeding the Adoption of Digital Payment Systems in India: The Influence of the Coronavirus Pandemic  
  by Sweta Lakhaiyar, Mukta Mani 
  Abstract: India has seen a sharp growth in using digital payment systems since the pandemic outbreak. This research aims to investigate the factors that facilitated the adoption, the factors that hurdled it, and their inter-relationships during COVID-19. The study considers the UTAUT and IRT for discovering the factors. The factors have been empirically tested on primary data from a structured questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis through structural equation modelling (SEM) have been carried out. The findings suggest facilitating conditions and efficiency parameters as the most significant enablers, while social influence is insignificant. Technological, image, and usage barriers are substantial barriers to adoption. In an unexpected twist, the value and risk barriers relate negatively to the usage barrier, highlighting the consumers’ high reliance on digital payment systems during the outbreak. The study suggests ways for authorities and electronic payment system providers to increase adoption.
  Keywords: digital payments; UTAUT; innovation resistance theory; IRT; structural equation modelling; SEM; acceptance of digital payment; India.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10059598
   
  
• Entrepreneurs Personal Branding, Attitudes, and Startups Success Relationships: The Mediating Role of Earlier Start-up Intentions: A Study of Small Apparel-Fashion Enterprises in the Emerging Markets  
  by Solomon Tawiah Yeboah, Haider Yasmeen, George Kofi Amoako 
  Abstract: This study explored the relationship between entrepreneurs’ personal branding, attitudes, and startup success, with an emphasis on the mediating role of earlier start-up intentions in small apparel-fashion enterprises in emerging markets. Drawing motivation from the resource-based view (RBV) theory, data was gathered through surveys from a sample of 300 entrepreneurs. The study proposed that entrepreneurs' personal branding and attitudes directly influence startup success. Additionally, it examined the mediating role of earlier startup intentions in this relationship. The findings showed a significant direct association between entrepreneurs’ personal branding, attitudes, and startups' success. Moreover, the mediator, earlier start-up intentions played a partial role in the relationship between personal branding, attitudes, and start-up success. These findings provided insight into the significance of entrepreneurs’ personal branding and attitudes in enhancing start-up success and highlighted the need to reflect on earlier start-up intentions as a potential mediator for startup success. Besides, theories relating to personal branding, attitudes, startup intentions, and startup success in emerging markets have been reinforced.
  Keywords: entrepreneurs; personal branding; attitudes; fashion enterprises emerging markets; entrepreneurs; start-up intentions; apparel-fashion enterprises.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10059654
   
  
• Market sensing capabilities and SMEs performance: Mediating role of market orientation  
  by Seemant Yadav, Sucheta Agarwal 
  Abstract: Market sensing capabilities and market orientation are robust business perspectives that enable an organisation to gain insights into its customers, competitors, intermediaries, and the market environment in which it operates. The primary aim of this study is to explore the impact of market sensing capability on firm performance and to examine the mediating role of market orientation in the relationship between market sensing and performance. The present study specifically focuses on small and medium-sized manufacturing businesses in India. Convenience sampling was employed for the survey, and responses from 525 SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) managers were used for data analysis. The research model was assessed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and the mediation effect was examined using the Hayes process. A conducive competitive environment needs to be established by both the government and organisations, especially SMEs, that foster industry growth. This includes infrastructure development and equipping business operations with business acumen to enhance market sensing capabilities and market orientation. These are no longer optional but essential components of competitiveness and value creation.
  Keywords: confirmatory factor analysis; CFA; India; market sensing; market orientation; small medium enterprises.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10059700
   
  
• Influencing Factors of Export Performance Among Halal SMEs  
  by Shaizatulaqma Kamalul Ariffin, Yean Yee Goh, Fifiana Ng, Shano Safar 
  Abstract: This study aims to examine the influencing factors of export performance among halal SMEs by adopting the resource-based view (RBV) theory of the companies. A total of 95 qualified responses from Malaysian halal SME exporters were collected from early March 2022 until the end of April 2022. The sample included participants in Malaysia regardless of location, as questionnaires were distributed on a fully online basis due to restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings of this study show that technological capital, organisational capital, and government support are positively related to competitive advantage, and indirectly influence the export performance of halal SMEs Similarly, the relationship between competitive advantage and export performance is found to be positive and significant. The outcomes of this research will help halal SMEs to effectively adapt these factors in a more targeted marketing strategy to enhance export performance.
  Keywords: export performance; halal SMEs; technological capital; organisational capital; government support; competitive advantage.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10059734
   
  
• Affinity Towards China and Purchase Intentions  
  by Susana C. Silva, Márcio P. Silva, Joanna Radomska 
  Abstract: The main objective of this study is to explore the impact of the image of China as the country of manufacturing (COM) fashion products on consumers' purchase intentions in a special administrative region of China (Macao). A total of 154 surveys were collected from residents in Macao and then analysed using the SEM-PLS technique. In this study, we investigate whether cultural affinity exists in Macao and whether it impacts the image of manufactured fashion products and purchase intentions. The findings show that the COM has no impact on purchase intention. Our study sheds light on the approach toward China developed in Macao. Instead of resistance, we found that consumers display an affinity towards China. However, this is insufficient to develop any specific preference for Chinese-made sneakers. Consumers' preferences and willingness to pay mainly explain the intention to buy these products.
  Keywords: country of manufacturing; COM; purchase intentions; country affinity; consumer evaluations; willingness to pay; WTP; China.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10059820
   
  
• Identification and analysis of key factors affecting circular supply chain resiliency in post COVID-19 era: An analysis of emerging economy's auto sector  
  by Manju Saroha, Dixit Garg, Sunil Kuma Luthra 
  Abstract: The coronavirus outburst reveals that pandemic situation can wildly impoverish the global supply chain. The pandemic has propelled the supply chain (SC) of industries at serious risk and disruption. To overcome the downfall of SC the only way out is to work on sustainable and circular supply chain (CSC) resiliency after COVID-19 era by understanding the factors affecting CSC resiliency. The paper diagnosed the factors affecting CSC resiliency of Indian industries by fuzzy-analytical hierarchy process (fuzzy-AHP). This unfolds the priority of the identified factors and explains that the Governmental Guidelines is the most important factor which provides guidelines, laws and policies for the particular situation and followed by Technological Innovation, logistics and localisation of SC for CSC resiliency post COVID-19 era. The results help the mangers and decision makers to deal with the effects of the pandemic and better knowledge of the factors for making plans to get out of this coronavirus outburst for sustainability.
  Keywords: COVID-19; key factors; circular supply chain; CSC; supply chain resiliency; analytical hierarchy process; AHP; fuzzy-AHP; emerging economy; auto sector.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10059927
   
  
• Entrepreneurs' Communicative Competence and Brand Image Formation - The Mediating Role of Local Language Advertising: Examining Small-Apparel Fashion Enterprises in the Emerging Markets  
  by Solomon Tawiah Yeboah, Haider Yasmeen, George Kofi Amoako, Emem O. Anwana 
  Abstract: The study examined the mediating role of local language advertising on entrepreneurs' communicative competence and brand image formation within the apparel and fashion industry. The study adopted quantitative research methodology, using a structured questionnaire to collect data from 490 customers across open market arenas and regional shopping malls in Ghana. Through a convenient sampling method, the collected data were analysed using SmartPLS 3.0 and SPSS V.26. The study found that communicative appropriateness and communicative effectiveness have direct effects on both local language advertising and brand image formation. Also, local language advertising was found to indirectly impact communicative effectiveness, communicative appropriateness, and brand image formation. The outcomes of the study will help apparel and fashion managers promote their brands through the use of local language advertisements and also build a strong brand image. The study contributes to the body of knowledge by indicating evidence of relationships among entrepreneurs' communicative competence, local language advertising, and brand image formation. The concept of the Narrative Theory of Communication is also reinforced.
  Keywords: entrepreneurs; communicative competence; effectiveness; appropriateness; local language advertising; LLA; brand image formation; BIF; branding; and small-apparel fashion enterprises.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10060286
   
  
• Trends in the Evolution of Non-Deceptive Counterfeiting: A Bibliometric Analysis using R  
  by Ritu Raj, Saurabh Verma 
  Abstract: This study seeks to identify current trends and streamline future research opportunities in non-deceptive counterfeiting by conducting a bibliometric analysis of available literature in the Scopus database. The study analyses 148 articles from the database of Scopus published from 1991 to 2022, using performance and science mapping analysis. The study used biblioshiny as a tool to conduct the bibliometric analysis of the extracted data. The findings show that the publication of articles has increased during 1991-2022. Over the past years, the studies in non-deceptive counterfeiting have increased, but only a few studies have synthesised these studies through literature review and meta-analysis. This study is an extension of those previous works and is more comprehensive as a more advanced bibliometric tool like Biblioshiny of R package is used to analyse the articles published in the domain of non-deceptive counterfeiting in the Scopus database.
  Keywords: non-deceptive counterfeiting; bibliometric analysis; consumer behaviour; counterfeit purchase intention; biblioshiny; PRISMA; Lotka's law; Bradford's law.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10060287
   
  
• Identifying Influential Features affecting Students' Performance: A Machine Learning Prediction Approach  
  by Ling-Hsiu Chen, Ha Thi The Nguyen, Alok Kumar Sharma 
  Abstract: This study aims to determine the crucial features that influence students' academic performance and develop the optimal machine learning model to predict students' achievements. This research employs the recursive feature elimination (RFE) method to identify crucial features influencing students' academic performance. Various machine learning methods are applied and compared to predict students’ outcomes. The study examines 480 student records from lower levels, middle schools, and high schools that were taken from a learning management system (LMS). The results show that t VisITedResources, StudentAbsenceDays, Raisedhands, AnnouncementsView,ParentAnsweringSurvey, Discussion, Nationality, GradeId and Topic are the significant factors that influence students outcomes. According to model predictions, the XGB Classifier model outperforms the RF, LR, SVM, and MLP models by 79%. The results of this study aid educators to understand and act upon the crucial factors for student performances.
  Keywords: e-learning; student performance; recursive feature elimination; random forest classifier; logistic regression; support vector machine; SVM; XGB classifier; multilayer perceptron; MLP.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10060305
   
