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Suppliers and marketers have started planning toward postpandemic scenarios where logistics and retail will happen in a new way with the help of technological advances. This shift means new challenges for manufacturers, suppliers and retailers, and there is a need for strategic sourcing decisions for a robust supply chain system, logistics and on-time delivery system, as consumers have shown a positive change in online buying behavior. Furthermore, with digital transformation, customers are expected to not return to traditional buying. Hence, it becomes essential to identify the factors acting as enablers of online purchase behavior for sustainable digital business. This study aims to analyze the positive shifts in online purchasing by consumers, identify and model the enablers of positive transformations in online purchasing by consumers.

The interpretative structural modeling (ISM) technique is used to draw the interrelationships among the variables and their impact on online buying. A context-oriented relationship among the factors has been set up through the expert opinion technique. A total of 40 specialists have been approached for this. ISM with Matrice d’impacts croisés multiplication appliquée á un classment (MICMAC) analysis was used to prioritize these drivers, identify the most critical factors and establish a driver-dependence relationship among these drivers.

Several significant categories of enablers like health, trust, convenience, work from home, referral buying, panic purchase and overstocking possess a strong influence on the shift to online due to the pandemic. The results will help the policymakers, suppliers, retailers, managers and practitioners with insights to plan, prepare for challenges and make decisions toward preparation and shifting to the emergent digital world. In addition, the study provides academicians scope for further research in the related area.

Consumer behavior significantly impacts retail and supply chain business, as it is an interface with the customer and links between a manufacturer and a customer. This study provides an insight into the shift in purchase behavior which can help suppliers in this transition phase to be better prepared for tomorrow to achieve sustainable competitive advantage.

This study assists practitioners and researchers in understanding the interrelationships among the factors using ISM-MICMAC analysis in a realistic way rather than daydreaming with overambitious goals.

This paper inspects in detail the seasonality (deterministic) in container freight rates, and compares seasonality patterns in different freight rate indices. A deterministic seasonality unit root test is performed to achieve set objectives. This study concludes that all the indices (tested in this paper) exhibit significant deterministic seasonality. For January and August, there is no seasonal effect observed in all five series. At the same time, all the indices except Exports from Europe Rate Index (EEI) exhibit significant seasonal patterns in February, September, and December. All five indices exhibit significant seasonality during May, and the coefficient sign shows a drop in the freight rates. During March, October, and November; it is observed that only EEI exhibit significant seasonal patterns. The results could be beneficial for carriers and agents who are involved in the containerised freight transport business. Also, shippers could get a clear idea about the freight rates' nature across various trade routes.

Food supply chains (FSCs) are fast becoming more and more complex. Sustainability is a necessary strategy in FSCs to meet the environmental, economic and societal requirements. Industry 4.0 (I4.0) applications for a circular economy (CE) will play a significant role in sustainable food supply chains (SFSCs). I4.0 applications can be used in for traceability, tracking, inspection and quality monitoring, environmental monitoring, precision agriculture, farm input optimization, process automation, etc. to improve circularity and sustainability of FSCs. However, the factors integrating I4.0 and CE adoption in SFSC are not yet very well understood. Furthermore, despite such high potential I4.0 adoption is also met with several barriers. The present study identifies and analyzes twelve barriers for the adoption of I4.0 in SFSC from an CE context.

A cause-effect analysis and prominence ranking of the barriers are done using Rough-DEMATEL technique. DEMATEL is a widely used technique that is applied for a structured analysis of a complex problems. The rough variant of DEMATEL helps include the uncertainty and vagueness of decision maker related to the I4.0 technologies.

“Technological immaturity,” “High investment,” “Lack of awareness and customer acceptance” and “technological limitations and lack of eco-innovation” are identified as the most prominent barriers for adoption of I4.0 in SFSC.

Successful mitigation of these barriers will improve the sustainability of FSCs through accelerated adoption of I4.0 solutions. The findings of the study will help managers, practitioners and planners to understand and successfully mitigate these barriers.

This paper aims to examine the squeezing flow of hybrid nanofluid within the two parallel disks. The 50:50% water–ethylene glycol mixture is used as a base fluid to prepare Ag–Fe_3O_4 hybrid nanofluid. Entropy generation analysis is examined by using the second law of thermodynamics, and Darcy’s modal involves estimating the behavior of a porous medium. The influences of Viscous dissipation, Joule heating and thermal radiation in modeling are further exerted into concern.

For converting partial differential systems to ordinary systems, a transformation technique is used. For the validation part, the numerical solution is computed by embracing a fourth-order exactness program (bvp4c) and compared with the analytical solution added by the homotopy analysis method (HAM). Graphical decisions expose the values of miscellaneous-arising parameters on the velocity, temperature and local-Nusselt numbers.

Hybrid nanofluid gives significant enhancement in the rate of heat transfer compared with nanofluid. The outcomes indicate that the average Nusselt number and entropy generation are increasing functions of the magnetic field, porosity and Brinkman number. When the thermal radiation rises, the average Nusselt number diminishes and the entropy generation advances. Furthermore, combining silver and magnetite nanoparticles into the water–ethylene glycol base fluid significantly enhances entropy generation performance.

Entropy generation analysis of the magneto-hydrodynamics (MHD) fluid squeezed between two parallel disks by considering Joule heating, viscous dissipation and thermal radiation for different nanoparticles is addressed. Furthermore, an appropriate agreement is obtained in comparing the numerical results with previously published and analytical results.

In the recent post-pandemic era, the globe has been anxious for the sustainable disposal of healthcare waste to protect public health, protect the environment and enhance future preparedness. Developing countries, in particular, have struggled to dispose of healthcare waste (HCW) to eradicate the hazardous effects of medical waste generated during and after the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. Hence the purpose of the research paper is to develop a hybrid decision-making framework to identify various barriers for sustainable disposal of healthcare waste use of Grey-Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (G-DEMATEL) and Analytical Network Process (ANP).

A hybrid framework of Grey-Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (G-DEMATEL) and Analytical Network Process (ANP) has been used to rank barriers and sub-barriers in the disposal of healthcare waste.

The study’s findings suggest that lack of segregation practices, absence of green procurement policy, obsolete technologies and resistance to adopting change management are the topmost causal barriers influencing the remaining barriers. Lack of commitment among healthcare administrations, lack of standard performance measures and resistance to adopting change appear to be the topmost crucial barriers.

The study’s finding enables all stakeholders to prioritize the barriers systematically for better performance and save resources during the process. The policymakers can use the results to design a clear regulatory framework.

The literature has highlighted the factors and their association with the disposal of healthcare waste mainly in isolation. The results are validated against the Grey-Analytical Hierarchy Process (G-AHP) to ensure the robustness of the proposed framework. This paper is one of the preliminary attempts to propose a framework of the interrelationships of the factors that have a direct role in survival for management education.

This study aims to identify service quality dimensions for logistics service providers (LSPs) and to examine their relationships with customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.

Service quality dimensions are identified from vast literature review. Customers who take services from LSPs were surveyed to collect data on basis of developed survey instrument. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) is applied to test the proposed research hypotheses.

The study shows that all the five service quality constructs, i.e. “Operational Quality”, “Resource Quality”, “Information Quality”, “Personnel Contact Quality” and “Customization and Innovation Quality” have direct relationship with customer satisfaction. They also have indirect relationship with customer loyalty, implying the full mediation of customer satisfaction.

The results of the study suggest that the logistics service quality (LSQ) can be measured multi-dimensionally. It provides clear implications to LSPs for improvement of service quality. The present research work is expected to be useful for both, logistics service providers and the customer organizations, which take services from LSPs. LSPs can develop strategies to improve their service quality on basis of findings from this study.

The present research will help in extending the existing literature on service quality in context to LSPs.

