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This paper attempts to elucidate the fundamental determinants—both enablers and impediments—that shape a resilient business ecosystem for the medical devices sector in India, with a particular emphasis on sustainable export endeavours under the ambit of the Medical Devices Policy 2023.

This study dives into India’s medical device export firms, analysing factors influencing their performance. By reviewing relevant literature, it identifies regulatory, manufacturing, marketing, distribution and import-related factors. A Likert scale questionnaire was designed and shared with industry stakeholders to gather primary data, and it was analysed via SPSS/AMOS. This quantitative approach unveiled the direct impacts of enablers and barriers, shaping a structural model to elucidate interrelationships, thus informing strategies for enhancing India’s medical device export sector.

The results lucidly identify the barriers that affect the export performance of India’s medical devices, such as complicated product registration formalities, complexity in the registration and approval process for sale, export restrictions and price control measures, local competition and policies, finance and investment challenges and low knowledge and expertise in the trade of medical devices. Considering the relevance of these barriers in affecting India’s export achievement, a model is derived for understanding their interrelationship, exploring causal links and comprehending managerial and policy-level implications for suitable corrective actions.

The study’s limitations must be recognized, notably the focus on India and the Medical Devices Policy 2023 context. Accordingly, the results hinge on India’s “Make-in-India” policy and incentives for the medical devices sector, possibly not translating directly to countries with distinct policies or industrial priorities. With a sample size of 224 firms, sector diversity representation may be inadequate, potentially restricting the findings’ generalizability. While offering insights into Indian challenges and opportunities, broader validation across diverse contexts and larger samples is essential to ensure the results’ robustness and broader applicability beyond outlined circumstances.

The model’s insights hold crucial implications for policymakers in India’s medical devices sector. Firstly, urgent attention is required to tackle identified challenges for sustainable export growth. Prioritizing initiatives to enhance sector knowledge and expertise through training programs and collaborations with experts is paramount. Moreover, streamlining regulatory barriers, including product registration and approval processes, are imperative for simplifying market entry. Additionally, addressing financial challenges by facilitating access to finance through tax incentives or funding schemes is essentially vital. Furthermore, learning from successful models in other countries like Costa Rica, South Korea, Germany and China can guide effective policy implementation in an Indian context. Correspondingly, the business firms should nurture a competitive domestic market through innovation support and stakeholder engagement for long-term growth.

For managers in India’s medical devices sector, these implications are equally significant. Investing in knowledge and regulatory expertise is paramount to navigate complex landscapes effectively. Accordingly, there is a need to develop robust financial planning strategies, exploring diverse funding sources and tailoring products to meet local demands while aligning with global standards. Moreover, active engagement with policymakers is required for supportive policy reforms and similarly, collaboration with industry stakeholders can create a favourable operating environment. By addressing these implications collaboratively, policymakers and managers can overcome barriers, drive innovation and foster sustainable growth, positioning India as a global leader in medical device exports.

Narrating the results, this paper identifies the barriers that need to be factored into the Medical Devices Policy 2023. The paper sequentially explains how to nurture an enabling business ecosystem for export excellence in India’s medical devices industry.

Conscious consumers have been influenced to either cut back on their fashion consumption or switch to ethical clothing (EC) as a result of the detrimental social effects of fast fashion that have been seen over the past 10 years. It also reflects how the ethical belief of the young generation influences them to be conscious of the ill effects of their fashion choices or behave like an ignorant irresponsible buyer. This study aims to examine this issue in detail to find out the prevalence and impact of such beliefs on consumption choices over a period of time.

This study uses the cross-sectional data of 525 respondents from India to explore and unearth the EC phenomenon in emerging markets. It follows a two-step approach consisting of confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling to examine the proposed hypotheses using AMOS 22 software.

It was found that consumers in developing economies are concerned about the ethical standards followed by the fashion industry (FI), which is reflected in the form of inhuman working conditions for FI workers.

