Abhinav Srivastava, Srabanti Mukherjee, Biplab Datta and Tanmoy Bag
This study aims to investigate the impact of conspicuous consumption on the subjective well-being (SWB) of Indian bottom of the pyramid (BOP) consumers.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the impact of conspicuous consumption on the subjective well-being (SWB) of Indian bottom of the pyramid (BOP) consumers.
Design/methodology/approach
This study followed a qualitative phenomenological approach. Focus group discussions were conducted with 72 Indian BOP consumers. Thematic analysis resulted in 21 categories and 9 themes.
Findings
This study revealed three distinct categories of consequences related to the effects of conspicuous consumption on SWB at the BOP. Conspicuous consumption can either enhance or diminish the BOP consumers’ SWB and sometimes even simultaneously have constructive and adverse effects (a double-edged sword). This study presents a conceptual model examining the consequences of conspicuous consumption at the BOP through the lenses of social comparison and compensatory consumption theories.
Originality/value
The literature has classified the consequences of conspicuous consumption at the BOP as constructive or adverse effects. This study reveals that conspicuous consumption at the BOP can be a double-edged sword. This study indicates that social comparison drives compensatory consumption at the BOP, which impacts the SWB of BOP consumers. Such an amalgamation of the theories of conspicuous consumption, social comparison and compensatory consumption is the unique contribution of this research. The implications for practice and policy are discussed.
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Srabanti Mukherjee, Abhinav Srivastava, Biplab Datta and Subhojit Sengupta
This article aims to examine political marketing strategies adopted by the politicians operating in base of the pyramid (BOP) areas and their impact on the BOP voters using the…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to examine political marketing strategies adopted by the politicians operating in base of the pyramid (BOP) areas and their impact on the BOP voters using the tenets of the social influence theory.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors resorted to a qualitative phenomenological inquiry for this study. The responses obtained from two qualitative studies were subjected to thematic analysis. Two thematic maps were integrated into a conceptual model.
Findings
Study 1 indicates that the politicians operating at the BOP resort to vote-bank segmentation, clientelism, mobilizing opinion leaders, short guerilla war against opposition and communication bombarding. Study 2 has elaborated on how poor voters perceive these strategies and form their opinions towards the party/candidate.
Social implications
The findings of this study highlight the need for essential policy formulation to protect BOP consumers from deceptive political tactics.
Originality/value
This study develops a model of the effectiveness of voting strategies at the BOP. It also contributes to the literature on social influence theory by indicating how the three social influence processes (compliance, identification and internalization) result in different ways of accepting political influence.
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Abhinav Srivastava and Park Thaichon
This study conducts a systematic literature review to synthesize the extant literature primarily on “online shopping consumer behavior” and to gain insight into “What drives…
Abstract
Purpose
This study conducts a systematic literature review to synthesize the extant literature primarily on “online shopping consumer behavior” and to gain insight into “What drives consumers toward online shopping”.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors followed guidelines for systematic literature reviews with stringent inclusion and exclusion criteria. The review is based on 79 research papers published from 2000 to 2020 in 21 reputed peer-reviewed international journals. The papers were analyzed and synthesized based on their defining characteristics, methodologies, major constructs and themes addressed.
Findings
The literature synthesis indicated that consumers have to make a trade-off between 11 perceived benefits and six perceived sacrifices to improve their net perceived value before making the final decision to adopt online shopping. It is important to decode these factors as they could improve both the functional and recreational value of the shopping experience for online consumers, resulting in an improvement in conversion rates from a prospect to the final purchase at e-stores. This could improve turnover as well as profits for the e-tailers.
Originality/value
This study pioneers to consolidate these factors through the lens of the value adoption model. This study also suggests insightful directions for further research perspectives in the online context from both consumers' and retailers' perspectives.
