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The purpose of this study is to investigate potential lenders of legitimacy for business-to-business (B2B) startups as reflected in the willingness of potential customers to do business with startup firms. This study theorizes the role of familiarity with B2B startups, their founding teams and their product offerings in influencing perceptions about legitimacy among potential customers.

Data are collected from key decision-makers involved in B2B procurements in large Indian companies and analyzed using conjoint analysis.

Results suggest that familiarity with product/service offerings from B2B startups is the most salient factor in forming favorable assessments for the venture, followed by the awareness of the startups and their founding teams, in that order.

The research makes several contributions to understanding the legitimacy of B2B startups from the customers’ perspective. The study provides a nuanced view of the factors impinging on legitimacy. The conceptualization of legitimacy as a reflection of willingness to buy (in other words, willingness to do business with) provides a useful lens with which to study the interactions between B2B startups and potential customers.

The strong empirical support the study finds for the predicted relationships in an international context, specifically India, enhances theory development, providing a solid foundation for future knowledge generation around the demand side legitimacy concept.

This paper aims to present the implementation of a multi-layer radiation propagation model in simulations of multi-phase flow and heat transfer, for a dissociating methane hydrate reservoir subjected to microwave heating.

To model the induced heterogeneity due to dissociation of hydrates in the reservoir, a multiple homogeneous layer approach, used in food processes modelling, is suggested. The multi-layer model is incorporated in an in-house, multi-phase, multi-component hydrate dissociation simulator based on the finite volume method. The modified simulator is validated with standard experimental results in the literature and subsequently applied to a hydrate reservoir to study the effect of water content and sand dielectric nature on radiation propagation and hydrate dissociation.

The comparison of the multi-layer model with experimental results show a maximum difference in temperature estimation to be less than 2.5 K. For reservoir scale simulations, three homogeneous layers are observed to be sufficient to model the induced heterogeneity. There is a significant contribution of dielectric properties of sediments and water content of the reservoir in microwave radiation attenuation and overall hydrate dissociation. A high saturation reservoir may not always provide high gas recovery by dissociation of hydrates in the case of microwave heating.

The multi-layer approach to model microwave radiation propagation is introduced and tested for the first time in dissociating hydrate reservoirs. The multi-layer model provides better control over reservoir heterogeneity and interface conditions compared to existing homogeneous models.

The paper aims to test the spectral line-based weighted sum of gray gases (SLW) method in axisymmetric geometries with particles and high temperature gradients.

An SLW model is coupled with Trivic’s mean wavelength approach to estimate the radiative heat fluxes at the wall of an enclosure and to the base wall of the rocket exhaust, thereby subsequently studying the effect of concentration variation of the gases and particles in these cases. Radiative transfer equation is solved using modified discrete ordinates method. Anisotropic scattering is modeled using transport approximation.

Two cases considered show the importance of particle emission and scattering in the rocket plume base heating problems. In cases involving only gases, the concentration of H₂O tends to have more impact on the flux values than any other gas.

A full model of gases with particles in an axially varying temperature field is reported. Such cases are very common in practical applications. The present methodology gives more insight and a firm handle on the problem vis-a-vis other traditional techniques.

This chapter elaborates the concept of Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) and further validates the model for the sustainability of financial innovation using factors of e-payment system, adoption intention, trust and sustainability, and finally derives a model for the sustainability of the financial innovation using SEM. The chapter also presents Sustainability of E-payment System on Customer Perspective (SEPSCP) through segmentation approach.

The dynamic and evolving nature of the market calls for attention to digital platform firms' survival strategies, building agility for persistence in a continuously changing business environment. In India, the government’s adoption of the Digital Policy is one such change in the business environment for the firms that impact almost all sectors. Such policies cause a disruption wherein digital platform firms must be agile and create a strategic response that will endure any changes. The present study attempts to gain insight into the competitive strategies adopted by the digital platform firms of the consumer durables industry in India, which are implemented to facilitate their growth.

The entire study is conducted in two phases. Phase one includes identifying strategies sampled digital platform firms adopted in response to the digitalization policy, and the second phase evaluates the significance of the adopted plans to persist.

While clubbing the 42 strategic responses to a few aggregate dimensions, the study found four types of responses adopted by the digital platform firms in the consumer durable industry to persist in the market. Using a two-step system, the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) approach, the study found that all four dimensions are statistically significant, positively impacting these firms' profitability.

The study contributes to the knowledge base of strategic responses to persist for the incumbent platform firms in a dynamic business environment.