This paper aims to investigate the effect of bank monitoring on conditional conservative accounting of Indian listed firms. Drawing on bank monitoring and relationship lending literature, the study hypothesizes that monitoring by a single bank reduces the bank’s demand for conservatism-facilitated control transfers.

The empirical design is composed of three steps. In the first step, using data on Indian firms listed in NSE and BSE for the period 2000–2019, market-based firm-year measure and accrual cash flow-based firm-year measure of conditional conservatism is estimated. In the second step, we test the hypothesis using multivariate panel regression corrected for heteroskedasticity and incorporating firm and year-fixed effects. In the third step, we test for the robustness of the results using Heckman’s correction approach.

Results indicate that firms which are monitored by a single bank tend to be less conservative. Also, the negative association between single bank monitoring and conservatism is stronger when the firm’s debt structure is dominated by bank debt.

The study’s scope does not include analyzing the influence of characteristics of the single banker monitoring the firm. Future research could investigate attributes like ownership of the banker as a possible source of variation in the relationship documented in this study.

Accounting standard-setting boards are now discouraging implementation of conservatism to avoid bias in financial reporting. This paper finds that a strong bank–firm relationship can be a possible substitute for conservatism.

The study sheds new light on the debt structure–conservatism relationship. Bank’s availability of inside information through the transaction account and its impact on lending relationships is established in the literature. However, the literature on the determinants of conservatism has not examined how the benefit enjoyed by the firm’s single banker, possessing all the information in the transaction account can lead to bank’s reduced dependence on financial statements and subsequently reduced accounting conservatism of borrowing firms.

Most of the existing studies in e-governance context have attempted to measure public value of projects in terms of quality of services provided, cost effectiveness of public organizations and extent to which public organizations are able to meet their social objectives. However, it is also important to explore variables influencing public value to pursue for attaining high public value from such projects. This paper aims to attempt to explore such variables based on Situation-Actor-Process (S-A-P) framework. In India, physical presence of citizens is still required at many public centers established for delivering a variety of government services. A citizen at the time of his visit to a public service center faces a situation, deals with different actors and is subjected to a set of processes. At the end of the service cycle, the citizen develops a perception about public value of the e-governance project. The paper aims at exploring the likely influence of “Improved Situation”, “Capability Level of Actors” and “Flexible Process Workflow” on “Public Value” of e-governance projects.

On the basis of a review of literature, variables likely to be influencing public value have been identified in terms of situation, actors and processes. A questionnaire was designed, and a survey conducted to measure public value and S-A-P-related variables in the context of two e-governance projects, namely, Passport Seva Project and Driving License Project in India. Survey data have been analyzed to study the influence of S-A-P-related variables on the public value of e-governance projects. Learning issues have been synthesized in terms of implications for practitioners as well as researchers for enhancing public value of e-governance projects.

The study has revealed that a citizen-centric e-governance project with observed high value of conceptualized S-A-P variables is expected to be characterized by high public value. The analysis has also reflected upon a need for an in-depth study to explore empirically validated linkages between S-A-P variables and public value of e-governance projects.

The paper is based on a pilot study in the context of two citizen-centric e-governance projects. It is required to study more such projects for the purpose of validating the proposed framework and arriving at generalized findings.

The study results are expected to sensitize practitioners to keep in view conceptualized variables related to situation, actors and processes while planning for citizen-centric e-governance projects. This may result in improved situation at the public service centers, better performance of employees and more flexible processes which may further help to increase the public value of such projects.

E-governance projects can perform a vital role in improving public value. In the context of India, a key objective of e-governance projects is to improve the service delivery of citizen-centric projects. The findings of the pilot study, based on the select two citizen-centric e-governance projects in India, reflect upon the likely relationship between public value and S-A-P variables. Thrust on improving situational aspects, as conceptualized in this study, is expected to improve comfort level of citizens while taking benefit of IT enabled services of government organizations. Better capability of actors at public organizations is likely to build trust and confidence among citizens toward these services. Adoption of flexible processes by public organizations is expected to ensure seamless delivery of services to citizens through alternate options. Enhanced delivery of services satisfies the need for improved public value and create positive attitude among society toward public organizations. It contributes to satisfaction level of citizens in terms of saving of time, money and efforts.

