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The purpose of the study is to identify the factors affecting the entrepreneur's choice of the dairy value chain and evaluate the impact of the value chain on farm performance (profit).

Primary data were collected from dairy entrepreneurs in India, covering nine states. A multinomial treatment effect model (controlling for selection bias and endogeneity) was used to evaluate the impact of the choice of the value chain on entrepreneurs' profit.

Dairy entrepreneurs operating in any recognized value chain other than the value chain driven by the consumer household realize a comparatively lesser profit. Dairy farmers have established direct linkages with customers in urban areas – who could pay premium prices for safe and quality milk. Food safety compliance is positively associated with profit and entrepreneurs (who have undergone formal training in dairying) preferred partnerships with a formal value chain. The prospects of starting a dairy enterprise are slightly higher in villages compared to urban areas.

Dairy entrepreneurs can make a shift in accordance with the study's findings and boost their profitability. It aids in comprehending how trainees (who obtained advice and training for raising dairy animals from R&D organizations) and non-trainee dairy farmers make value chain selections, which ultimately affect profitability. However, purposive sampling and a small sample size limit the universal implications of the study.

Developing entrepreneurial behavior and startup culture is at the center of policymaking in India. The findings imply that the emerging value chain not only enhances the profit of dairy farmers by resolving consumer concerns about food safety and the quality of milk and milk products but also builds consumer trust.

This paper offers insight into how the benefits of dairy entrepreneurs vary with their participation in the different value chains. The impact of skill development/training programs on value chain selection and farm profitability has not yet been fully understood. Here is an attempt to fill this gap. This paper through light on how trained and educated dairy entrepreneurs are able to establish a territorial market by approaching premium customers – this is an addition to the existing literature.

From the socioemotional wealth (SEW) perspective, family firms prioritize non-financial goals and show risk averse behaviour towards conducting acquisitions. In this paper, we study family firms' acquisitive behaviour while participating in CBA waves. Scholars have largely treated the cross border acquisition (CBA) wave and non-wave environments as homogeneous. We theorize that these two environments differ in their uncertainty and risk profiles on account of temporal clustering of acquisition deals. Accordingly, based on the SEW perspective, we examine the preference of family firms to participate in CBA waves.

The paper is based on CBAs conducted by Indian family firms between 2000 and 2018. These waves are identified by conducting a simulation based methodology.

Our findings suggest that foreign institutional ownership, firm age and acquisition relatedness moderate the relationship between family control and participation in CBA waves.

Our paper contributes towards the acquisitive behavior of family firms and their participation in CBA waves.

The Indian power sector is dominated by coal. Environmental awareness and advances in techno-economic front have led to a slow but steady shift towards greener alternatives. The distributions of both fossil fuel resources and renewable energy potential are not uniform across the states. Paper attempts to answer how the states are performing in the sector and how the renewable energy and conventional resources are affecting the dynamics.

The authors employ a two-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) to rank the performance of Indian states in the power sector. Multi-stage analysis opens up the DEA black-box through disaggregating power sector in two logical sub-sectors. The performance is evaluated from the point-of-view of policy formulating and implementing agencies. Further, an econometric analysis using seemingly unrelated regression equations (SURE) is conducted to estimate the determinants of total and industrial per-capita electricity consumption.

Efficiency scores obtained from the first phase of analysis happens to be a significant explanatory variable for power consumption. The growth in electricity consumption, which is necessary for economic wellbeing, is positively affected by both renewable and non-renewable sources; but conventional sources have a larger impact on per-capita consumption. Yet, the share of renewables in the energy mix has positive elasticity. Hence, the findings are encouraging, because development in storage technologies, falling costs and policy interventions are poised to give further impetus to renewable sources.

The study is one of the very few where entire spectrum of the Indian power sector is evaluated from efficiency perspective. Further, the second phase analysis gives additional relevant insights on the sector.