This study emphasizes understanding attitude, subjective norms, behavioral control and EC related to ethical buying behavior and their interaction mechanisms that transform it into the actual buying intention of EC.

It was an eye-opener that collective societal culture and standards do not influence ethical purchase decisions but it is rather the individual’s own ethical rules which is a result of established core family values that significantly shape fashion consumption. This study advances existing literature by empirically verifying the relationship between consumer attitude, consumers’ subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, environmental concern with ethical buying behavior and ethical purchase intention. It could provide insightful information and support academic research as well as real-world marketing and environmental initiatives.

This study explores the intricate relationship between social media communication, consumer attitude and purchase intention within the context of lifestyle category products. With the rapid proliferation of social media platforms, businesses have turned to these platforms to connect with consumers and influence their purchasing decisions. This study aims to provide an in-depth analysis of how social media communication strategies impact consumer attitudes and, in turn, influence purchase intentions.

The study employs partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze the data collected from a sample of consumers.

The results of this study present that lack of visibility (LV), low-efficiency levels (LEL) and unpredictable elements (UE) are ranked as the top three major risk hurdles whereas real-time information on a package’s location (LV1), putting a GPS tracking system to track last-mile journey (OT3) and users wants on time location of their package (LV2) are ranked as top three most significant criteria affecting the practices of modern last-mile logistics in e-commerce businesses.

The results of this study contribute to our understanding of how social media influences consumer behavior in the lifestyle product sector, shedding light on the underlying mechanisms that drive consumer purchasing decisions.

By constructing and testing experimentally a research model that reveals a thorough analysis of pertinent literature and identifies multiple important elements influencing consumer behavior in the lifestyle category, this paper adds to the body of knowledge on marketing. Practical ramifications for lifestyle firms are examined, along with suggestions for improving their social media tactics, in light of the findings.

As fitness apps have integrated gamification elements into their design to transform exercise into a compelling and competitive experience, this study draws on the expectation confirmation model (ECM) and self-determination theory (SDT) to propose a comprehensive framework for sustained usage by satisfying the psychological needs of users.

A longitudinal study design is utilized where data from 598 fitness app users were gathered over two distinct phases separated by 24 weeks, where data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

The findings until phase 1 depict that motivational affordances significantly affect mastery, autonomy and relatedness, which in turn exert a significant influence on flow. Identification and compliance have a more pronounced effect in phase 2 compared to stage 1 of the analysis.

Individuals are more prone to being swayed by fellow members of their social group who share an affiliation with fitness apps, leading them to sustain their usage of fitness apps. These insights can potentially guide app developers and marketers in formulating strategies based on modifiable factors to foster sustained growth for gamified fitness apps.

This study takes a novel stance by employing social impact theory (SIT) in a longitudinal setting to reveal how users react to identification and compliance effects during initial and post-adoption usage of gamified fitness apps.

Despite increasing awareness among fashion consumers about the positive environmental and societal impacts of sustainable fashion as a viable alternative to fast fashion, their actual adoption behavior often diverges. This study aims to empirically investigate consumers’ resistance barriers to sustainable fashion clothing.

This study utilizes innovation resistance theory to examine the barriers to consumer intention to buy sustainable clothing. The study collected a large sample (N = 745) of fashion consumers from the USA and India to test a research model.

The study finds that value, social risk, tradition and image barriers significantly reduce consumers’ intentions to buy sustainable fashion clothing. Additionally, the findings highlight that environmental concern moderates the relationship between social risk barriers and buying intentions.

The study findings contribute to the existing sustainable fashion literature by highlighting the main barriers for sustainable clothing consumption and emphasizing the crucial role of social elements, economic values and the image of sustainable fashion products in shaping consumer behavior within the fashion landscape.