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Kamlesh Kumar Maurya, Manisha Agarwal and Dhirendra Kumar Srivastava
This paper aims to examine the effect of perceived work–life balance on the perceived level of employer branding attraction valueand organizational talent management. Accordingly…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the effect of perceived work–life balance on the perceived level of employer branding attraction valueand organizational talent management. Accordingly, the structural model is developed that delineates the interactions among these and explores the mediating effect of employer branding attraction value between the relationship of work–life balance and organizational talent management.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on survey results and review of literature in terms of their implications for the proposed framework. Data have been collected by convenience incidental sampling from middle-level executives working in different information and technology (IT) companies. The model and posited hypotheses were tested through structural equation modeling analysis.
Findings
Perceived work–life balance was found to be positive and significantly predicted the employer branding attraction value and organizational talent management. The study also showed that there exists a significant and positive correlation between employer branding attraction value and perceived organizational talent management. Further, employer branding attraction value found to be a mediating construct between the relationship of work–life balance and organizational talent management.
Research limitations/implications
The present study will add insight into the human resource practitioners to design cost-effective and prolonged popular practices in order to meet the employees work and personal expectations under the organizational association. The research investigated issue within focused IT sector employees to understand and solve the issues generated with changing factors in an organizational environment such as increasing women participation, duel earning couple, and maintaining the difference between various categories of employees at the practice level.
Social implications
The study has value at both the scholarly and practice level. At a scholarly level, the research investigated an important contemporary issue at both level individual as well as organizational level. In practice if organization implements people friendly work-life balance policies, then this will be surely be helpful in organizational productivity in form of talent management and employer branding and further this will improve the personal and professional performance of most elementary component of developing society.
Originality/value
Work–life balance much more depends upon employees' perception, but so far the study has neglected the impact of this perception on other organizational attributes maintained under human resource management. Changes in demographic characteristics and interchangeable role of the youth population in organizations and society as well thrive for the newer approach to deal with the personal and professional aspects of the employees.
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Career management research and literature has been slow to respond to the rise of the gig economy. Perhaps in part due to the temporal, flexible and shifting nature of the gig…
Abstract
Career management research and literature has been slow to respond to the rise of the gig economy. Perhaps in part due to the temporal, flexible and shifting nature of the gig economy, there could be an assumption that the boundaryless and protean career management models that have dominated careers thinking for nearly 30 years retain and extend their applicability. However, whilst there is clear resonance with discourses such as boundaryless, portfolio and protean careers within the gig economy, this chapter will argue these models cannot adequately address female career management experiences. Through a feminist poststructuralist and intersectional lens, the concept of the frayed career is advocated as a more useful approach for understanding the impact of gender and intersecting subject positions on career management experiences. With growing numbers of women employed in the gig economy and in addressing calls for a greater focus on gender and intersecting identities on the experiences of gig work, this chapter analyses the role of gender, ethnicity and class and career management outcomes in the gig economy amongst Human Resources professionals. The frayed career concept is used to demonstrate how gig work can be incorporated into the rhythmicity of a career and how shifting intersectional positions can reveal alternative discourses of privilege and precarity from the otherwise assumed position of multiple disadvantage. In doing so there is an opportunity to reflect on appropriate career management guidance for women in the gig economy beyond the dichotomous positions of privilege or disadvantage and career solutions based on Westernised linear career ideals.
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C. Ganeshkumar, Arokiaraj David and D. Raja Jebasingh
The objective of this research work is to study the artificial intelligence (AI)-based product benefits and problems of the agritech industry. The research variables were…
Abstract
The objective of this research work is to study the artificial intelligence (AI)-based product benefits and problems of the agritech industry. The research variables were developed from the existing review of literature connecting to AI-based benefits and problems, and 90 samples of primary data from agritech industry managers were gathered using a survey of a well-structured research questionnaire. The statistical package of IBM-SPSS 21 was utilized to analyze the data using the statistical techniques of descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. Results show that better information for faster decision-making has been ranked as the topmost AI benefit. This implies that the executives of agritech units have a concern about the quality of decisions they make and resistance to change from employees and internal culture has been ranked as the topmost AI problem.