This study examines the ethical and social consequences of the accelerated adoption of new technologies. An empirical approach is employed to explore the impacts of rapid technological integration on societal norms, ethical considerations, and individual behaviours. Responses from 305 participants are analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), focusing on perceived usefulness, ease of use, relative advantage, personal innovativeness, and fear of missing out (FOMO). The findings unveil intricate interactions between technological advancements and ethical–social dynamics, underscoring challenges and opportunities. This study offers critical insights for policymakers, technology developers, and society at large, aiming to encourage a more ethically informed and socially conscious approach to technology adoption.

The competitive rivalry, rapid change and high business volatility necessitate inter-organizational collaboration, including the supply chain (SC). This paper develops an interpretive model of the effect of the chief executive officers’ (CEO's) transformational leadership (TL) style on SC collaboration and, consequently, on the firm's performance.

Total interpretive structural modeling (TISM) is adopted to develop a hierarchical model to delineate the association between the elements of TL, SC collaboration and firm performance. Furthermore, the model has been validated statistically.

The TISM analysis results suggest that the TL style elements require maximum attention and are strategic. These elements drive factors of SC collaboration leading to improved firm performance. Therefore, CEO leadership is critical for SC collaboration to effectively affect firm performance.

The TISM framework in this paper preferred the majority approach over the fuzzy one, which requires a much larger data set. However, the bias of the majority approach can be eliminated by having multiple consultations with participants. Further, the development and validation of the paper was limited to manufacturing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in India. The model can also be tested in large organizations to garner additional insights.

This study uniquely integrates TL and SC collaboration elements to explain firm performance. The TISM framework explains not only the “what” and “how” but also the “why” of theory building. This study also adds methodological value by combining triangulation with the interpretive tool.

The dynamic business environment and intense competition have mandated agility in operations for manufacturing firms. Effective inter-organizational collaboration can make operations more agile. This paper develops an interpretive model to explore the effect of supply chain collaboration (SCC) on supply chain agility (SCA) and, subsequently, on business performance.

A hierarchical model that illustrates the relationship between SCC, SCA and firm performance components is developed using total interpretative structural modeling (TISM). Also, statistical validation of the model has been performed.

The results indicate that the vision and alertness of the firm on the strategic front promote collaboration between supply chain partners. This creates operational agility, helping the firm to absorb fluctuations in demand, thereby enhancing business performance.

The opinion of most respondents was considered to develop the TISM framework over the fuzzy one, which necessitates a significantly more extensive data set. However, multiple discussions with participants can eliminate the prejudice of the majority approach. Also, the paper's development and validation were restricted to Indian manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The model can potentially be evaluated in large organizations to provide further insights.

The study blends the factors of SCC and SCA in a novel way to explain their combined impact on business performance. The TISM model addresses the “why” of theory development in addition to the “what” and “how” of it. Using triangulation in combination with the interpretative tool, this study additionally offers methodological value.

This paper explores growth opportunities for a contract manufacturer (CM), which operates a global virtual manufacturing network (GVMN). The Swiss factory should play a profitable role in the holding's competitive strategy, in spite of lower-cost alternatives within its network.

The study applied a design science method over a period of two years of collaboration with the partner firm to complete three iterations of solution incubation and refinement.

The design artefact is a growth strategy for a CM with independently-managed, heterogeneous sites. A novel capability mapping tool reveals competitive advantage by deploying the GVMN as an order fulfilment system. Engineering and sales are integrated with production to project higher revenue streams in multiple locations including Switzerland.

The research expands the operations management (OM) focus on optimization and continuous improvement. Results indicate that local and global manufacturing capabilities can be configured to target network performance, implying that the smile curve flattens in certain GVMN configurations. The exploratory case study is limited by a lack of statistical generalizability and is specific to the contract electronics manufacturing industry.

