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1 – 10 of 264A.P. Kabra, P. Mahanwar, V. Shertukde and V. Bambole
The purpose of this paper is to formulate two component polyurethane coatings based on acrylic polyol, to study the effects of variable nanosilica loadings in these coatings on…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to formulate two component polyurethane coatings based on acrylic polyol, to study the effects of variable nanosilica loadings in these coatings on different morphological, optical, mechanical, corrosion resistance and weather resistance properties and to study the intercalation of acrylic polyol molecules into nanosilica crystals by XRD technique.
Design/methodology/approach
Two component polyurethane coatings were synthesised using acrylic polyol and isocyanate HDI. The nanosilica was incorporated in polyurethane formulation at the weight ratios of 1%, 3% and 5% based on total weight of polyol and isocyanate. The performance of nanocoatings was compared for variable loads of nanosilica for different properties such as morphological, optical, mechanical, corrosion resistance, weather resistance and were studied for intercalation of acrylic polyol into nanosilica crystals by XRD technique.
Findings
Improvement in the properties of polyurethane coatings is achieved with the incorporation of nanosilica. The improvement is the result of inherently high properties of inorganic nanosilica. Tensile strength, scratch hardness, abrasion resistance, corrosion and weathering resistance show significant improvement in performance with the incorporation of nanosilica. Properties are found to deteriorate beyond a certain loading of nanosilica; hence it is important to optimise loading level. The optimal range for high performance was found to be in the range of 1% to 3%. The improvement was a result of synergistic behaviour and good interfacial interaction between polyurethane and nanosilica at optimal levels.
Research limitations/implications
The method used for incorporation of nanosilica into polyurethane was direct incorporation method. The other method of incorporation, i.e. in situ addition and its effect on properties can also be studied.
Practical implications
With the addition of optimal loading level of nanosilica to polyurethane coatings, properties can be enhanced up to the mark. The addition is relatively easy and cost effective.
Originality/value
The paper proves the significance of incorporation of nanosilica on original properties of polyurethane coatings and widens the area of applications of two component polyurethane coatings from acrylic polyol by strengthening them in their properties. The coatings can be applicable in high performance topcoats especially for automotive topcoats.
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Kevin L. Papiorek and Martin R.W. Hiebl
Several conceptual works suggest that more digitalized information systems in management accounting have the potential to make this corporate function more effective. Against this…
Abstract
Purpose
Several conceptual works suggest that more digitalized information systems in management accounting have the potential to make this corporate function more effective. Against this backdrop, this study aims to investigate the impact of information systems quality in management accounting on the effectiveness of management control systems. Additionally, this study examines the moderating effect of process automation.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional survey of 125 German Mittelstand firms and hierarchical regression analyses were used for data collection and analysis.
Findings
The findings confirm the assumed positive effect of information systems quality in management accounting on management control effectiveness. They also confirm the assumed moderating effect of process automation. The authors find that the relationship between information systems quality in management accounting and management control effectiveness is more pronounced if the firm features a higher degree of process automation.
Originality/value
Several earlier case studies and a few quantitative studies indicated the potentially positive effect of high-quality information systems in management accounting on management control effectiveness. To the best of the authors‘ knowledge, this study is among the first to deliver quantitative proof of this relationship in the context of German Mittelstand firms. Moreover, the authors add to this literature the moderating effect of process automation in the relationship between information systems quality in management accounting and management control effectiveness.
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Stephan M. Wagner, M. Ramkumar, Gopal Kumar and Tobias Schoenherr
In the aftermath of disasters, humanitarian actors need to coordinate their activities based on accurate information about the disaster site, its surrounding environment, the…
Abstract
Purpose
In the aftermath of disasters, humanitarian actors need to coordinate their activities based on accurate information about the disaster site, its surrounding environment, the victims and survivors and the supply of and demand for relief supplies. In this study, the authors examine the characteristics of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and those of disaster relief operations to achieve information visibility and actor coordination for effective and efficient humanitarian relief operations.
Design/methodology/approach
Building on the contingent resource-based view (CRBV), the authors present a model of task-technology fit (TTF) that explains how the use of RFID can improve visibility and coordination. Survey data were collected from humanitarian practitioners in India, and partial least squares (PLS) analysis was used to analyze the model.
Findings
The characteristics of both RFID technology and disaster relief operations significantly influence TTF, and TTF predicts RFID usage in disaster relief operations, providing visibility and coordination. TTF is also a mediator between the characteristics of RFID technology and disaster relief operations and between visibility and coordination.
Social implications
The many recent humanitarian disasters have demonstrated the critical importance of effective and efficient humanitarian supply chain and logistics strategies and operations in assisting disaster-affected populations. The active and appropriate use of technology, including RFID, can help make disaster response more effective and efficient.