  
• Determining the influence of factors on Cost of Quality and its business performance effects: The case of the Greek Food and Beverage industry  
  by Christina Dimitrantzou, Evangelos Psomas, Fotis Vouzas 
  Abstract: The present study focuses on the Food and Beverage (F&B) small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and aims at determining the influence of organizational structure, competitive strategy and innovation on Cost of Quality (CoQ). Determining the influence of CoQ on business performance of these companies is also an aim of the study. The Greek F&B companies were approached through a structured questionnaire and 307 participated in the study. Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis were applied to assess the reliability and validity of the latent constructs examined, while their relationships were determined through applying the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) methodology. Both the dimensions of a company's organizational structure namely centralization and formalization as well as one of the two types of a company's competitive strategy namely cost leadership influence CoQ. Moreover, CoQ has a significant positive effect on the business performance dimensions namely financial and operational performance.
  Keywords: Cost of Quality; CoQ; organizational structure; competitive strategy; innovation; business performance; Food and Beverage (F&B) companies; small- and medium-sized enterprises; SMEs; Greece.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10060547
   
  
• How does Personal Interaction influence Co-worker support: The moderator role of gender  
  by Anjali Dutta, Santosh Rangnekar 
  Abstract: Anchored on the attachment theory at work, the present study aims to test the association between personal interaction and co-worker support with the moderating role of gender in the mentioned relationship. Data of 212 was collected through a questionnaire survey from the employees working in Indian enterprises. The statistical analysis showed evidence of a positive relationship between personal interaction and co-worker support. Moreover, the relationship between personal interaction and co-worker support was moderated by gender, such that the relationship was stronger and more positive in males while less in females. The most important contribution of this research is how important personal interaction is for augmenting co-worker support at the workplace despite its limitation to gender differences in the Indian context. This study further contributes to the literature on attachment theory and social support at work with evidence from an Indian context.
  Keywords: personal interaction; gender; moderation; co-worker support; Indian organisation; attachment theory at work.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10060670
   
  
• Technology Addiction and Consumer Behavior: Identifying Themes and Developing Conceptual Framework using SPAR 4 SLR and ADO Approach  
  by Vaibhav Sharma, Vatsal Tripathi, Sonal Ahuja 
  Abstract: We look at them, talk to them, and touch them all day long. We spend time with them as we work, play, and sleep. We have developed a strong addiction to our digital gadgets and, more specifically, the digital experiences they make possible and they are consuming more and more of our time, attention, and money. Both akratic (being conscious of the harmful effects) and engineered (planned) describe this addiction as technological addiction. Drawing upon the scientific approach of SPAR 4 SLR and ADO framework, this study attempts to unearth potential themes on technology addiction and its interaction with consumers. To the best of the authors knowledge, this attempt is a foray to review technological addiction-related literature and consumer behaviour. This study concludes various themes using bibliographic coupling and develops a conceptual framework to provide avenues for future research. This study also discusses its implications and limitations.
  Keywords: addiction; technology; internet; consumer behaviour; SPAR 4 SLR; ADO framework.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10060740
   
  
• Evolution and trends in green human resource management: a bibliometric review  
  by Ashish Matura, Reena Singh 
  Abstract: The increasing interest of academicians and industry towards green businesses has led to the rapid emergence of the green human resource management (GHRM) domain. This study attempts to examine the advancement in the GHRM literature using bibliometric analysis. The authors used the Scopus database to obtain 560 research articles in the GHRM domain from 2006 to 2022. The investigation included the most influential papers, top authors, prime journals, top institutes, author keyword analysis, and bibliometric coupling of articles. In publishing, the top two journals are Sustainability (Switzerland) and Journal of Cleaner Production, which have shown the most interest in this domain. The study contributes to revealing the current progress in the existing literature and provides future research directions to scholars. The study may also help managers and leaders understand the concept of GHRM and its strategic implementation for corporate sustainability.
  Keywords: green human resource management; GHRM; environmental performance; sustainability; bibliometrics; review; VOSviewer.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10060846
   
  
• Is Abusive Supervision Responsible for Counterproductive Work Behaviour? A Moderated-Mediation Approach of Economic Vulnerability, Knowledge Hiding Behaviour, and Intention to Quit  
  by Mohammad Nurul Alam, Jamshed Ali Turi, Abul Bashar Bhuiyan, Sami Al Kharusi, Norhayah Zulkifli, Juman Iqbal 
  Abstract: The productivity of Bangladesh's ready-made garment workers is notably lower than their competitors in China, India, Vietnam, Thailand, and Sri Lanka. Shockingly, an astonishing 91% of workers, regardless of gender, experienced abusive conditions. Therefore, the study aims to investigate the relationship between abusive supervision and counterproductive work behaviour. Additionally, the authors examine the simultaneous mediating role of knowledge-hiding behaviour and intention to quit, as well as the moderating role of economic vulnerability. Data from 384 participants was collected via simple random sampling and analysed using SPSS and Smart-PLS. The findings highlight the significant impact of abusive supervision on counterproductive behaviour. The study also reveals the significant mediating effect of knowledge-hiding behaviour and intention to quit. Although moderation results were significant, except for the path involving knowledge-hiding behaviour. These findings provide valuable insights for improving working conditions, policies in the garment industry, benefiting workers, supervisors, government, and policymakers.
  Keywords: economic vulnerability; intention to quit; counterproductive work behaviour; CWB; abusive supervision; ready-made garment industry; RMG; Bangladesh.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10060960
   
  
• Comparison of the Financial Performance of Thai Public Hospitality Firms: Using the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution  
  by Sunitiya Thuannadee 
  Abstract: This study applied the technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS), a well-known multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method, to rank the comprehensive financial performance of 13 hospitality firms listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand based on ten financial ratios from 2018 to 2022. Spearmans rank correlations were performed to investigate the consistency of rankings across years and the association between firm size and TOPSIS rankings. Total assets and revenue were selected to measure firm size. The TOPSIS rankings varied across the years, and no association was found between the TOPSIS rankings and the rankings of assets or revenue. This study provides additional insights into implementing MCDM tools for analysing business performance in Thailand, where their use is limited.
  Keywords: financial performance; TOPSIS; multiple-criteria decision-making; MCDM.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10061213
   
  
• Turning bad into good: the role of service recovery journey in healing the pain of psychological contract violation  
  by Rania B. Mostafa, Rita Fontinha, Cristiana R. Lages 
  Abstract: Drawing on the concept of the service recovery journey (SRJ), we empirically test how different service recovery strategies (within each of the three stages of the SRJ; pre-recovery, recovery, and post-recovery) moderate the negative effect of psychological contract violation (PCV) on perceived justice, namely distributive, procedural, and interactional justice, following a service failure. Data from 437 complaining customers were analysed using structural equation modelling with AMOS 24.0 software. Findings not only support the negative effect of PCV on the three dimensions of perceived justice, but also partially support the moderating role of service recovery strategies within the SRJ in the negative relationship between PCV and perceived justice, and the paths within the SRJ. This paper provides novel insights to managers allowing them to prioritise service recovery strategies that ultimately buffer the negative effect of PCV on perceived justice when PCV occurs.
  Keywords: psychological contract violation; PCV; perceived justice; service recovery journey; SRJ; service recovery strategies.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10061248
   
  
• A Quantitative Measure/Metric of Personnel Skill Levels in Manpower Systems: Modelling, Analysis, and Control  
  by Kannan Nilakantan 
  Abstract: This paper takes up a substantially new topic of the mathematical modelling of personnel skill levels in an organisation, and using Markov modelling techniques, derives a quantitative measure/metric for the average skill level in any grade of the organisation. And subsequent to this and relevant in this context, the paper then takes up the analysis and effect on employee skill levels of three skill-enhancement methods/policies/scenarios that organisations encounter or adopt to enhance the skill levels of their personnel. These are: 1) regular training of employees; 2) institution of time-bound promotions in their lowermost echelons; 3) adoption of periodic policies to better adapt to seasonality and cyclic variations in their manpower requirements. The paper first takes up skill-level modelling in manpower systems and its control, and then and subsequently, the effect of these three skill-enhancement policies on skill levels. And it is shown that while regular training of personnel enhances the skill levels, the time-bound promotion policies build in a degree of inflexibility in the system making it more difficult to control both skill levels and grade sizes, while the skill levels in periodic systems have been shown to vary in a periodic manner.
  Keywords: manpower skill-level modelling; time-bound promotion policies; training policies; periodic policies; effect on skill levels; proportionality control policies.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10061473
   
  
• A pathway to effective advertising through mobile social networking sites: An empirical study on Indian Consumers  
  by Taanika Arora 
  Abstract: Owing to the large popularity and adoption of SNS through mobile devices a new channel has started to emerge, mobile social networking advertising (MSNS). Thereby this study proposed a holistic framework for examining consumers’ intention to adopt mobile social networking sites for receiving advertisements, which consists of mobile technology acceptance factors, media-related factors, and personal factors. The study uses a self-administered questionnaire, wherein using non-probability sampling data was collected from 705 Indian mobile social networking site users. The study has deployed the structural equation modelling (SEM) technique for determining model fitness, establishing the validity, and reliability of the adapted scales, and testing the proposed hypotheses. The technology-related factors, personal factors, and media-related factors have a significant impact on behavioural intention to adopt MSNS advertising. Also, behavioural intention significantly predicts the behavioural responses of consumers to adopt MSNS advertising.
  Keywords: mobile SNS; advertising; TAM; behavioural intention.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10061508
   
  
• Evaluation of Market Mavens in the E-World: A Review Paper Exploring Crucial Traits of E-Market Mavens and Its Future Directions  
  by Alhamzah F. Abbas, Ahmad Jusoh, Adaviah Mas'od, Alaa Mahdi Sahi 
  Abstract: This study sheds light on market mavens in the e-world by evaluating and reviewing the current literature. A table is presented to exemplify the scope of literature reviews and their impacts on market mavens. Nineteen research papers were selected and tabulated based on their significant problems, proposed models, and methodologies used by the researchers to draw the research outcomes. Market mavens are found to increasingly focus on growing their knowledge and information as influencers in social media and social networking. The current study embraces the motivations of market mavens’ personalities and psychological characteristics as directing viewpoints to build relationships as influencers in social media.
  Keywords: market maven; e-world; influencers; social media; social networking.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10061673
   
  
• An Empirical Evaluation of a Cloud Computing-based Human Resource Management System (CC-HRMS): A Pilot Study in the Indian Context  
  by Madhuri Kanojiya, Sarika Yadav 
  Abstract: This qualitative research aims to investigate the current state of cloudbased human resource management and identify the challenges encountered during the adoption of cloud computing in HR procedures. Furthermore, it conducts an investigation on the implications of best practices for implementing cloud computing within human resource management in the context of the Indian industry. The questionnaires are designed with primary research assistance, pretesting the findings, and face validity. These questionnaires have been validated with the assistance of the pilot study, and it was ensured that the information acquired was significant for answering the research questions posed. The questionnaire distributed as part of this pilot study will be used in the extensive investigation covering a large sampling size of the food processing industry in Delhi NCR, India.
  Keywords: Human Resource Management; Cloud computing; Human Resource Management Information System; Cloud ERP; Software as a service (SaaS).
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10061868
   
  
• Understanding Corruption Dynamics in Pakistani Public Sector Organisations  
  by Zahid Iqbal, Muhammad Mudasir Afzal, Ali Riaz Khan 
  Abstract: Since corruption in Pakistan's public sector entities seriously jeopardises the country's development and stability. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the fundamental causes of corruption in public sector organisations and to shed light on the numerous factors that fuel this widespread problem. In this study, 150 public sector employees were used as the target population, and data were obtained from them using a stratified sample technique that divided the population into four groups based on basic pay scale. Additionally, a two-stage structural modelling technique was used for further data analysis. The measurement model was used to assess the reliability and validity, while the structural model was used to gauge the link between the underlying variables. The study found significant and positive impact of forced corruption, lacunas in accountability system, and personal financial problems on the corruption of public sector organisations in the context of Pakistan. The findings of this study give policymakers, governmental agencies, and other interested parties the ability to analyses the causes of corruption and develop practical plans to combat it in Pakistan's public sector organisations.
  Keywords: forced corruptions; lacunas in accountability; personal financial problems; PEFP; public sector organisations.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10062193
   
  
• SMEs' Transformation and Internationalisation by Combining Balanced Scorecard with DEMATEL-ISM  
  by Tzong-Ru (Jiun-Shen) Lee, Huan-Yu Chen, Rika Ampuh Hadiguna 
  Abstract: The development of SMEs in Taiwan reflects the stability of the Taiwanese economy. The main challenge for Taiwanese SMEs is facing increasingly fierce competition in the domestic market with imported products. This paper analyzes and provides practical guidance for SMEs to transform and internationalize. This study combines the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) Hybrid-Expert Based ISM and the DEMATEL Model. The results of this study indicate that the internationalization of SMEs is an unstable system. The result shows that the real case scenario is far more complicated than the theoretical one. This study's strategy map guides Taiwanese publishers to transform and navigate internationalization from the managerial perspective. From the managerial perspective, the Hybrid-Expert Based ISM and DEMATEL Models applied in this study serve as a tool for SMEs to examine their internationalization status and enhance their performance.
  Keywords: Internationalization; BSC; Hybrid-Expert; ISM; DEMATEL; Strategy Map.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10062226
   
  
• The antecedents of intelligent marketing strategy for achieving sustained competitive advantage and customer engagement  
  by A.L.I. Assaad, Ali Sanayei, Majid Mohammad Shafiee 
  Abstract: The purpose of this study is to explore the antecedents for establishing an intelligent marketing strategy and examine its impact on achieving a sustained competitive advantage and customer engagement. One hundred eighty six questionnaires of managers and employees who had experience in research and development, digital marketing, and sales as the sample of the research are analysed using structural equation modelling. The results showed that the integration of customer relationship management (CRM), customer experience management (CEM), and marketing intelligence (MI) as the main antecedents of an intelligent marketing strategy can strengthen strategic solutions, increase sustained competitive advantage (SCA), and ultimately create shared value for both the company and its customers through customer engagement (CE). This study delivers a better understanding of the designing of an intelligent marketing strategy by examining the importance of integrating marketing intelligence, CRM, CEM, sustained competitive advantage, and customer engagement as key concepts in the industrial market context.
  Keywords: marketing intelligence; sustained competitive advantage; SCA; customer relationship management; CRM; customer experience management; CEM; customer engagement.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10062603
   
  
• Evaluating the success of Neo bank using DeLone & McLean Model  
  by Nitin Garg, Ganesh P. Sahu 
  Abstract: The wave of technology has developed a new banking model, namely Neo Bank, offering all types of financial services using the online platform. Neo Bank offers flexibility, transparency, and promptness in services. However, people hesitate to use it due to a lack of knowledge and awareness, and there is an urgent need to explore the benefits of Neo Bank. Unlike earlier studies, the current study employs the D&M model as the theoretical framework for evaluating the net benefits of Neo Bank consumers from three perspectives, including quality of the system, information, and service. The survey data collected from 510 existing users of Neo Bank were examined using smart PLS to verify the research model. The findings of the study provide more light on the variables that explain and forecast Neo Bank's net benefits. The study's implications were also examined.
  Keywords: Neo Bank; internet-only bank; DeLone and McLean; net benefits; digital finance.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10062715
   
  
• Exploring Discrepancies Between Students' Perceived Employability Skills and Employer Expectations in the Contemporary Job Market  
  by Dr Rahul Bhandari, Dr Sharuti Choudhary, Sachin Srivastava, Khushboo Agnihotri 
  Abstract: This study examines the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic on global education and employment dynamics, necessitating adaptations by undergraduate students to a transformed environment. The primary objective is to scrutinise the perception of employability skills among final year undergraduate students and discern alterations in employers' expectations post-pandemic. Employing a quantitative research method, the study gathers data from a diverse sample comprising Indonesian students and employers across various industries. The findings reveal a significant impact of the pandemic on graduate employability rates in Indonesia and underscore a disparity between students' and employers' expectations concerning essential skill sets during this period. These insights serve as valuable input for educational institutions, career counsellors, and policymakers, enabling them to identify both common ground and divergences. This, in turn, facilitates targeted strategies and curricular enhancements aligned with evolving job market demands. Ultimately, the study aspires to equip students with the requisite skills for success in the contemporary world.
  Keywords: employer’s expectation; graduate employability; student’s perception; Indonesia Higher Education; post-pandemic.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10062720
   
  
• Pathways to flourishing-at-work: An integrative framework  
  by Meera Peethambaran, Mohammad Faraz Naim 
  Abstract: The post-pandemic era has emphasised the pivotal role of employee well-being in organisational success. Prioritising employee flourishing leads to tangible benefits, ranging from increased productivity to enhanced job satisfaction. Concurrently, responsible leadership, characterized by ethical decision-making and sustainability consciousness, is gaining prominence due to its benefits for both the organisation and society as a whole. Thus, in this context, our study explores the uncharted territory linking responsible leadership and employee flourishing-at-work (FAW) through psychological capital (PsyCap) and work engagement. This study proposes a novel conceptual model grounded in social learning theory and the job demand resource model. Through a serial mediation model, we delineate the intricate relationships among these constructs, offering a nuanced understanding of the underlying mechanisms. This model not only enriches theoretical understanding but also provides practical implications. Understanding how responsible leadership fosters FAW can guide targeted interventions, thereby enhancing overall employee well-being in organisational contexts.
  Keywords: Responsible Leadership; Psychological Capital; Work Engagement; Flourishing-at-Work; Social Learning Theory; Job Demand Resource Model.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10062827
   
  
• Measuring the effect of job dimensions on job satisfaction: An empirical test of Hackman and Oldham's JCM  
  by Rehnuma Mostafa, Hirwan Jasbir Bin Jaafar 
  Abstract: This empirical study investigates the influence of job dimensions on job satisfaction within the electronic media industry in Bangladesh, employing Hackman and Oldham’s job characteristics model (JCM) as the theoretical foundation. The conceptual frame has been constructed based on JCM. After determining the required sample size using G*Power, a total of 274 employees working in the electronic media industry were reached. The PLS-SEM approach has been followed, and SmartPLS 4 was used to analyse the data. The research found that autonomy, skill variety, task significance, task identity, and feedback significantly affect job satisfaction in this industry. These results emphasise the critical role of job design in enhancing job satisfaction and overall employee contentment within the electronic media sector of Bangladesh. The study offers practical insights for organisations seeking to mend employee engagement and retention. It lays the groundwork for studying how job dimensions affect employee outcomes in this fast-changing industry.
  Keywords: job satisfaction; electronic media; job characteristics model; JCM; PLS-SEM; SmartPLS.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10062910
   