A review of literature has revealed a few studies undertaken in recent past with focus on measurement of public value in e-governance context. This paper is based on a novel idea of exploring the likely relationship between conceptualized S-A-P-related variables and public value of citizen-centric e-governance projects. Recommendations based on learning issues are expected to trigger suitable interventions to generate high public value from such projects.

The purpose of the study is to assess the environmental and socio‐economic impacts and risks of climate change through GIS database management system (DBMS) on land use‐informatics and climate‐informatics. The Dabka watershed constitutes a part of the Kosi Basin in the Lesser Himalaya, India in district Nainital has been selected for the case illustration.

Land use‐informatics consists of land use mapping and change diction, i.e. decadal changes and annual changes. Climate‐informatics consists of climate change detection through daily, monthly and annual weather data for a period of 25 years.

The exercise revealed that oak and pine forests have decreased, respectively, by 25 percent (4.48 km²) and 3 percent (0.28 km²) thus bringing a decline of 4.76 km² forest in the watershed during 1990 to 2010. But, due to climate change the mixed forest taking place of oak forest in certain pockets and consequently the mixed forest in the catchment increased by 18 percent (2.3 km²) during the same period which reduced the overall loss of forests in the region but its not eco‐friendly as the oak forest. Barren land increased 1.21 km² (56 percent), riverbed increased 0.78 km² (52 percent) and cultivated land increased about 0.63 km² (3 percent) during the period of 1990 to 2010. Out of the total seven classes of the land use land cover, five classes (i.e. Oak, Pine, Mixed, Barren and Riverbed) are being changed dominantly due to climate change factor and anthropogenic factors plays a supporting role whereas only two classes (scrub land and agricultural land) are being changed dominantly by anthropogenic factors and climate change factors plays a supporting role. Expansion of mixed forest land brought out due to upslope shifting of existing forest species due to climate change factor only because upslope areas getting warmer than past with the rate of 9°C‐12°C/two decades. Consequently, the results concluded that the high rate of land use change accelerating several environmental problems such as high runoff, flash flood, river‐line flood and soil erosion during monsoon season and drought during non‐monsoon period. These environmental problems cause great loss to life and property and poses serious threat to the process of development with have far‐reaching economic and social consequences.

This study generated primary data on land use‐informatics and climate‐informatics to integrate each‐other for impact assessment and mitigation through sustainable land use as constitutes a part of a multidisciplinary project, Department of Science and Technology (D.S.T.) Government of India.

This study aims to attempt to put forward a nuanced conceptual framework to develop a better understanding of the relationship between job crafting and employees’ turnover intention, by bringing in “social exchange theory” perspective and proposing the mediating role of perceived organizational support (POS).

An extant review of literature was undertaken to identify and summarize the relevant findings on the topics of job crafting, POS and turnover intention, which further led to the development of hypotheses and the conceptual framework.

Results indicate that job crafting has a significant relationship with turnover intention with POS as an underpinning variable.

This study generates actionable insights and suggestions for the business leaders and practitioners, which can help them in handling the problem of rising employee turnover in today’s era marked by evolving attitudes and mindsets of the employees, along with the catalytic effects of pandemic and “Great Resignation”. Insights generated in this study for reducing dysfunctional employee turnover would have a stabilizing effect and lead society and business towards sustainable growth.

Insights generated in this study for reducing dysfunctional employee turnover would have a stabilizing effect and lead society and business towards sustainable growth.

This study is original in three ways. Firstly, the study introduces a unique perspective by putting forward a conceptual framework nestled in the social exchange theory. Secondly, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is the first study to examine the role of POS as a mediator in the association between job crafting and turnover intention. Thirdly, by proposing POS as an outcome of job crafting, this study suggests a reciprocal relationship between job crafting and POS.