Purpose: There has been a growing debate on whether generative AI can serve as the modern-day equivalent of white-collar knowledge workers. In a recent post, technology magnate Bill Gates boldly proclaimed that ChatGPT would soon become the quintessential white-collar worker of tomorrow (Dean, 2023). This is indeed an exciting prospect, as generative AI advances at breakneck speed.

Need for the Study: This research delves upon the implications of such advancements for industries reliant on skilled employees. It raises questions about how these individuals will adjust their skillset going forward, given the proliferation of generative AI solutions poised to disrupt traditional roles previously occupied by humans.

Methodology: The study uses an exploratory framework to understand AI’s implications on job roles, productivity, and skill requirements. It introduces generative AI and its relevance, focusing on how it could transform white-collar jobs.

Findings: One thing seems clear: its impact on future employment opportunities. However, this technology still has limitations, potentially leading to unintended consequences. While capable of performing certain functions precisely and accurately, it cannot fully replace the reasoning abilities or cognitive flexibility innate in human workers tasked with knowledge-based work.

Practical Implications: The potential implications for workforce development, policy-making, and future research in AI and labor economics are highlighted. This will also help gain insights into the integration process, benefits, challenges, and the changing nature of white-collar work due to generative AI.

After completion of the case study, students will be able to understand the importance of cultivating the ecosystem of a social enterprise and how social entrepreneurs may use them to leverage their success; analyze the rationale of profits for social enterprises; understand the meaning of social franchising and explore the mechanisms for expansion and sustainability of the café; and assess the impact of the social enterprise in terms of advocacy, awareness and implementation at the field level.

This case study aims to provide insight into the sensitive issue of acid attacks and aims to provide an understanding to the struggles of a social enterprise which has a mission to fight for the rights and the betterment of the lives of the acid attack survivors. It delves in to philosophy, business model and the potential future strategies of Sheroes Hangout café which is a project of the Foundation committed with providing decent employment opportunities to the acid attack survivors by providing them treatment, training and rehabilitation. This case study delves with the problem of the co-founders of finding that unique business model which would ensure expansion and sustainability of the café without compromising the core mission of the café – the upliftment of the acid attack survivors.

This case study is suitable for undergraduate students.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

This study aims to propose mindfulness as a key factor in merchants’ adoption of mobile payments through the trust and perceived value pathways in an unorganized sector.

Data were collected physically via a structured questionnaire from a random sample of 350 merchants from the unorganized retail sector in India. Partial least squares-based structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data.

Mindfulness plays a key role in the formation of trust and perceived value, which further influences merchants’ intentions to adopt mobile payments. Furthermore, moderating effects of technology anxiety and skepticism were also observed.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to illustrate mindfulness in merchants of the unorganized sector in adopting mobile payments to influence the adoption intentions of mobile payments in emerging markets.

Despite the rapid development of metaverse industry, the adoption rate of metaverse products is still very low. While prior studies mainly focused on investigating the motivators of metaverse adoption, this study explores the barriers affecting consumer intention to use metaverse products, utilizing the framework of innovation resistance theory (IRT).

Through a survey conducted in China, we examined the effects of variables such as usage barrier, value barrier, risk barrier, tradition barrier, image barrier, as well as the moderating effects of individuals’ innovativeness. Three hundred and seventy seven valid questionnaires were collected and hierarchical regression method was conducted to analyze the data.

Our findings reveal that usage and value barriers, as well as tradition barrier, significantly negatively influence consumer intention to use metaverse products. However, risk and image barrier do not exhibit a significant impact. Additionally, we discovered that individuals’ innovativeness positively influences consumer intention, indicating that users with higher innovativeness are more inclined to engage with metaverse products. Furthermore, innovativeness acts as a positive moderator, weakening the negative impact of tradition barrier on usage intention.

The study extends IRT by incorporating the role of individual innovativeness, providing a more holistic understanding of the factors that impede the widespread use of metaverse products. The findings are crucial for developing strategies to mitigate the negative influences of potential barriers, ultimately promoting the diffusion of metaverse products.