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This study aims to investigate and compare the influence of various fiber types (polypropylene, steel and glass) on the workability, mechanical properties, ductility, impact resistance, durability and microscopic properties of geopolymer concrete (GPC) with conventional concrete (CC).

The CC and GPC of M40 grade were incorporated with an optimum 1% of fibers and superplasticizers were added in a ratio of 2% by weight of the geopolymer binder. The slump cone and compaction factor tests were performed to analyze the workability. To evaluate the mechanical performance of GPC, the compressive strength (CS), split tensile strength (STS), flexural strength (FS) and modulus of elasticity (MOE) tests were performed. A falling weight impact test was performed to determine the impact energy (IE) absorbed, the number of blows for initial cracking, the number of blows for complete failure and the ductility aspect.

Fibers and superplasticizers significantly improve GPC properties. The study found that fibers reduce the brittleness of concrete, improving the impact and mechanical strength compared to similar-grade CC. The steel fibers-reinforced GPC has a 15.42% higher CS than CC after three days, showing a faster CS gain. After 28 days, GPC and CC have MOE in the range of 23.9–25.5 GPa and 28.8–30.9 GPa, respectively. The ultimate IE of the GPC with fibers was found to be 5.43% to 21.17% higher than GPC without fibers.

The findings of the study can be used to explore different combinations of raw materials and mix designs to optimize the performance of GPC.

This study aims to measure the research landscape of the solar energy literature published in India during the years 1989–2022, indexed in the Web of Science (WoS) database. The study examines the performance analysis and social network analysis of the literature.

The literature on solar energy published in India and indexed in the WoS between 1989 and 2022 was retrieved using a string of 13 related and synonymous terms as per the Dewey Decimal Classification Scheme and Sears list of Subject Headings. Excluding all other document types, a total of 16,623 journal articles were retrieved. Quantitative and visualization techniques were applied to analyze the data. VOSViewer was used to map the collaborative patterns among different entities.

India has published 16,623 journal articles over 33 years, spanning from 1989 to 2022, with an average annual growth rate of 19.64 and a compound annual growth rate of 16.06. The Department of Science and Technology emerges as the prominent funding agency, while Indian Institute of Delhi (IIT Delhi) is the most productive institute. More than 125 countries collaborate with India in the field, with the USA being the topmost collaborator. Prof. Bhim Singh from IIT Delhi is the most prolific author, while Solar Energy published from the United Kingdom by Elsevier is the most preferred journal.

The study is limited to the WoS’s Core Collection database. Hence, the results cannot be generalized across other databases.

The results of the study will be of extreme importance to the Indian scientific community, policymakers and policy planners, as it may help them in the reorientation of future research directions and the judicious allocation of resources.

The study demonstrates the essentiality of the field by tracking the research progress in the field over time and the importance of collaboration. The study is a valuable tool for identifying trends and assessing the impact of the research.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate accessibility using spatial assessment techniques, wherein it identifies how educational facilities are connected to public transit (PT) in Indian cities. A new accessibility index is formulated for various ranges of distances which is suitable for Indian cities.

This study developed a new method by comparing Euclidean (near) and network distances, uses Google API and other mobile applications for mapping of PT and educational facilities. The study uses built land cover of the city retrieved from Landsat 8 data with a spatial resolution of 30 m.

The study attempts to compare the reach to educational facilities from PT in five different cities of India using descriptive statistics, regression analysis, connectivity and detour indices. The results help in identifying local barriers and network issues that influence accessibility from public transit to educational facilities.

The study is conducted entirely using spatial techniques, and the data used are collected from various government organizations. The results are useful for improving overall accessibility and developing a framework which can be included in urban development policies.

The purpose of this paper is to take a micro-foundational perspective to identify the effective leadership style and employee work behavior in achieving the goals of sustainability. It also aims to identify the mechanism through which leaders influence employees’ performance.

The study draws on existing literature for model creation and proposition development to understand the leadership style and employee behavior that would be effective in achieving sustainability goals.

In achieving the multifaceted goals of sustainability, servant leadership style is effective in mobilizing the resources and implementing the sustainability strategies among stakeholders. By enhancing interpersonal trust and psychological empowerment, servant leaders positively influence the work role behavior of the employees. Furthermore, the work performance of employees helps in achieving sustainable development.

This study draws on the theory of micro-foundations to establish how individual-level factors help in realizing the macro goal of sustainability. It throws light on the growing need to cultivate micro-level leadership skills and employee behaviors to have effective organizational sustainability performance. It is imperative for the organizations to be socially responsible along with achieving the business goals.