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Chitra Singla, Shridhar Sethuram and Sanjay Kumar Jena
The case on Moodcafe captures the journey of the start-up and its entrepreneurs from the beginning till the fund-raising stage. The case brings forth critical decisions that each…
Abstract
The case on Moodcafe captures the journey of the start-up and its entrepreneurs from the beginning till the fund-raising stage. The case brings forth critical decisions that each entrepreneur or the team of co-founders have to address during their start-up journey. This short case gives opportunity to delve into two aspects mainly a) As a founder, which investor should one choose for seeking funds and what should be the terms and conditions of investment? and b) How can one review and assess the business model of a start-up?
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Abhinav Shard, Mohinder Pal Garg and Vishal Gupta
The purpose of this study is to explore the machining characteristics of electrical discharge machining (EDM) when a tool is fabricated using powder metallurgy. Because pure Cu…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the machining characteristics of electrical discharge machining (EDM) when a tool is fabricated using powder metallurgy. Because pure Cu tools obtained using conventional machining pose problems of high tool wear rate, tool oxidation causes loss of characteristics in tool shape.
Design/methodology/approach
The research investigation carried out experiments planned through Taguchi’s robust design of experiments and used analysis of variance (ANOVA) to carry out statistical analysis.
Findings
It has been found that copper and chromium electrodes give less metal removal rate as compared to the pure Cu tool. Analytical outcomes of ANOVA demonstrated that MRR is notably affected by the variable’s polarity, peak current, pulse on time and electrode type in the machining of EN9 steel with EDM, whereas the variables pulse on time, gap voltage and electrode type have a significant influence on EWR. Furthermore, the process also showed that the use of powder metallurgy tool effectively reduces the value of SR of the machined surface as well as the tool wear rate. The investigation exhibited the possibility of the use of powder metallurgy electrodes to upgrade the machining efficiency of EDM process.
Research limitations/implications
There is no major limitation or implication of this study. However, the composition of the powders used in powder metallurgy for the fabrication of tools needs to be precisely controlled with careful control of process variables during subsequent fabrication of electrodes.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that investigates the effectiveness of copper and chromium electrodes/tools fabricated by means of powder metallurgy in EDM of EN9 steel. The effectiveness of the tool is assessed in terms of productivity, as well as accuracy measures of MRR and surface roughness of the components in EDM machining.
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Subhash Yaragal, Chethan Kumar B. and Manoj Uddavolu Abhinav
To reduce environmental impact caused by excessive use of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) and to mitigate scarcity of base materials such as natural coarse aggregate (NCA)…
Abstract
Purpose
To reduce environmental impact caused by excessive use of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) and to mitigate scarcity of base materials such as natural coarse aggregate (NCA), industrial by-products can be carefully used as alternatives to OPC and NCA, in production of concrete. This paper aims to describe the performance of using ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS), fly ash (FA) as a complete replacement to OPC and ferrochrome slag (FCS) as replacement to NCA in production of novel FCS based alkali activated slag/fly ash concretes (AASFC) and evaluate their performance at elevated temperatures.
Design/methodology/approach
Two control factors with three levels each i.e. FA (0, 25 and 50 per cent by weight) and FCS (0, 50 and 100 per cent by volume) as a GGBS and NCA replacement, respectively, were adopted in AASFC mixtures. Further, AASFC mixture specimens were subjected to different levels of elevated temperature, i.e. 200°C, 400°C, 600°C and 800°C. Compressive strength and residual compressive strength were considered as responses. Three different optimization techniques i.e. gray relational analysis, technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution and Desirability function approach were used to optimize AASFC mixtures subjected to elevated temperatures.
Findings
As FA replacement increases in FCS based AASFC mixtures, workability increases and compressive strength decreases. The introduction of FCS as replacement to NCA in AASFC mixture did not show any significant change in compressive strength under ambient condition. AASFC produced with 75 per cent GGBS, 25 per cent FA and 100 per cent FCS was found to have excellent elevated temperature enduring properties among all other AASFC mixtures studied.
Originality/value
Although several studies are available on using GGBS, FA and FCS in production of OPC-based concretes, present study reports the performance of novel FCS based AASFC mixtures subjected to elevated temperatures. Further, GGBS, FA and FCS used in the present investigation significantly reduces CO2 emission and environmental degradation associated with OPC production and NCA extraction, respectively.