Originality/value
Humanitarian actors value RFID technology because of its ability to improve the visibility and coordination of relief operations. This study brings a new perspective to the benefits of RFID technology and sheds light on its antecedents. The study thus expands the understanding of technology in humanitarian operations.
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Gaurav Kabra and Mayank Dhaundiyal
Numerous prior studies highlight the importance of social media adoption (SMA) in nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the disaster preparedness phase (DPP). However, in India…
Abstract
Purpose
Numerous prior studies highlight the importance of social media adoption (SMA) in nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the disaster preparedness phase (DPP). However, in India, social media is underused by NGOs in their attempts to mitigate the adverse impact of the disaster. Therefore, this study aims to seek to empirically investigate the relationship between factors influencing the SMA in NGOs in the DPP in India.
Design/methodology/approach
The “Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE)” framework, integrated with organizational creativity (OC), forms the theoretical foundation of this study. Data were collected from 266 respondents representing 120 Indian NGOs using a seven-point Likert scale. To test the hypotheses, this study used a variance-based structural equation modeling technique.
Findings
The empirical findings show that relative advantage, organizational readiness (OR), top management support and government support positively influenced the SMA in NGOs during the DPP. However, compatibility and complexity do not affect the SMA. In addition, OC moderates the relationship between OR and SMA in NGOs. These results underscore the need for NGOs to develop an organizational culture that is more forward-thinking and technology oriented.
Originality/value
This study fills an important research gap in the literature by developing a research model designed to improve the SMA in NGOs during the DPP in India. Furthermore, the authors integrated OC into the TOE framework to develop and examine the relationship between factors that impact SMA.
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Gaurav Kabra, Anbanandam Ramesh, Vipul Jain and Pervaiz Akhtar
The humanitarian supply chain (HSC) area is rich with conceptual frameworks with a focus on the importance of information and digital technology (IDT) applications. These…
Abstract
Purpose
The humanitarian supply chain (HSC) area is rich with conceptual frameworks with a focus on the importance of information and digital technology (IDT) applications. These frameworks have a limited scope in investigating and prioritizing barriers to IDT adoption in HSCs. The present study thus identifies and prioritizes the barriers to IDT adoption in organizations involved in HSCs.
Design/methodology/approach
By using a literature review allied with expert discussions and a fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (F-AHP), the study identifies and prioritizes a comprehensive set of barriers that organizations involved in HSCs may consider to improve IDT adoption.
Findings
The study investigates five main barriers (strategic, organizational, technological, financial and human) interlocked with 25 sub-barriers impacting the level of IDT adoption in organizations involved in HSCs. The findings indicate that strategic barriers (SBs) are of greatest importance, followed by organizational, technological, financial and human barriers. The findings indicate the difference in ranking barriers influencing the adoption of IDTs in HSCs compared to the commercial supply chain.
Research limitations/implications
Although a three-step method adopted for this study is rigorous in terms of the way this research is conducted, it is essential to report that prioritization is based on the subjective opinions of the experts.
Practical implications
The findings aim to assist policymakers and practitioners in developing effective strategies to improve IDT adoption in organizations engaged in HSCs. Moreover, the prioritization of barriers provides a systematic way to overcome any barriers to improve HSC performance.
Originality/value
This study is first of its kind that investigates and prioritizes the barriers to IDT adoption in HSCs.
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Biswajit Ghose, Leo Themjung Makan and Kailash Chandra Kabra
The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of carbon productivity on firms' financial performance. Secondly, the study also examines the moderating effect of…
Abstract
Purpose
The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of carbon productivity on firms' financial performance. Secondly, the study also examines the moderating effect of industry types and firm size in the relationship between productivity and firm performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The data used for the study includes 66 listed Indian firms over the period from 2015–2016 to 2019–2020. The data used in the study are collected from the published corporate annual reports and sustainability reports. The study uses a random effect model based on the results of the Hausman test and the Breusch-Pagan test to investigate its objectives.
Findings
Carbon productivity has a favorable impact on firms' financial performance in India, indicating that firms may gain competitive advantages by minimizing carbon emissions and improving carbon productivity. Small and high carbon-intensive firms reap greater benefits from the improvement in carbon productivity compared to their opposite counterparts. However, such differential impact is only observed for the market-based measure but not for the accounting-based measure of financial performance.
Practical implications
The results suggest that high carbon-intensive firms should focus more on improving carbon productivity. Small firms and firms belonging to high carbon-intensive industries can improve their market performance by improving carbon productivity.
Originality/value
This study is a noble attempt to investigate the moderating effect of industry type and firm size while examining the impact of carbon productivity on firm performance in the context of an emerging economy.