  
• ESG and financial performance: Evidence from Singapore companies  
  by Lan Nguyen Thi Huong  
  Abstract: ESG-related activities have played an important role for companies in recent years. When stakeholders consider ESG as an indicator of corporate social responsibility when making their decisions (investment, lending, ...). This study assesses the impact of ESG on financial performance in companies listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange. Data from 630 enterprises and cleaned (the study removed companies that did not have sufficient ESG information over five consecutive years. Additionally, financial companies were not considered in this study). As a result, after data cleaning, only 36 non-financial domestic companies remained for analysis. The results of the panel data regression analysis show that ESG has a negative impact on financial performance (regression with Driscoll Kraay standard errors). From this result is contrary to the original hypothesis posed with the positive impact of ESG on financial performance. The study also discusses and offers several implications both theoretically and practically.
  Keywords: ESG; financial performance; CSR; Singapore companies; agency theory; trade-off theory; Singapore.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10062977
   
  
• Enhancing Business Excellence through the Evaluation and Prioritization of HR Practices  
  by Mohammad Qais Rezvani, Nirmala Chaudhary, Utkarsh Mangal, Shweta Vashisht 
  Abstract: In today's dynamic business environment, human resource (HR) technological innovations have become a vital aspect for the organisations seeking for business excellence. The focus of this research paper is to exploring and prioritisation the HR practices to enhance overall organisational performance. The research methodology employed in this paper is Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to offer a structured framework for evaluating and prioritising HR practices solutions. The finding of this study reveals that Operations and analytics (OA) emerges as the most impactful main category of HR practices, with a Priority Value of 0.521. Within the subcategory, Time and Attendance Systems (OA5) emerges as the most critical HR practice, with a Priority Value of 0.191. These insights shed light on the strategic importance of specific HR practices in achieving business excellence. The prioritisation of HR practices using AHP offers organisations with a roadmap to strategically invest in the most impactful HR practices. This approach helps in the optimisation of human management, the enhancement of efficiency, and the control of expenses, eventually encouraging business excellence.
  Keywords: human resource management; HR practices; business excellence; analytical hierarchy process; organisational performance.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10062979
   
  
• Unveiling the veiled: How Organisational Embeddedness Unravels Job Performance of IT professionals through Perceived Organisational Support  
  by Vandana Singh, Sonia Sonia 
  Abstract: The study was conducted to closely examine how organisational embeddedness (OE) predicts job performance (JP) and perceived organisational support (POS), and whether POS mediates the relationship between OE and JP. Structural equation modelling with the help of Smart PLS was used to examine the predictions. It was a cross sectional study where data from 471 IT professionals working in India was taken. The average work experience of the sample with their present organisation was 4.5 years. Findings reveal that both OE and POS are predictors of JP. The study addresses the importance of POS for the relationship between OE and JP among IT professionals, thus highlighting the mediating role of POS. The study concludes by addressing and bridging the gap in the existing literature on the role of organisational embeddedness, thus providing meaningful insights for managers and policymakers to enhance job performance among IT professionals.
  Keywords: organisational embeddedness; perceived organisational support; POS; job performance; IT professionals; mediating effect; structural equation modelling; SEM.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10063078
   
  
• Investigating Critical Success Factors using AHP for Lean Manufacturing and ISO 14001 Implementation in the Indian electric vehicle manufacturing Industry  
  by Harsimran Singh Sodhi  
  Abstract: This study focuses on the adoption of lean manufacturing (LM) and ISO 14001 strategies within a group of electric vehicle manufacturing companies to improve manufacturing and business processes. The aim is to enhance production efficiency while addressing environmental concerns by systematically eliminating waste and non-value-added activities from the production process. This pilot study examines the critical success factors (CSFs) that contribute to the successful implementation of lean manufacturing practices (LMP) in the manufacturing industry in India. A survey involving 50 respondents was conducted using questionnaires. The results of the reliability analysis highlight that customer focus is a key factor influencing the direct success of LMP implementation. As a recommendation, further research should explore the impact of LMP on environmental performance within the Indian Manufacturing Industry.
  Keywords: lean manufacturing; LM; critical success factors; CSFs; continuous improvement; manufacturing industry; electric vehicles.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10063185
   
  
• Does the Role of Akhwuat Islamic Microfinance Matter in Fulfilment of Basic Needs, Improving Living Standards and Promoting Self-Employment in Pakistan  
  by Zahid Iqbal, Ali Riaz Khan, Muhammad Mudasir Afzal 
  Abstract: This study examined Akhuwat Islamic Microfinance's (AIM) important contribution to resolving Pakistan's issues with basic needs (BN), living standards (LS), and self-employment (SE). In this study, 250 Akhuwat Islamic microfinance borrowers' primary data were collected using the stratified sample technique. The population was divided into four groups: manufacturing concerns, trading worries, services concerns, and non-trading concerns. Additionally, a two-stage structural modelling technique was used for further data analysis. The measurement model was used to assess the reliability and validity, while the structural model was used to gauge the link between the underlying variables. The study discovered that Akhuwat Islamic microfinance (AIM) had a favourable and significant impact on meeting borrowers' basic requirements (BN), raising their standard of living (LS), and enabling them to become self-employed (SE). Therefore, with the lending facility of Akhuwat Islamic microfinance, the lending practices of Akhuwat help the borrowers to lower their poverty level. The impact of Akhuwat Islamic microfinance on poverty in the area by meeting clients' basic needs, raising their standard of living, and enabling them to become self-employed by utilising Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs theory is hardly investigated in the context of developing countries like Pakistan.
  Keywords: Akhuwat Islamic microfinance; AIM; basic needs; BN; living standard; LS; self-employment; SE; Pakistan.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10063245
   
  
• SMEs in the Data Era: Untangling Factors Influencing Big Data Analytics Adoption  
  by Zeeshan Inamdar, Vaibhav Narwane, Bhaskar Gardas 
  Abstract: Data analytics is considered the most prominent asset in the business environment. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can take advantage of the same for effective decision-making. This study aims to identify the factors influencing big data analytics (BDA) in SMEs and to understand the dynamic interrelationships between them. Through a critical review of the literature and experts' opinions, twenty significant factors were identified. Further, the fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (F-DEMATEL) has been used to explore the cause-effect relationship among the shortlisted factors. The results show that training and education, employee participation, and interoperability and system integration are the most significant factors that influence BDA adoption in SMEs. This study has been conducted by taking expert inputs that are not free from biases; however, the use of the fuzzy approach improved the accuracy of the model. The paper intends to guide SMEs in the adoption of big data technologies and to help in formulating organisational policies for the same. None of the past studies explored the interrelationship between the factors of BDA adoption in emerging countries like India using F-DEMATEL.
  Keywords: big data analytics; BDA; factors; SMEs; operation and supply chain management.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10063849
   
  
• Psychological Wellbeing of Personnel: a Bibliometric Analysis in the Business and Management Field  
  by Pooja Panwar, Rekha Rani 
  Abstract: Psychological well-being is currently the most prevalent factor affecting workers' productivity (quality and quantity of work) and organisational outcomes. This research makes an effort to present a comprehensive analysis of the literature on PWB and shows how it has evolved to be viewed as essential by both employees and the business. The analysis includes an investigation of 331 documents extracted through the Scopus database published in the business and management field from 1979 to 2022. This research identifies the most significant authors, nations, and papers on this subject by utilising bibliometric methods of reviewing the literature with R studio package and Vos viewer software. To ascertain the field's intellectual structure, further scientific mapping techniques including, citation analysis, bibliographic coupling and keyword analysis are used. Through content analysis, five clusters in the field have been identified after a comprehensive analysis. Finally, this work offers a roadmap for additional investigation in this area.
  Keywords: psychological well-being; PWB; workers; employees; mental health; bibliometric analysis; business and management.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10064235
   
  
• Indonesia entrepreneurs face industry 4.0 for business sustainability  
  by Sonny Indrajaya 
  Abstract: The fourth generation industrial revolution can be interpreted as the intervention of intelligent systems and automation in industry, where this is driven by data through machine learning and AI technology. The increasingly rapid development of technology has had a major impact on various sectors, including industry. Industry 4.0 is a phenomenon that changes the industrial paradigm by combining technology and innovation to create systems that are more efficient, flexible and connected. Even though it provides great opportunities, the development of Industry 4.0 also brings various challenges that need to be overcome. Entrepreneurs are closely related to technological innovation that helps face Industry 4.0. This research uses questionnaire results to be tabulated, tested and continued analysed using Wrap PLS. The research results show that attachment exists and has a strong influence and impact on sustainable business. The implications that can be achieved with technology and innovation in production, services and marketing also have an impact on entrepreneurship in Indonesia.
  Keywords: technology; innovation; entrepreneurs; sustainable business.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10064427
   
  
• Role of work life balance on affective commitment: a phenomenological study of women working in cooperative society  
  by Rosy Singh, Shalini Aggarwal 
  Abstract: The author tries to investigate the impact of satisfaction with life scale (SWLS), family satisfaction (FS), perceived organisational support (POS) on affective commitment (AF) for both rural and urban women working in cooperative societies in Punjab. The author further analyse which is the most important factor making an impact on AF. Further comparison is made between the SWLS, FS, POS, on affective commitment of urban and rural women working in cooperative societies in Punjab. Social exchange theory is used to support the hypothesised relationships. The data consisted of 410 rural and urban women working in cooperative societies in Punjab. Regression and correlation have been used to test the hypothesised results. SWLS is not having significant impact on AC for both rural and urban women working in cooperative societies in Punjab. FS is having significant impact for rural women whereas the urban woman is not having significant impact on AC.
  Keywords: work life balance; WLB; perceived organisational support; POS; affective commitment; technological development; satisfaction with life scale; SWLS; family satisfaction; cooperative societies.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10064626
   
  
• Does E-Retailing Matter for Online Purchasing Intention? Evidence from Online Retailers in Sri Lanka  
  by Vasanthakumar Kumaradeepan 
  Abstract: The aim of the research is to explore the impact of e-retailers on online purchase intention in Sri Lanka. Traditional shopping has run across numerous challenges in meeting customers' ever-increasing requirements and desires. Data were collected through questionnaires and received 200 by online Google Form by considering five e-retailers operating in Sri Lanka. User interface quality, product information quality, service information quality, site security and site awareness are factors of e-retailers affecting online purchase intention. Finding of the study, service information quality, site security and site awareness has significantly affects the online purchase intention except user interface quality and product information quality.
  Keywords: e-retailors; electronic retailers; online purchase intention; user interface quality; product information quality; service information quality; site security.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10064627
   
  
• Conceptualizing a Research Model for Analysing the Factors that Influence the Implementation of Cloud Computing-Based Human Resource Management System (CC-HRMS)  
  by Madhuri Kanojiya, Sarika Yadav 
  Abstract: This research investigates the factors influencing the implementation of a cloud-based human resource management (HRM) system. A pilot study adopts an integrated theoretical framework, combining elements from the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT), the technology-organisation-environment framework (TOE), and the technology acceptance model (TAM). The research draws upon existing literature to develop scale measurements for the proposed model constructs. Data was collected from 30 managers and operational personnel working in the Indian food processing industry (FPI) located in the Delhi-National Capital Region. The study employs Cronbach's alpha to assess the reliability of the scales, followed by principal component analysis to confirm their relevance.
  Keywords: human resource management; HRM; cloud computing; human resource management information system; Industry 4.0; cloud ERP; software as a service; SaaS.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10064714
   
  
• Balancing Acts: How Generic Strategies Mediate the Impact of Exploration and Exploitation on Firm Performance  
  by Gun Jea Yu, Joonkyum Lee 
  Abstract: Exploration and exploitation are two types of organisational learning or innovation that have been investigated to understand their differential effects on firm performance. Firms explore to ensure long-term performance by gaining new knowledge, whereas firms engage in exploitation to enhance short-term performance by increasing current knowledge. This study investigated the mediating effect of a firm's generic strategy on the relationship between exploration and exploitation and firm performance, and found that a firm's generic strategy, such as differentiation and cost leadership, mediates the relationship between exploration and short-term performance, and between exploitation and long-term performance. A sample of 24,501 firm-year observations over 15 years was used for analyses. This study elucidates the mechanism through which exploration (exploitation) leads to long-term (short-term) performance.
  Keywords: exploitation; exploration; organisational learning; innovation; generic strategy; differentiation; cost leadership; mediating effect; short-term performance; long-term performance.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10064791
   
  
• Predicting Individuals' Behavioural Intention of The Digital Banking Usage: A Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) Analysis  
  by Nguyen Van Duy, Phi-Hung Nguyen, Nam Nguyen Hoang 
  Abstract: An online survey questionnaire comprises 455 valid respondents, conducted during the fourth outbreak of COVID-19 from June to September 2021 in Vietnam. The partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to explore the critical factors of customers’ intention of digital banking usage using Smart-PLS software. Six critical factors related to the topic in the context of COVID-19 are deployed in the proposed model, including perceived usefulness; perceived ease of use; trust, COVID-19 risk perception; attitude; intention. The results indicated that the hypotheses are all accepted. Findings also revealed that COVID-19 has a positive effect on individual behavioural intention. The higher the perception of risks related to COVID-19 is, the higher the intention to use digital payment and banking. In the context that the COVID-19 pandemic is starting to break out in Vietnam for the 4th time, it is urgent to limit contact in payment.
  Keywords: PLS-SEM; digital payment and banking; behavioural intention; Vietnam.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10064914
   
  
• Trade Credit and Firm Performance: Nonlinear Effect and COVID-19 Factor  
  by Nguyen Thanh Liem, Tuan Phan, Nguyen Vinh Khuong 
  Abstract: We examine the effect of trade credit extension on firm performance using a sample of 633 nonfinancial listed firms in Vietnam from 2015 to 2022. The research shows that trade credit extension is negatively associated with firm performance. We also examine whether there is a nonlinear association between the two factors and find that there is a U-shaped curve. This pattern suggests that the negative effect of trade credit extension occurs at its low levels, while at strong levels the extension increases firm performance. This result implies that a firm with a low level of trade credit extension might be unwilling to offer trade credit due to its constraint or the inability to manage the extension. Finally, this is the first study to find that trade credit extension tends to have a less unfavourable effect on firm performance in the period of Covid-19 pandemic.
  Keywords: trade credit; Covid-19; nonlinear.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10065166
   
  
• Logistics Performance Metrics of Indian Agriculture Exports: A Strategic Perspective  
  by Sujit Shedage, Vivek Khanzode, Rofin TM, Kanchan Joshi 
  Abstract: The article aims to identify agriculture produce exports' logistics performance metrics and analyse the metric-wise interrelationship. The performance metrics identified from the comprehensive literature review and were corroborated through discussions with stakeholders and experts. The fuzzy Delphi method (FDM) finalises the metrics. After that, the neutrosophic decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (N-DEMATEL) approach is adopted for the unbiased interaction analysis. Twenty-four agriculture logistics performance metrics are selected and mapped over the six logistics performance index (LPI) dimensions. Food safety and quality as a new dimension have been proposed to refine LPI. The weights provided by the N-DEMATEL method prioritise the metrics. The interaction is analysed using a cause-effect diagram. This study identifies the logistics performance strategic metrics in the agriculture sector. It harmonises LPI with the needs of the agriculture sector by recommending a new dimension of food safety and quality.
  Keywords: logistics; performance; logistics performance index; LPI; supply chain; agriculture; food; perishable; fuzzy Delphi method; FDM; neutrosophic DEMATEL.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10065168
   
  
• Artificial Neural Network Approach of Thriving SME Performance through Evaluation: A Lower Income Economy Perspective  
  by Mugaahed Saleh, Harold Andrew Patrick 
  Abstract: Small and medium enterprises remain as a significant contribute in developing economies. The development of small business is dependent on the abilities and visions of owners and managers in running business. Research is scant when it comes to the role of management practices in promoting business performance in the context of lower income economies. This paper investigates the effect of selected management practices relating to promoting business performance and the effect on SME performance in a lower income economy. The study is cross sectional relied on primary data collected conveniently from 400 owners and managers of SMEs in Yemen for the purpose if investigating how such management practices affect their business performance. The study used partial least square structural equation modelling and artificial neural network (PLS-SEM and ANN) approach for analysis. The results show that the selected management practices are found significant in their effect on SMEs performance. Further, the importance analysis through ANN revealed that evaluating the managerial performance is the most important practice in affecting SMEs performance followed by the strategic analysis (SWOT) and strategic analysis of internal resources while the least is evaluation of the current performance.
  Keywords: performance; SMEs; entrepreneurship; management; practices; development.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10065188
   
  
• Can Experience Fostering the Entrepreneurial Intention? A Case Study of Child Labourers  
  by Aamar Ilyas, Irfan Siddique, Waris Ali Khan 
  Abstract: We are the pioneers to examine the role of child labourers prior job experience on entrepreneurial intention (EI). This research paper investigates the relationship between child labourers prior work experience and entrepreneurial intention through the lens of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Furthermore, to analyse the mediating effects of the three perceptual variables of TPB theory. We employed hand-collected data from child workers in automobile workshops to test the hypotheses. We followed the guidelines of the ILO to collect data from child labourers and select respondents for the in-house survey. The important contribution of this research paper is the addition of the prior work experience variable to the examination of the antecedents of TPB that promote entrepreneurial intention among child labourer. This study challenged the conventional belief that marginalised child labourers were engaged in work due to a lack of education or poverty or had no other options.
  Keywords: entrepreneurial intention; EI; theory of planned behaviour; TPB; child labour; prior work experience; PWE; Pakistan.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10065293
   
  
• Adoption of Digital Payment Systems by Small Merchants: an Extension of Technology acceptance Model  
  by Mahendar Goli, Sukanya Metta, Chetan Srivastava 
  Abstract: The surge of digital payment systems dramatically changed the business landscape in India. The growth of digital payment systems highly depends on the wide acceptance of various segments of users. However, the adoption of digital payment systems among unorganised merchants is limited due to various factors. A research model with the foundation on technology acceptance model was developed and tested among the merchants’ adoption of digital payment systems. The effects of perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, personal innovativeness, perceived trust, perceived cost and intention to use were examined on adoption of digital payment systems. 367 responses were obtained from small unorganised merchants. The data were tested using SPSS AMOS. The results revealed that perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, personal innovativeness, perceived trust and perceived cost exerted a positive effect on intention to use. Subsequently, intention to use has a positive effect on adoption of digital payment systems. The results of the study has implications for both academia and practioners.
  Keywords: technology acceptance model; personal innovativeness; perceived trust; perceived cost; intention to use; digital payment adoption.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10065540
   