This study responds to the call of studying micro-level actions in the context of sustainable development. It extends the current knowledge by developing a causal model linking leadership and employee performance through interpersonal trust and psychological empowerment. Moreover, it presents testable propositions linking interpersonal trust and psychological empowerment.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of foreign capital inflows on economic growth in 15 Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries over the period 2008–2018. Specifically, this paper investigates whether selected foreign capital inflows, namely, foreign debt, foreign aid and foreign direct investments substitute or complement government spending in ECOWAS.

The study adopts the two-step system generalized method of moments (GMM) method of estimation to address the problem of dynamic endogeneity inherent in the relationship.

The result shows that foreign capital inflows into ECOWAS region have not transmitted into economic growth in the region. Further, the findings reveal that foreign capital inflows to ECOWAS have substituted for government spending. The results might be as a result of the high level of corruption in ECOWAS. The results also show that when institutional quality is interacted with foreign capital inflows, the result shows a negative and statistically significant effect on economic growth.

Unlike previous studies which pooled both developed and developing economies together, the authors investigate this relationship in a regional study, using ECOWAS to create a roughly optimum size. In addition, the authors adopt the GMM-system method of estimation to address the problem of dynamic endogeneity inherent in the relationship, which has largely been ignored in extant studies.

The learning outcomes are as follows: identify and evaluate the impact of risk factors for health-care organizations during crisis; evaluate the role of different organizational factors in building resilient health-care organizations; define organizational resilience in a health-care context; and apply the effect-strategy-impact resilience framework.

September 2022 found Ranjan Thakur, the Hospital Director at Manipal Hospital, Jaipur (MHJ) reflecting on MHJ’s resilience toward future health-care crises. MHJ was established in the capital city Jaipur of the Indian state of Rajasthan in 2014, as a 225-bed multispecialty unit of the nationally renowned Manipal Health Enterprises Ltd. As the Hospital Director, Thakur had been responsible for navigating his team and the hospital through the multiple health-care related challenges exacerbated by the multiple waves of the Covid-19 pandemic in a large Indian state with a sizable rural and semiurban population. Though Thakur and his team of doctors had worked through the vulnerabilities of their health-care ecosystem, mapping the risks and mitigating the same, Thakur asked himself if they had done enough. He wondered how a health-care institution such as theirs could sustain effective health-care delivery during future crises situations to deliver high-quality health care to the vulnerable communities. Had they effectively mapped MHJ’s vulnerabilities and built resilience into the hospital’s functioning? The backdrop of the case is public health in the state of Rajasthan (Jaipur), and the case is rich in detailing social factors such as behavior issues of patients, doctors and nurses; operational factors such as standardization of treatment and standard operating procedures, availability of resources, clinical concerns; leadership and management of the hospital through the pandemic. This case can be used by instructors to teach organizational resilience building in the health-care context.

Graduate- and executive-level courses in managing change during crisis in health-care context; health-care management/leadership.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 7: Management Science.

After completion of this case, students will be able to: define and understand the external and internal components of the strategic management process; define and explain various alternative strategies that help companies create a sustainable competitive advantage; understand and explain the five main choices of entry mode that are available to organisations when considering entry into a foreign market, suggest an entry mode that is relevant to Standard Bank and explain the pros and cons of each entry mode; and understand how a company can offer or phase in its service offerings.

This case situates Sola David-Borha, CEO for the Africa Region at the Standard Bank Group, in April 2018, considering whether and how to expand into personal and business banking in Cote d’Ivoire – a country that Standard Bank had just re-entered, having exited there in 2003 because of the civil war. The bank has operations in 20 sub-Saharan African countries and its growth strategy is focussed on Africa. This strategy is reflected in its slogan: “Africa is our home. We drive her growth”. David-Borha has a number of questions on her mind. These include: can the bank offer financial services that will meet the needs of the Ivorian people, how can the bank expand into personal a business banking – indeed is rapid expansion into this sector the right decision for now?

Advanced/graduate courses in strategic management and international business.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

CSS 5: International business.

The study enables students to critique the internationalisation strategy of an African business including elements of macroeconomic analysis, company fit with jurisdictions, non-market strategies and mode of entry.

Roland van Wijnen was the chief executive officer of Pretoria Portland Cement Company Limited (PPC), a 130-year-old cement maker based in South Africa. He joined after the business had embarked on an international expansion strategy that had taken the business to countries of Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia in a matter of years. This expansion caused the deflation of the Johannesburg-listed company’s share price. The company failed to appreciate a number of success factors in each jurisdiction. The challenges included cultural misalignments, macroeconomic analysis and mode of market entry. The case dilemma involved the choices that van Wijnen faced in re-evaluating the international footprint of the business.

Undergraduate or postgraduate level.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 5: International business.