The study answers the pertinent research question of how such strategic decisions may be informed in favor of profitability.

The study aims to analyze factors impacting firms’ success and persistence in a digital platform competition using the structure-conduct-performance (SCP) framework. The study also includes real-life cases that are beneficial to academicians and practitioners to understand and develop strategies for success and persistence during uncertainty.

A literature review to identify the factors that impact success and persistence in a digital platform competition was conducted following Webster and Watson (2002). Findings were integrated into a SCP framework to examine and understand the identified factors’ relational impact.

While analyzing factors under the SCP framework, all factors were divided into three categories: those impacting positively, those impacting negatively and those with ambiguous impact on the success and persistence in digital platform competition. Digital platform firms can exploit the positively impacting factors to increase market share by being distinctive from other digital platform firms and becoming dominant by withstanding competition. On the other hand, negatively impacting factors increase barriers to entry, intensify competition and reduce the distinctiveness of digital platform firms. Lastly, a few factors may have either a positive or a negative impact depending upon the particular characteristics of the firm/industry.

The study opens the scope for future research on empirically testing the developed conceptual framework and relationships by developing propositions to posit the possible impact of these factors on digital platforms’ success and persistence.

The study contributed to the existing literature by using SCP framework to analyze the factors affecting firm’s success and persistence in a digital platform competition. Also, the study has discussed the relational impact of factors rather than their impact in isolation.

The present study examines the fluctuations in Socioeconomic and demographic (SED) factors and the prevalence of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) across clusters of states in India. Further, it attempts to analyze the extent to which the SED determinants can serve as predictive indicators for the prevalence of NCDs.

The study uses three rounds of unit-level National Sample Survey self-reported morbidity data for the analysis. A machine learning model was constructed to predict the prevalence of NCDs based on SED characteristics. In addition, probit regression was adopted to identify the relevant SED variables across the cluster of states that significantly impact disease prevalence.

Overall, the study finds that the disease prevalence can be reasonably predicted with a given set of SED characteristics. Also, it highlights age as the most important factor across a cluster of states in understanding the distribution of disease prevalence, followed by income, education, and marital status. Understanding these variations is essential for policymakers and public health officials to develop targeted strategies that address each state’s unique challenges and opportunities.

The study complements the existing literature on the interplay of SEDs with the prevalence of NCDs across diverse state-level dynamics. Its predictive analysis of NCD distribution through SED factors adds valuable depth to our understanding, making a notable contribution to the field.

This paper aims to estimate the bearing capacity of a surface strip and circular footings lying on layered sand using numerical limit analysis.

Lower and upper bound limit analysis, as well as finite elements and second-order conic programming (SOCP), are used in this analysis. The yield criterion of Mohr-Coulomb is used to model soil behavior. Using this technique, stringent lower and upper bounds on ultimate bearing capacity can be achieved by assuming an associated flow law.

The obtained results indicate that the exact collapse load is typically being bracketed to within 6% about a mean of both the bounds. The obtained results are compared with the existing literature wherever applicable.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no study has used lower and upper bound limit analysis, as well as finite elements and SOCP, to estimate the bearing capacity of a surface strip and circular footings lying on layered sand.

As businesses in a wide range of industries increasingly adopt digital ecosystems, the benefits include opening up new and untapped customer segments and channels, enabling access to new and untapped talent pools and expanding previously unexplored modes of innovation. Ecosystems – defined as digitally enabled networks that enhance value propositions by linking business functions, suppliers, distributors, partners, customers and other stakeholders – are now an engine that drives performance. Multiple studies confirm that value creation and competitive advantage are increasingly tied to organizations’ ability to engage partners and stakeholders. IBM Institute of Business Value’s most recent research has found that revenue growth of ecosystem leaders outpaces others by a five-to-one ratio.

Yet despite these notable successes there is also a dark side to digital ecosystem engagement. Large ecosystems have become a central to business strategy while little attention has been paid to the potential for cyber threats. Increased openness of business operations can result in greater risk.

Security must graduate into a central enabler of business transformation. If businesses do not fundamentally rethink their security equation, ecosystems and the trust on which they are built, which often take years and billions of investment dollars to build, can be squandered in minutes by ever-growing security threats.

Large ecosystems have become a central to business strategy while little attention has been paid to the potential for cyber threats.

Mature, risk-mitigated ecosystems are starting to resemble a mature supply chain, where some risks are precluded by design, some partners are favored based on established trust criteria and remaining risks are explicitly managed transactionally as part of the partner relationship.