  
• A Systematic Review Influencer Marketing: Conclusion of an Integrated Framework, Establishment of the Conceptual Model and Future Work Insights  
  by Yifan Yao 
  Abstract: In recent years, influencer marketing has expanded dramatically. Nevertheless, pertinent research in this field remains incomplete and disjointed. This study undertakes a systematic literature review to visualise bibliometric information and findings. The current research pathways and methodologies, along with relevant theories, are assessed through a review of papers on influencer marketing. The study aims to elucidate research gaps and offer future research suggestions. By introducing a model framework and causal analysis of the factors, this study establishes a conceptual model that identifies the key influencers' factors. This research definitively and specifically determines future research avenues and challenges, offering insights for prospective research. Overall, this study aims to contribute to both theory and practice.
  Keywords: Influencer marketing; Literature review; Bibliometric analysis Integrated framework development.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10065580
   
  
• Emotional Appeal of Advertising for Functional Foods & Beverages  
  by Amit Goyal, Gurcharan Singh 
  Abstract: In today's world of global competition and the uprising level of information technology, the techniques and approaches of advertising are changing rapidly for the publicity, sales promotion, and public relations. In this study, questions have been raised about the impact of advertisement consisting of emotional appeals for functional foods and beverages. An experimental study has been conducted in which students of the three leading universities of North India had been exposed to an audio visual ad containing an emotional appeal for the promotion of a fruit juice. The findings depict that feelings from ad, attitude towards ad, brand attitude, endorser's credibility, and brand familiarity are some of the important antecedents of an effective advertisement. Findings further imply that marketers and campaigners may get benefited from the study and may use its findings for developing appropriate ad strategies.
  Keywords: emotional appeals; advertising; functional foods and beverages; and structural equation modelling.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10065609
   
  
• Technological Readiness, Career Adaptability, and Job Satisfaction Among Public Sector Employees: A Moderating Effect Study  
  by Ernest Kumi, Hannah Vivian Osei, Kwaku Amofah, Joseph Amankwah 
  Abstract: Investigating the impact of technology readiness on the career adaptability of public sector employees, this study applies the job demands-resources (JD-R) theory. A two-wave cross-sectional survey of 484 public sector workers used partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to analyse the data. The results confirmed the expected correlations, with one exception. Relationships between technology motivators, inhibitors, and career adaptability resources displayed significant, positive associations. Intriguingly, job satisfaction appeared to positively moderate the link between technology inhibitors and career adaptability, yet contrary to expectations, it negatively moderated the connection between technology motivators and career adaptability. While the study's cross-sectional nature limits causal implications and focuses solely on the public sector, it presents valuable suggestions for technology applications in the workforce and coping mechanisms at work. The research addresses significant gaps, especially amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasising the crucial role of technology adoption and remote work. Notably, it sheds light on the challenges and opportunities arising from the rapid technological transformation in the public sector, offering a unique perspective for future research and practical implications.
  Keywords: technology readiness; career adaptability; public sector; digitisation; job demands-resources; job satisfaction.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10065813
   
  
• Empirical Evidence regarding the Link between ESG Scores and the Financial Performance of the Companies  
  by Adrian Petre, Doru Alexandru Plesea 
  Abstract: The main objective of this research is to identify and deeply investigate the link between ESG scores and the financial performance of companies from various European sectors. The research methodology is based on comparative and econometric analysis. The main results show that the environmental and social pillars have a positive influence on the normalised EBIT and correspondingly on the normalised EBITDA in the case of the majority of investigated sectors, as well as at the level of aggregate data. The governance pillar is significant only within the energy sector, where it exerts a negative influence on ROA. Following the research results, we suggested some practical reforms that we consider might act as a booster highly contributing to the improvement of the indicators, on one hand, and correspondingly on the relationships between them, on the other hand.
  Keywords: environmental; social; and governance; ESG; sustainability; financial performance; companies; practical reforms.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10065903
   
  
• The Model of Changing Employee Behaviour towards Continuous Improvement: a Systematic Review of the Past Research  
  by Payam Pourrajab, Masoumeh Pourrajab, Alireza Moghaddam, Abbas Ali Rastgar 
  Abstract: Continuous improvement (CI) serves as a critical framework for organisations to implement ongoing improvement plans that are achieved through employees engagement and behavioural patterns. The purpose of this study is to provide a systematic review to examine the impact of employee behaviour on CI and identify the key variables influencing behavioural patterns. Adopting a systematic approach to literature review, this paper integrates quantitative methods, including frequency analysis and co-word analysis, to review 127 articles published between 2005 and 2022. Visualising the findings and clustering was facilitated by employing VOSviewer software. Based on these analyses, six overarching themes are developed: psychological empowerment, transformational leadership and commitment, motivation, mission statement and organisational goal, psychological ownership, and organisational culture. The findings provide a model for changing employee behaviour to successfully implement improvement plans. For future research, it can help promote future theory development and provide relevant materials for decisions toward achieving CI objectives.
  Keywords: continuous improvement; employee behaviour; behavioural patterns; employees' involvement; improvement plan; VOSviewer.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10065907
   
  
• An Empirical Study on Volatility in Industrial Sectors during COVID 19  
  by Hemendra Gupta, Ajay Jha, Rohit Raj, Vimal Kumar 
  Abstract: The study aims to examine the performance of eight industrial sectors and embedded volatility. Daily returns from sector indices have been used for the data analysis. The performance of industrial sectors in India has been studied during the COVID-19 pandemic using standard volatility techniques. All industrial sectors indicated a steep recovery during the second phase of COVID-19. Additionally, volatility took an asymmetric impact in some sectors while mean reversing across different sectors was also observed. This study was validated with the results from the TGARCH and EGARCH models. Phase 3 was marked by price recovery and low volatility across all the sectors. A similar observation was found for Phase 4 (except auto, bank and realty sectors). The nature of volatility was observed as asymmetric (except in the oil and gas sector) in India. The study has an important implication for portfolio managers in deciding on sector diversification while designing portfolios.
  Keywords: GARCH; TARCH; EGARCH; GARCH-M; COVID-19; volatility; industrial sectors.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10066064
   
  
• Strategic Planning: Supplementing and Enhancing the Balanced Scorecard with Organisational Learning and Growth Measures  
  by Dan Wiljanen, William Mothersell, Jaideep Motwani 
  Abstract: In today's highly competitive business environment, it is very important that organisations emphasise the role of strategic human resource management processes that build organisational capabilities. While the balanced scorecard (BSC) framework is regarded as a very effective framework for both creating and implementing corporate business strategies; the learning and growth perspective of BSC could become more robust if measures of human and intellectual capital were included. The BSC, as it is currently constructed, focuses on activity measures related to learning and growth. Simply measuring training hours and accumulating the hours spent in training activities is insufficient. To address this gap, this paper provides an improved BSC framework that better integrates the processes of strategic planning, human resources management, and organisational learning which can lead to improved business performance. Our framework also integrates an extensive sampling of organisational learning and growth metrics that can be used when formulating, implementing, and monitoring strategic plans and in day-to-day operational decision making.
  Keywords: balanced scorecard; BSC; framework; human resources management; metrics; organisational learning and performance; strategic.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2023.10066173
   
  
• The Connectedness amongst Financial Soundness, Banking and Insurance: Cross Country Evidences  
  by Salim Bagadeem, Moid Ahmad, Mona ElShaabany 
  Abstract: The primary objective of the research is to understand the impact of banking and insurance variables on the financial soundness of country. A secondary objective of the research is understand the interplay and interactions amongst the insurance and banking variables at the country level. Based on annual data for the time period (20042021), correlations, causality tests and panel data regressions are applied on a sample from India, Saudi Arabia and UAE to draw conclusions. One of the major findings of the research is the negative impact of life insurance on the financial soundness of a country. Additionally, the number of life insurance policies itself is found negatively impacted by five banking and insurance variables. The study is novel in sample and variables as it compares developed and developing countries across different types of regressions. It is expected to contribute significantly in business strategy and policy formulation.
  Keywords: panel data; banking; insurance; financial soundness.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10066174
   
  
• Transformational Leadership Is the Foundation of Sustainability and Employee Performance in an Organisation  
  by Liu Gang, Syed Imran Zaman, Sobia Jamil, Syed Ahsan Ali Zaman, Miao Miao 
  Abstract: This study aims to determine the aspects of transformational leadership that improve organisational sustainability and employee performance in Pakistan's banking sector. The leadership-member-exchange theory was applied and revealed the factors the theory supports and directly relates to the study variables. A framework was offered to determine the relationship between transformational leadership, organizational sustainability, and employee performance. Data is gathered from professionals from various banks. The Grey-DEMATEL technique is used to understand the cause-and-effect factors and their interactions. This study adds to the body of knowledge on the characteristics that boost employee performance, as evidenced by the findings that Individualised consideration (F5) and Inspirational motivation (F3) are essential factors of transformational leadership with Subjective well-being (F12) and Development (F13) as the critical factors in organizational sustainability and employee performance in the banking industry. The relationship between transformational leadership's effect on organisational sustainability and employee performance is a subject that has received less attention in academic literature from researchers in emerging countries. We aim to fill this gap by offering impressive results by implementing the Grey-DEMATEL method.
  Keywords: Transformational Leadership; Organizational Sustainability; Employee Performance; Leadership-Member-Exchange Theory; Grey DEMATEL; Banking Sector.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10066261
   
  
• Does Purchase Intention Mediate the Relationship between Social Media and Brand Loyalty? Evidence from Women-led SMEs in Sri Lanka  
  by Vasanthakumar Kumaradeepan, S.M. Ferdous Azam, Jacquline Tham 
  Abstract: The aim of the study is identifying the factors influencing purchase intention and brand loyalty among the women led SMEs in north province Sri Lanka. Number of dimensions of social media found and concluded two dimensions as mostly influencing factors of social media as media attribute and media engagement as independent variable and brand loyalty as dependent variable and purchase intention as mediation variable. Seven different hypotheses were formed in order to achieve the objectives. A deductive-quantitative approach was adopted. Sample size is 390 and adopted convenience sampling. Found media attributes and media engagement has significant impact on purchase intention and brand loyalty. At the same time, purchase intention partially mediate the relation between media attributes and media engagement with brand loyalty.
  Keywords: purchase intention; brand loyalty women led SME; social media; entertainment; interaction; Sri Lanka.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10066331
   