Managing manufacturing as a network can restore feed-forward and feedback loops, which are disrupted by de-verticalization and externalization. The visualization positions a Swiss plant in an inimitable role, serving growth accounts, which require co-development. The order fulfilment strategy and capability maps can be adapted to other GVMNs.

The study presents an alternative to shuttering high-cost locations using performance improvements instead of protectionist interventions. This could have a material impact on de-industrialization in developed nations like Switzerland.

The strategy innovation originates in practice. Its synthesis drew on multiple disciplines to position OM as a strategic lever for competing in global value chains (GVCs). The author finds alternatives to the internationalization logic of cost arbitrage and adds to developed country studies. This is an OM contribution to the broader debate on globalization dominated by the social sciences.

This chapter draws from bibliometric data and secondary sources to explore the interrelation between sustainable development and organic agricultural practices. The study contends that the adoption of organic farming methods holds the potential to address multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), thereby contributing to the well-being of all living organisms. The analysis of current trends in organic agriculture research has revealed prevalent themes pursued by academics. Notably, themes such as biotechnology, biodegradation, soil conversion, soil restoration, environmental sustainability, health, alternative agriculture and community development emerge as significant and burgeoning areas of study within the field. Additionally, other themes have come to the forefront in the findings, including agricultural emissions, cultivation practices, environmental regulations, erosion control, agricultural policy and sustainable agriculture. These themes present vital areas for further investigation and exploration, indicating areas where more research is warranted. This qualitative piece through content analysis provides a deep insight on the fact that organic farming in relation to sustainability is a very under researched area. Researchers and practitioners can explore this area as a tool to achieve the goals of sustainability in diverse dimensions. The study suggests some under-researched areas as future research agendas which include supply chain and distribution management, market development and consumer behaviour in relation to organic farming, investigating and creating novel commercial strategies for organic farming, financial and investment mechanisms in the field of organic farming, technological developments in organic agriculture, analysing rules and regulations to see how they affect the development and sustainability of organic farming and social impact and stakeholder engagement for organic farming as tool to promote sustainability.

The purpose of this study is to use the framework of stakeholder analysis in a participatory democracy, used in forest management planning, for arriving at the best management option for selected sacred groves of Kachchh. This is achieved by accounting for economic, cultural and ecological values and the resulting outcomes in the complex institutional mechanism. Additionally, this study provides a framework for complex decision-making that characterizes the management of sacred groves involving multiple criteria and options accounting for multiple stakeholders that involve conflicting interests.

The analytical hierarchy process was used to calculate the global priorities of management options using the relative importance of stakeholders, weights of different decision criteria to arrive at the best management practice for selected groves of Kachchh. The global priorities of management options rank management practices based on stakeholders' values and their effects on the choice of management strategy as well as on the potential to attain a compromise between competing interests. For this purpose, survey responses of 141 individuals belonging to seven different stakeholder categories were analyzed. Along with focus group discussions, and personal interviews, a stratified random sampling technique was used to survey respondents.

Based on the global priority weights of the alternatives, it is determined that the restoration management option (guggal is restored by planting new guggal sapplings, cattle grazing is prohibited and high levels of ecosystem goods and services are provided) had the highest score, followed by the preservation management option (grazing is allowed on the periphery, juvenile guggal is preserved and moderate ecosystem goods and services are provided). Therefore, restoration of sacred groves is the best management practice of sacred groves in West Kachchh, offering a compromise between maximizing provision of ecosystem services and economic benefits in terms of allowing cattle grazing.

Though there are several studies on best management practices for community-owned forests, irrigation systems, and pasture lands, and the role of local institutions in sustaining these common-pool resources; such studies for sacred groves are absent, despite sacred groves being one of the longest surviving common-pool resources that has sustained it over several decades. This is the first study that uses the framework of stakeholder analysis to arrive at the best management practice for sacred groves. The uniqueness of the study lies in a comprehensive evaluation of ecological–economic–cultural interests of multiple stakeholders toward management of sacred groves.