Explaining the Factors Influencing Consumer Perception, Adoption Readiness, and Perceived Usefulness toward Digital Transactions: Online Retailing Experience of Millennials in India

The present study intends to identify and evaluate the factors affecting the perception and readiness of young online shoppers regarding digital transactions. Thirty variables were identified through systematic literature review that can influence consumers’ perception of digital transactions. Data were collected from 525 millennials from north India. After performing factor analysis, five broad factors were identified namely (a) personal characteristics and incentives, (b) knowledge technical capability, (c) perceived usefulness, (d) sense of security, and (e) transaction risk, which affect the perception and intention as well as adaption of young consumers regarding the digital transactions. Using regression analysis, factors affecting consumer’s perception and readiness regarding digital transactions are modeled out. The study also examines the influence on intention to adopt digital transactions and the actual adaption of digital transactions. Further, the study concludes that consumer intention to make digital transactions mediates the relationship between factors of digital transactions and digital transaction adaption behavior.

Assessing Materials Management Practices Effect on Firm’s Performance in Ghana Using Dominance Analysis: Evidence from a Listed Company

The objective of this study is to empirically examine the effect of materials management on a firm’s performance by exploring employee views and utilizing a firm’s financial statement data within the Ghanaian context, focusing on Fan Milk Limited, a listed manufacturing firm in Ghana. A cross-sectional research design was espoused for the study, utilizing questionnaires completed by 240 respondents selected via simple random sampling. SPSS version 25.0 was utilized for data analysis, which included descriptive statistics, principal component analysis, exploratory factor analysis with varimax rotation, reliability/validity analysis, and multivariate regression aided with relative importance analysis via dominance analysis. The study found significant positive relationships between all eight materials management practices and a firm’s performance. Dominance analysis further revealed that materials requirement planning and control was the most important predictor of a firm’s performance, while ergonomics was the least important predictor of performance. Managerial recommendations established should be viewed critically while managing manufacturing firms.

Assessment of TOC and TPM in Indian SME Auto Manufacturing Industries

The purpose of this article is to investigate the impact of theory of constraints (TOC) and total productive maintenance (TPM) practices on operational performance, and their interlinkage between each other. Constructs that are critical to auto manufacturer’s operational performance have been identified with the help of literature and experts from industry. The impact of TOC and TPM on operational performance has been evaluated. Similarly, impact of competitiveness on operational performance has been evaluated. Further, alternate models are tested and evaluated through structural equation model. It was observed during testing of alternate models that TOC and TPM have a direct impact on operational performance. However, TOC and TPM practices also directly impact overall operational performance, which in turn, influences competitiveness. In comparison of alternate models, the model in which TOC and TPM affect overall equipment efficiency (OEE), human total participation and commitment (HTPC), throughput (T), inventory (I), and operating expense (OE) practices and these further affect the operational performance, is found most appropriate. This study provides some useful implications from industry point of view. TOC and TPM practices are crucial to auto manufacturing industries. TOC and TPM are the core of attaining sustenance in crucial factors, which will have greater impact to achieve operational performance. Overall equipment efficiency, Human total participation, T, I, and operating expense practices are driven by TOC and TPM practices. This crucial factor linkage helps to achieve the desired operation performance. There are very limited studies that have considered both the continuous improvement practices together to achieve better operational performance. In auto manufacturing industry, both TOC and TPM are crucial continuous improvement practices for any organization to drive its growth.

Indian Agri-Commodities Markets: A Review of Transition Toward Futures

By using indications given by the commodity markets, farmers, growers, or producers can minimize the price risk and avoid a supply gut. The consumers of the output can minimize the price risk and ensure that the demand pressure is appropriately capped. It was in this backdrop that farmers and food grain merchants initiated futures markets in agri-commodities. This article has been successful in documenting the evolution of agri-commodities futures markets in India and their regulatory framework. It also captures the transition toward agri-commodities futures by engaging in a comprehensive survey of extant literature. The market growth analysis indicates that the transition toward agri-commodities futures markets has enabled price discovery and better price risk management. While ensuring price risk mitigation and remunerative returns, these markets also contribute to scaling down the downside risks associated with agricultural lending and, thereby, facilitate the flow of credit to agriculture. Further, they also hold a key role not only in reinvigorating the spot markets but also in triggering the diversified growth of Indian agriculture in line with the consumption pattern. Thus, enabling policies need to be put in place to strengthen the agri-commodities futures markets by streamlining the supply chain.