  
• Identification of key issues involved in the implementation of GST: a case study of an Indian state  
  by Shweta Vashisht, Anand Bansal, Surjit Singh 
  Abstract: The goods and services tax (GST), one of the biggest tax reforms in the nation, was designed to promote business excellence, economic efficiency, simplify the intricate tax system, and establish a single national market. The purpose of this study is to identify the key issues related to the implementation of the GST in the context of a particular Indian state. The present study also clarifies the main challenges the state encountered in integrating GST, however the actual implementation process has been fraught with complications. The study exploits a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM)-analytical hierarchy approach (AHP) research methodology to identify the key issues responsible for implementation of GST. The findings reflect a diverse set of difficulties, including GST operational challenges, implementation challenges and compliance and regulatory framework. Classification and tax rate issues under operational challenges are significant issues having a maximum weightage of 31.4% followed by inter-state transactions having a global weight of 16.8%.
  Keywords: Indian state; goods and services tax; GST; business excellence; analytical hierarchy approach; AHP; business management; multi-criteria decision making; MCDM.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10066497
   
  
• Witnessing the Existence of Noise Trading in the Indian Stock Market  
  by Nidhi Walia, Sanjay Gupta 
  Abstract: This study focuses on exploring the existence of noise trading in the Indian stock market and its impact on stock returns and daily volatility, using data from three stock indices: NIFTY 50, NIFTY 100, and NIFTY100 liquid 15. The findings confirm the presence of noise traders in the market, as evidenced by underreaction, overreaction, and information pricing errors. Notably, there is a significant positive correlation observed for 16 companies, indicating that these companies are frequently traded by noise traders. It is important to mention that the research data span from January 2007 to December 2020, and the inclusion of more recent data would further strengthen the study's insights. Additionally, the study's focus on a limited number of NSE indices may restrict the generalisability of the findings. Nonetheless, the implications of this research are valuable for academicians, portfolio managers, regulatory agencies, and researchers. The findings can inform asset allocation strategies for hedge funds and retail investors, and assist portfolio analysts in enhancing their investment approaches. Overall, this empirical investigation provides a comprehensive understanding of noise trading and the behaviour of noise traders in the Indian stock market.
  Keywords: noise trading; Indian stock market; NSE; underreaction; overreaction.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10066724
   
  
• Enhancing Hotel Services through Quality Systems: A Case Study of Star-Rated Hotels in India  
  by Tahir Sufi 
  Abstract: Achieving service excellence is challenging for hoteliers considering the competitive and fragmented nature of the industry. Continuous efforts to establish the highest degree of service quality levels are required by the hotels to stay ahead in competition. However, the existing literature largely ignores exploring the various techniques used by the hotels to achieve the desired service quality. This study, therefore, attempts to bridge the gap by investigating such techniques and based on this information, proposes a framework explaining how hotels enhance service quality. Further, to explore the effectiveness of the hotel classification system of India, the study evaluates the system against five dimensions of the SERVQUAL model. The study also explores the use of international quality systems used by the Indian hotel Industry and seeks managers opinion about the hotel classification system of India. For this purpose, a structured questionnaire was used to gather the responses of the classified hotel managers in North India. The results indicate that the hotel classification system of India lacks the dimensions of empathy and responsiveness. Further, for the booking related decisions, travellers trust in such ratings is low.
  Keywords: Service Quality; Hotel Industry; Hotel Classification System; Total Quality Management.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10066809
   
  
• Attribution of Perceived Brand Authenticity (PBA) in the Relationship of Brand Related Cues and Brand Attachment  
  by Renee Kim, Beom Jin Kim 
  Abstract: Consumers tend to rely on authenticity of brand as a signal for quality and reliability as the market place is crowded with an overflow of product choices. Consumers’ perceived brand authenticity (PBA) is considered to be an important determinant for brand strength in hyper competitive omnipresence. This study attempts to explore brand consumer relationship with an assessment of the perceived brand authenticity (PBA) scales in culturally bound circumstances. Based on Mohart et al.'s (2015) 15 item scales of PBA, this study examines the influence of three external cues and the PBA on brand attachment in culturally bound condition with three countries (the USA, Korea and Thailand). Indexical, iconic and existential cues have considerable effects on consumers' PBA, and four dimensions of the PBA have different impact on brand attachment in three selected markets. The results have important implications for brand practitioners' global marketing strategies and theoretically validate the role of PBA in the relationship of external cues and brand attachment based on attribution theory.
  Keywords: perceived brand authenticity; PBA; attribution theory; indexical; iconic and existential cues; brand attachment; cultural context.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10066960
   
  
• A Due Diligence Study on Customer Behaviour and its Impacts on Organised Retail Store Business: will Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Models bring Benefits and Security to Retailers?  
  by Suregka Felix Kulandaisamy, Hema Nalini M 
  Abstract: In the current scenario, data science and artificial intelligence play a major and vital role in every industry. This paper focuses on customer behaviour in organised retail stores, which impacts the core business and retail market. The study tried to help retail store proprietors organise their stocks, manage investments wisely, and buy fast-moving products based on customer behaviour and their interest in the product, price, quality, and door delivery requirements. This study also constructed an artificial neural network model (ANN) along with an AI algorithm, which consists of four modules, such as the data input module, machine learning module, deep machine learning module, and artificial intelligence output module. This due diligence study investigates the relationship between buying behaviour and marketing strategies and predicts the influence of purchasing behaviour on implementing marketing strategies. The results show that there is a strong direct relationship between purchasing behaviour and strategies implemented to attract customers.
  Keywords: container management; employees; supply chain management.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10067130
   
  
• Intensify Employee Performance through Employer Branding: Talent Attractiveness in IT Industry  
  by Geeta Rana, Ravindra Sharma 
  Abstract: The main objective of the current research was to determine, in the context of the Indian IT sector, the effect of employer branding (EB) on employee performance (EP) while considering organizational attractiveness (OA) as mediator . Convenient purposive random sampling was employed and self-administered questionnaires used to collect data. Hierarchical multiple regression was used along with bootstrapping in SPSS. Outcomes emphasized that EB influenced EP. Also, results confirmed partial mediating effect of OA on the link between EB and EP. This study provides important implications for practitioners and administrators. It establishes the link for introducing branding practices which are effective tool for talent attractiveness and emphasizes its role in reducing attrition levels, enhancing motivation levels of employees, and improving employee performance. Firms should focus on EB strategies to project a positive and attractive firm image, to attract and retain superior talent for competitive advantage.
  Keywords: Employer Branding; Employee Performance; Organizational Attractiveness; Talent Retention; Engagement; IT Industry.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10067267
   
  
• Mapping the Research Landscape: a Bibliometric Review of Financial Literacy and Retirement Planning for Sustainable Future  
  by Vandana Yadav, Jyotsana Chawla, Parveen Kumar 
  Abstract: In today's era, grasping financial literacy is essential for informed financial decision-making and a secure future. Retirement planning, a critical aspect, involves strategic financial choices to ensure a stress-free post-employment life. This study, using the Scopus database from 2000 to 2023 with search strings "Financial Literacy" and "Retirement Planning," identifies 97 relevant research papers. Employing bibliometric analysis via Vos Viewer and R studio, the study delves into keywords, publication trends, top authors, journals, and intellectual structure clusters in financial literacy and retirement planning. By assessing contributions to these fields, the study aims to shed light on how understanding and implementing these concepts can pave the way for a sustainable individual future.
  Keywords: financial literacy; retirement planning; bibliometric; Vos viewer; financial education.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10067525
   
  
• The Looming Storm: Pension Liabilities and the Impending Financial Crisis in the Railway Sector  
  by Sanjeev Sharma, Vinay Kandpal, Saurabh Tiwari, Pankaj Chamola 
  Abstract: Pension liabilities provide a substantial fiscal burden for railway organisations around the world. Pension programs' financial unpredictability derives from their reliance on variables such as longevity, inflation, and healthcare costs, which are challenging to anticipate correctly. Furthermore, pension plans rely on investment returns for funding, which introduces the risk of underperformance. Inadequate financing and underfunding add to the financial stress. Addressing these problems necessitates meticulous management measures such as pension restructuring, prefunding future obligations, and negotiating modifications to employee benefits. This research paper aims to investigate these complications and provide viable solutions to the railway sector's pension liability landmine.
  Keywords: pension liabilities; railway finances; investment risks; pension restructuring.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10067849
   
  
• Crafting Innovation: The Nexus of Structural Job Resources and Idea Dynamics  
  by Ashish Saini, Santosh Rangnekar 
  Abstract: Addressing the gap in comprehension regarding the process of transforming imaginative ideas into actionable outcomes in organisational settings, this study focuses on the impact of structural job resources and idea generation on idea realisation. Using data from 327 employees in India’s manufacturing and service sectors and employing the PROCESS macro for analysis, the study reveals a positive influence of structural job resources on idea realisation, with the idea generation partially mediating this relationship. The findings suggest practical implications for managers to foster proactive behaviour among employees through autonomy, customised training, continuous learning opportunities, and effective feedback mechanisms. This research expands the JD-R model by integrating insights from Innovation Management and Organizational Psychology. It introduces the concept of reciprocal innovation within Social Exchange Theory Framework. Future endeavours could explore longitudinal studies to investigate the mediation processes, focusing on how idea promotion mediates the relationship between idea generation and realisation.
  Keywords: Idea Implementation; Idea realisation; JD-R Model; Creativity; Idea generation; Job Resources.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10067852
   