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Rupjyoti Saha and Kailash Chandra Kabra
This study aims to examine the influence of some prominent corporate governance (CG) mechanisms such as board size (BS), board independence (BI), role duality (RD), board’s gender…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the influence of some prominent corporate governance (CG) mechanisms such as board size (BS), board independence (BI), role duality (RD), board’s gender diversity (GD), ownership concentration (OC), audit committee independence (ACI), nomination and remuneration committee (NRC) and risk management committee (RMC) on voluntary disclosure (VD), as well as different types of VD after controlling the effect of some firm-specific factors for Indian firms.
Design/methodology/approach
The study selects market capitalization-based top 100 non-financial and non-utility firms listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange as on 31st March 2014. Data are drawn from the Capitaline Plus database over the period of 2014–2018. Appropriate panel data regression model is applied to examine the influence of CG on VD.
Findings
The study reveals a significant negative influence of BI on VD while GD and RMC exhibit a significant positive influence on the same. The remaining CG mechanisms such as BS, RD, OC, ACI and NRC appear to have no significant influence on VD. Analysis into the relationship between CG mechanisms and different types of VD reveals that BI, in particular, has a strong negative influence on corporate strategic disclosure (CSD) and forward looking disclosure (FWLD) while GD and RMC both exhibit a significant positive influence on CSD, FWLD, CG disclosure and financial and capital market disclosure. Notably, none of the CG mechanisms under consideration influence human and intellectual capital disclosure.
Research limitations/implications
The study considers annual reports as the only medium of making VD and ignores all other sources such as websites and press releases. Besides, it mainly emphasizes on corporate board structure, board committees and OC while other ownership structure-related variables family ownership, managerial ownership are not covered, which can be analysed in future studies.
Practical implications
The study offers some important theoretical, as well as practical connotations for regulators and practitioners operating in India, as well as other emerging economies having similar institutional settings.
Originality/value
The study is the first of its kind in India that examines the influence of various CG mechanisms on different types of VD and thereby contributes novel findings in the context of an emerging economy.
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Kabra Preeti and Donepudi Sudha Rani
The earlier methods are more resilient to improvements such as load shift and path change. This results in problems such as a voltage drop and a high reactive flux. In addition…
Abstract
Purpose
The earlier methods are more resilient to improvements such as load shift and path change. This results in problems such as a voltage drop and a high reactive flux. In addition, due to the delay, congestion or interruption of the transmission, the system cannot receive all phasor measurement unit (PMU) measurements at the relevant time as well as the presence of noise in the received data.
Design/methodology/approach
With the development of wide area measurement system technologies, it seems to be possible to track voltage stability online via time-stamped PMUs. As the voltage instability causes a voltage decomposition, voltage instability is one of the most important problems when monitoring the power supply.
Findings
This harmonic distortion significantly decreases the data quality in the grid. As a result, instability ascertainment based on PMU has been suggested as a method for detecting voltage instability in power systems monitored with PMU. In addition, a technique called instability amendment via load dropping has been proposed to keep the device from collapsing due to voltage failure.
Originality/value
To improve the power output, the power prominence melioration technique was developed. This proposed system has been implemented in MATLAB Simulink and compared with the recent researches.
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Shradha Kabra, Sumanjit Dass and Sapna Popli
Reality television is a dynamic, profit-making platform that occupies prime-time slots on the television almost all over the world. Despite its immense popularity and influence…
Abstract
Purpose
Reality television is a dynamic, profit-making platform that occupies prime-time slots on the television almost all over the world. Despite its immense popularity and influence, it has received little attention in the extant literature and almost none in terms of its impact on celebrity repositioning. This study aims at examining the relationship between the film stars as brands and the impact of the platform of reality television in repositioning these celebrities in the Indian context.
Design/methodology/approach
Through extensive literature review and qualitative interviews, the paper expounds that reality television provides an opportunity to celebrities to successfully reposition themselves at crucial junctures in their career. The framework to study this repositioning has been adopted from the work of Chris Simms and Paul Trott (2007) who created it to study the brand repositioning of various consumer goods.
Findings
The literature establishes celebrities as brands. This study provides evidence that brand repositioning through reality television is possible for these celebrity brands. The symbolic and functional repositioning of these celebrities is presented through thematic content analysis.
Research limitations/implications
The study provides a useful framework to understand celebrity brand repositioning through reality TV. It can also be replicated to understand the repositioning of a wide variety of celebrities other than film-stars such as sportspersons, social media influencers and politicians.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the need of expanding the corpus of Indian reality television and explains how Indian celebrities reposition themselves through reality television.
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