Niraj Kumar and Subhajyoti Ray
The purpose of this paper is to examine the consumption patterns and attitudes towards soft drinks among Indian youth.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the consumption patterns and attitudes towards soft drinks among Indian youth.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire was used to investigate consumption patterns, attitudes, and socio-demographic profiles of college-attending respondents between the ages of 18 and 30. Cluster analysis and factor analysis were undertaken to obtain a better understanding of the attitudes among young consumers towards soft drinks. A logistic regression model was used as a predictor to distinguish between frequent and non-frequent soft drink consumers.
Findings
Indian youths preferred diet drinks and fruit juices more than regular soft drinks. Soft drinks were mostly consumed as distinct drinks (not as substitutes) and on specific occasions. Easy availability of soft drinks at the locations closure to consumers was a critical factor in determining consumers’ purchase and consumption level. Attitude towards the utility and nutritional dimensions of soft drinks had a positive and significant influence on the frequency of consumption.
Practical implications
To remain competitive, soft drinks’ companies need to focus more on healthy products and those that are refreshing and relaxing.
Social implications
Regulating the availability of soft drinks in and around educational institutions will affect consumption of soft drinks and reduce diseases.
Originality/value
Only a few studies investigating consumption patterns and attitudes among Indian youth towards soft drinks. This study attempts to fill the gap.
Details
Keywords
Although accountability has been one of the founding pillars of public services, many countries face situations of lack of accountability of service providers. The purpose of this…
Abstract
Purpose
Although accountability has been one of the founding pillars of public services, many countries face situations of lack of accountability of service providers. The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework for accountability in public services by strengthening traditional accountability relationships among citizens, political authority and service provider, with the use of information and communication technology (ICT).
Design/methodology/approach
The research analyses a case of public grievance redressal system in India that is entirely facilitated by ICT. It documents the key processes followed by the system and also examines the performance of the system using quantitative data.
Findings
The research identifies key technical and business characteristics of ICT applications that are intended to improve accountability. The traditional accountability relationship is then placed within an ICT framework to suggest how accountability can be reinforced in public services.
Research limitations/implications
The framework is based on analysis of single case and therefore cannot be claimed to be comprehensive.
Practical implications
The framework provides an analytical tool for e‐Government practitioners to design ICT interventions for accountability.
Originality/value
Many mechanisms of enforcing accountability have been tried out by developing countries in the past but with little sustainable success. This paper proposes a different method of addressing the problem of poor accountability in public services by highlighting the role of ICT.
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Erpeng Wang, Zhifeng Gao and Xuqi Chen
The purpose of this paper is to determine important attributes of processed food, consumers’ trust in different information resources, and the impact of trust, demographic and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine important attributes of processed food, consumers’ trust in different information resources, and the impact of trust, demographic and behavior variables on the preference of processed food attributes among Chinese consumers.
Design/methodology/approach
Data of 1,267 participants were collected from four cities in China. A five-point Likert scale was used to measure consumer preference for 12 juice attributes. Consumer trust in nine sources of information on product quality was measured. Cluster analysis was used to segment consumers into groups based on their preference for juice attributes and trust in information sources, respectively. A multinomial logistic model was used to determine the impact of trust, demographic and behavior variables on the preference of juice attributes.
Findings
Consumers rate manufacture date, taste and food safety labels as the most important attributes of fruit juice products. Among different information sources, consumers place more trust in private information sources and traditional media. The low trust in different information sources impedes consumer preference for processed food quality attributes.
Originality/value
This research is among the few that examine consumer preference for processed food, such as juice. It identifies four distinct preference groups and trust groups, respectively, based on consumer preference for juice attributes and trust in different information sources. This paper provides important information for processed food companies and policymakers to effectively enact marketing strategies in China.
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Keywords
Balan Sundarakani, Rukshanda Kamran, Piyush Maheshwari and Vipul Jain
Supply chain is the area that requires effective and integrated means of communication, shared risk, collaboration and orchestration in order to work successfully and the cloud…
Abstract
Purpose
Supply chain is the area that requires effective and integrated means of communication, shared risk, collaboration and orchestration in order to work successfully and the cloud computing has lot to offer to this domain. Cloud computing has appeared as a modern paradigm in supply chain networks for creating intelligent industries of future. The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework that can transform supply chain stakeholders toward Industry 4.0.
Design/methodology/approach
Cloud computing is attributed with increasing competitiveness by focusing on cost reduction, greater elasticity, flexibility and maximum utilization of resources which results in successfully achieving business goals. This paper proposes a Hybrid Supply Chain Cloud model, which integrates the infrastructure, the resources and the configurations of platforms.
Findings
This research paper is aimed at proposing a hybrid cloud that essentially helps in integrating the supply chain network with the flexibility and efficiency. It is important that a supply chain network adds value to ensure customer satisfaction and this can be best achieved by collaborating it with hybrid cloud.
Research limitations/implications
This research provides a consistent central management and comprehensive view of all computing resources, which gives organizations the knowledge they need to optimize workload placement.
Practical implications
The findings derived from this research aim to facilitate policy makers and practitioners to develop effective courses of action in current and future supply chain management. Therefore, upon implementation, this model can provide long-term benefits for the organizations by improving the overall efficiency of its supply chain network.
Originality/value
The proposed hybrid cloud will provide deep level of integration in Industry 4.0 situation and thereby brought up portable comprehensive infrastructure based on resources and required configuration in real-time environment.