  
• Blockchain Technology and the Quality of the Accounting Profession in a Developing Market: Evidence from Mixed Analysis Methods  
  by Ahmad Adel, Lena Zayed, Malik Abu Afifa, Othman Hussein Othman 
  Abstract: This study aims to investigate the impact of digital transformation through blockchain technology implementation on the accounting profession's quality. This study looks at this context in the Jordanian market, a developing market. The main findings revealed that, using mixed analysis methods, financial managers, accountants, internal financial controllers, and internal auditors who are working in Jordanian public companies are well-versed in blockchain technology and its applications in financial and accounting, respectively. Nonetheless, despite the fact that those engaged are well-versed in it, such technology adoption remains low in developing-market companies such as Jordanian companies. Furthermore, they suggest that incorporating blockchain technology into accounting systems would help to strengthen and improve accountants' skills, therefore improving the accounting profession’s quality. More specifically, the majority of them agree that data cryptography, data transparency, and real-time data tracking enabled by blockchain technology considerably improve the accounting profession's quality.
  Keywords: blockchain technology; digital transformation; accounting profession; Jordan.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10067866
   
  
• Role of Networking Behaviour in Achieving Excellence in Career: a Critical Analysis into Theoretical Evolution, the Current State of Affairs and Future Research Direction  
  by Mohit Pahwa, Nilesh Kumar Tiwari 
  Abstract: The present study systematically emphasises the significance of networking competence in achieving career success. This study contributes to the existing body of literature on managing one's career by unveiling, for the first time, the evolving dynamics of the association between networking and career success across various themes. The current study systematically uses the SCOPUS database to review the literature (n = 329) and examines the impactful authors, journals, and most cited articles and papers. Furthermore, the study employed a bibliometric analysis method to examine how different disciplines have influenced the career development literature (especially the role of networking for career success) by forming a strategic diagram and a Sankey graph of networking and career research fields. The present study findings encompass conceptual and empirical advances with some roots in other fields. This study also enables us to draw critical theoretical and practical implications and guides us for future research directions.
  Keywords: bibliometric analysis; career success; career self-management; networking competence; systematic literature review.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10068057
   
  
• COVID-19, how does it affected individuals perceived financial behaviour and perceived financial knowledge: an introspective analysis  
  by Khurram Ajaz Khan, Mohammed Anam Akhtar, Pankaj Kumar Tripathi, John Amoah 
  Abstract: COVID-19 has affected human lives across the globe and emerged as one of the most significant tragedies. The psychological impact of the pandemic has led to significant behavioural changes. The financial markets and financial institutions are no exception to this behavioural change. However, the authors were not able to find any conclusive research available in the context of India wherein an introspective analysis of this behavioural shift is done. Hence, the present study would be the first of its kind when it comes to the examination of change in financial behaviour and financial knowledge by the individuals of different demographic cohorts. The findings of the study revealed that age, education level, and the number of financial dependents are the key demographic characteristics affecting financial behaviour and financial knowledge during the pandemic and post-pandemic induced lockdown.
  Keywords: COVID-19; psychological; financial behaviour; financial knowledge; financial fragility; demographic.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10040759
   
  
• Impact of FDI on economic growth, re-industrialisation and regional disparities in emerging Europe - the case of the Hungarian regions  
  by Zoltán Gál, Devesh Singh 
  Abstract: The paper examines the nexus of FDI inflow, the FDI dispersion among companies, and GDP per capita along with the selected socio-economic variables, and re-industrialisation in the Hungarian regions. The paper uses the NUT 3 level data from 2001 to 2018 and employs the generalised method of moments (GMM) in regions characterised by the different phases of industrialisation. The econometric analysis confirms three variations of bidirectional IFDI, GDP growth and FDI dispersion nexus which can be explained by the fact that the positive effect of FDI-driven growth is spatially concentrated according to the different regional patterns of industrialisation. Both the 'FDI-driven growth hypothesis' and the 'GDP growth-driven FDI hypothesis' have been confirmed under certain regional conditions. The results show that the FDI-driven growth model of CEE is not sufficient to ensure the long-term prosperity of regions since the positive effect of FDI-driven economic growth is only short-term and spatially concentrated, further exacerbating territorial inequalities.
  Keywords: foreign direct investment; FDI; reindustrialisation; economic growth; regional disparities; Central and Eastern Europe; Hungarian regions; generalised method of moments; GMM.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10041944
   
  
• Performance measurement of Indian banking system: non-radial data envelopment analysis approach  
  by Preeti, Supriyo Roy 
  Abstract: Global economy coupled with real time banking reforms in area of asset quality, capital adequacy, and diversification of operations, it is critical for any banks to continuously monitor their operational efficiency. It is imperative for Indian banking system to consider multiple factors affecting bank's performance while measuring efficiency. Traditional methods like ratio analysis are no more a workable solution for measurement of overall efficiency. Under this backdrop, academic researchers and business managers continuously opt for data envelopment analysis (DEA) models as one of the popular approaches to analyse and evaluate performance. Present study intends to compute efficiency of Indian banks by employing non-traditional (non-radial) DEA model. Comparison of efficiency values between banking ownership with focus on offering improvement plan for inefficient banks is one of the significant contributions of this study. The outcome of the study points towards improvement initiative(s) that may serve as future reform policies in banking context.
  Keywords: data envelopment analysis; DEA; Indian; banking system; non-radial model; operational efficiency; performance measurement.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10041482
   
  
• The effect of green operations on open innovation strategy: the moderating role of organisational commitment  
  by Moayyad Al-Fawaeer 
  Abstract: This paper analyses how managers involved in green operations (GO) view GO's effects on open innovation strategy (OIS, inbound and outbound). The moderating role of organisational commitment between GO and OIS is also investigated. The study participants were managers involved in the implementation or supervision of green operational processes in Jordanian public shareholding industrial companies. Results indicate the relationship between GO and OIS is statistically significant. By contrast, the impact of organisational commitment is greater than the impact of GO on open innovation strategy. A better understanding of the methodological nature of GO and OI is based on adopting more comprehensive dimensions to be used in analytical models, and examining the obstacles to OI in developing countries is the primary challenge for future research.
  Keywords: green operations; GO; open innovation; OI; organisational commitment.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2024.10068258
   
  
• The impact of state ownership on the performance of disinvested public sector enterprises  
  by Isha Chhabra, Seema Gupta, V.K. Gupta 
  Abstract: Disinvestment as a part of economic reforms was introduced to improve performance of public sector enterprises, budget the fiscal deficit and encourage inflow of domestic and global capital. Therefore, the study intends to investigate the effect of state ownership on disinvested public sector enterprise's financial performance. Second objective is to examine the factors that affect equity ownership hold by the government in disinvested public sector enterprises. The sample of 30 public sector enterprises has been studied from 1996-2018 and a static model approach was employed. The results confirm that there is a negative impact of state ownership on performance parameters. The study finds a negative relationship between return on equity, leverage and state ownership. The results imply that government should not hold high ownership as it has a detrimental impact on the performance of PSEs. Further, the factors, return on equity, leverage negatively affect the equity ownership in disinvested PSEs. It was found the government prefers to disinvest profitable firms as such firms would generate revenue. Also, the government does not favour the firms with high debt structures as keeping more ownership in such firms could bring financial difficulties for the government.
  Keywords: financial performance; profitability; public sector enterprises; PSEs; state ownership; disinvestment.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10041639
   
  
• Performance evaluation of companies trading in Turkey Borsa Istanbul technology index with TOPSIS and COPRAS methods  
  by Burak Keskin, Bilgehan Tekin 
  Abstract: Technology companies play an essential role in determining countries' global policies, expanding the base of higher-wage jobs, increasing tax revenues and promoting balanced economic growth. Therefore, technology companies' financial performances, whose number and success are becoming more important nowadays, should be measured and followed continuously. Measuring companies' financial performance is also critical for determining potential investors' alternatives before and during the stock investment and making the best decision. In this study, the financial performance of technology companies included in the Borsa Istanbul (BIST) technology index (XUTEK) has been determined by multi-criteria decision-making methods based on financial ratios. TOPSIS and COPRAS methods were used in the study, and the five years data between 2015-2019 were considered. The companies' success ranking was made using these two methods for each year. According to the results, the average correlation between the two methods was found as 98%. Based on the five-year period, the most successful companies were LINK computer and DATAGATE computer, respectively. Additionally, the companies that carried out the worst performance were the ESCORT computer and NETAS in all years.
  Keywords: financial performance; technology companies; TOPSIS; COPRAS; financial ratios.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2021.10041009
   
  
• Consequences of COVID-19 on Vietnamese extractive industry: empirical evidence  
  by Malik Abu Afifa, Nha Minh Nguyen, Hien Vo Van 
  Abstract: This research aims to investigate the change of corporate performance of extractive listed corporates in Vietnam, and to test theories on the capital structure by considering the influence of COVID-19 pandemic. Our sample comprises Vietnamese extractive corporates listed on HOSE, HNX and Upcom. Using GMM estimation method, the findings demonstrate that there is a negative and substantial influence of leverage on discretionary and non-discretional performance, which suitable for trade-off theory and pecking-order theory. However, COVID-19 pandemic does not seriously impact the extractive corporate performance. Additionally, Vietnamese extractive corporates tend to use earnings management to reduce the influence of COVID-19 pandemic.
  Keywords: firm performance; COVID-19 pandemic; Vietnam; extractive industry; trade-off theory; pecking-order theory.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2022.10045745