Effect of Geographical Diversities in Management Leadership with Special Reference to India

Effective top management leadership is the pillar of success in any organization. This is a widely shared view since the inception of industrial age. Though it is still valid in the current era, with the advancement of technology and workforce quality, leadership approaches are getting more sophisticated with every passing day. In today’s business context, success is no more associated with stereotyped leadership approaches. It is associated with the contingent approaches of leadership which are flexible and adaptive with varied socio-cultural aspects in different demographic regions. In this article, we focus on investigating how demographic factors influence the success or failure of top management leadership in the Indian context. In the course of our research, we considered seven different factors (availability of raw material, market demand for finished goods, proper utilization of equipment, manpower utilization, salaries and wages, uninterrupted availability of energy and fuel, and investment in technology) as key factors for the success of any manufacturing unit. Our findings indicate that, among these seven factors, only two (utilization of equipment and manpower utilization) are associated with the demographic aspects of a business operation. Even after handling five factors successfully, if the senior leadership fails to address the social, cultural and political issues of a certain demography, it leads to ineffective utilization of manpower. In addition to this, the leader’s inability in realizing the level of education, knowledge, and intelligence of the workforce of a specific demographic region can lead to inefficient machine utilization. These elucidations guided us to conclude our research by pointing out demographic factors as key considerations in the recruitment, selection, and placement process of top management leadership positions in any manufacturing unit across the country.

Understanding Customer Priorities for Selection of Call Taxi Service Provider

Taxi services have evolved with the growth of information communication services and have become an essential infrastructure in a city’s transport landscape. In today’s era, mobility has become a vital need for people as they contemplate how to accomplish specific tasks, which require travel, time, and distance. Taxi services have filled this void by allowing people to commute to the last mile and meet their daily requirements. Failure of cab service operators to offer affordable and reliable taxi service would result in inferior taxi services that lead to dissatisfaction among customers. The key objective of this research was to determine important factors, namely, socioeconomic and service attribute factors that influence people’s choice based on satisfaction levels in selecting a particular taxi service like Ola and Uber in Bhubaneswar city. The study found that socioeconomic and service attribute factors were important in determining the choice of taxi service. Furthermore, it also revealed that people were more sensitive to the reliability of taxi service and cost in comparison to the quality of service and driver’s behavior. The study results would help cab service providers in customizing their services to attract more customers and increase their market share.

Building an ‘Industrial Engineering Mindset’ among Indian Healthcare Executives: Toward Management of Healthcare Facilities at an Industrial Scale post the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the necessity of good quality and adequate quantity of healthcare infrastructure facilities. Healthcare facilities were provided for COVID-19 facilities with improvisation and supplementary lateral infrastructure from other sectors. However, the main point of contemplation going into the future was regarding how to quickly develop healthcare facilities. The subject domain of ‘industrial engineering’ (IE) and its associated perspectives could provide some key insights regarding this. The authors undertook a conceptual literature review and provided theoretical argumentation toward this. The findings provided insights regarding the application of industrial engineering concepts in healthcare facilities and services.

The System Quality and Customer Satisfaction with Website Quality as Mediator in Online Purchasing: A Developing Country Perspectives

The present era sees an increasing trend of online purchasing all over the globe, and India is no more an exception. India is likely to become the hub for online market because it is second in terms of population in the world. The study is an effort to understand whether system quality really matters for customer satisfaction, particularly in developing countries, and the website quality works as a mediator or not. The study proposes the theoretical framework of the impact of system quality on customer satisfaction after a rigor literature review. With the help of purposive sampling, data were collected and model tested using partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results show that system quality and website quality have a direct and positive impact on customer satisfaction and website quality partially mediated. Based on these empirical findings, managerial implications, limitations, and recommendations for further future research are given in the study.

Information-driven Supply Chain During a Catastrophic Event: COVID-19 Pandemic

We learn painful lessons these days about the hidden weaknesses in the supply chains, while the surge reflects a new inflection point of the COVID-19 outbreak. Healthcare experts, politicians, academics, and supply chain practitioners need to collaborate to build a reform agenda and roadmap for our humanitarian supply chain. This study aims at investigating and assessing risks on the supply chain, especially for health care supplies. The theme of the article is based on the development of an information-driven model to help in the assessment of supply chain risk. An integrative review technique has been used to analyze literature to develop prepositions for the model. The main actors of the model are supply chain preparedness, supply chain risk, supply chain response, and supply chain recovery. The findings identify that timely preparation and assessment of supply chain risk can result in accurate adoption of the practices that can not only reduce supply chain risk but also enhance supply chain recovery during any catastrophic event.

Challenges of Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Business Growth: A Case of Footwear Industry

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) create more employment opportunities and thus, contribute to the national economy of a country. Footwear SMEs have been identified as an emerging economy in Bangladesh, which is facing several challenges. Very few studies focused on the challenges of SMEs’ business growth. However, until now, no literature particularly focused on the challenges of footwear SMEs and discussed how to tackle these challenges. To fill this research gap, we use the Fuzzy Delphi Method and fuzzy analytical hierarchy process, to find out the degree of importance of critical challenges of footwear SMEs. In our study, 16 critical challenges are identified among which lingering in cash flow (F3), fierce market competition (E1), access to finance (F2), unfavorable bank loan policy (F1), and poor supply chain management (E2) have been ascertained as the top five critical challenges, respectively. This study contributes to the existing literature of SMEs by identifying five new challenges from the context of the footwear industry. Furthermore, we suggest some possible measures to overcome the identified challenges. This study can guide the government, practitioners, and SME policymakers to address these challenges for the growth of any SME sector.