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This study aims to delve into the intricate world of small retailers in India, seeking to understand the impediments/barriers they encounter when trying to embrace online-to-offline (O2O) platforms. It also investigates the potential impact of the digital ecosystem in moderating these barriers.

Data from 426 Indian retailers was collected, and structural equation modelling was used to validate the conceptual framework.

The findings highlight the importance of addressing distrust and technological anxiety as key barriers to O2O platform adoption. Psychological risk, low-tech orientation, privacy risk, financial risk and social risk were also identified as barriers. Interestingly, performance risk and infrastructure were found to be insignificant in this study. The study indicates that the digital ecosystem does moderate the relationship between psychological risk, performance risk, distrust and technological anxiety with attitude.

This research holds significant implications for technology adoption, retail management and aggregator platform development in developing nations, notably India. This research draws upon a conceptual framework to deepen the understanding of the O2O technology platform by providing an all-inclusive overview.

This study breaks new ground by investigating the distinctive obstacles to O2O adoption faced by small retailers in India. By validating the digital ecosystem’s moderating effect, this research yields insights that are context-specific and particularly relevant to the Indian retail landscape. Valuable guidance is offered for researchers, practitioners and policymakers navigating O2O strategy implementation in emerging markets.

The purpose of this study is to compare the inhibitive effect of polyaniline (PAni) and N-cetyl-N,N,N trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB)-stabilized PAni in a hydrochloric acid (HCl) medium.

PAni has been deposited potentiodynamically on mild steel in the presence of CTAB as a stabilizing agent to achieve high corrosion inhibition performance by the polymer deposition. The corrosion inhibition studies of CTAB-stabilized PAni inhibitor in 0.1 M HCl acidic solution was carried out by electrochemical methods, namely, open-circuit potential, potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy technique.

The results of electrochemical studies have shown that the CTAB-stabilized PAni inhibitor has higher corrosion efficiency than PAni on mild steel in 0.1 M HCl solution. The maximum per cent efficiency evaluated using the potentiodynamic polarization method is approximately 91.9.

CTAB-stabilized PAni has never been studied as a corrosion inhibitor for mild steel in an acidic medium. The investigations demonstrate relatively the better corrosion inhibition efficiency and high dispersion of the polymer in the acidic medium.

After completion of the case study, students will be able to analyse the path of the entrepreneurship from idea generation to market development to scaling up business, examine the impact of start-ups like Ergos on India’s agriculture value chain, discuss the challenges faced by tech entrepreneurs in growing a business, identify problems solved by Grain Bank Model and evaluate digitisation of farming’s custodial services such as warehousing, market linkages and loans.

The case study discusses how founders of Ergos, India-based leading digital AgriTech start-up, Kishor Kumar Jha and Praveen Kumar, started one of the unique models in the AgriTech landscape in India. After noticing the grim condition of small and marginal farmers in Bihar, India. Kishor and Praveen decided to put their banking and corporate experience to use in the farming sector. Ergos aimed to empower farmers by providing them with a choice on when, how much quantity, and at what price they should sell their farm produce, thus maximising their income. As a result, Ergos launched the grain bank model, which provided farmers with doorstep access of end-to-end post-harvest supply chain solutions by leveraging a robust technology platform to ensure seamless service delivery. Ergos faced many challenges in its journey related to financing, marketing and distribution. Amidst these developments, it remained to be seen how Kishor and Praveen would be able to realise their goal to serve over two million farmers across India by 2025 and create a sustainable income for them through its GrainBank Platform.

This case study was written for use in teaching graduate and postgraduate management courses in entrepreneurship and business strategy.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship