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Tourism and natural hazards share a long pathway, owing to the fragile existential status of certain tourist destinations and voluntary and involuntary intervention of mankind in the business of natural environment. Over a course of history, numberless natural hazards prevailed and left behind some of the colossal and collateral damage on the physicality and virtuality of destinations. Volume of studies contended this direct and inverse association. Resultantly, impact measurement, ongoing imagery issues and future forecasting have been made to ease out the tourist destination from the consequences of natural hazards. Moreover, considering the inner fabric of tourism system (demand and supply side), natural hazards have been foreseen as unwanted yet necessary event to be emphasized and taken care of. Predominantly, in the existing global milieu of maximum human intervention in the climatic cycle and its outcomes in the form of global warming, climate concerns, natural hazards have been considered as inevitable and destined. Hence, it needs a comprehensive literature-based study to assess the risk factor of natural hazards on the tourist destinations. This study, in acquiescence to address this grey section, intends to explore the existing studies (drafted on the risks impacts of natural hazards on demand, supply and ancillary segments of tourism) and structure the findings thematically and orchestrate these findings in the existing body of literature. Implications from the findings have been presented.

The purpose of this paper is to explore different drivers and volume flexibility strategies employed in manufacturing firms. It also examines contingent factors, which determine volume flexibility requirement in manufacturing firms.

Using a multi-case study approach, the study examines and analyses drivers, strategies and contingent factors that affect volume flexibility in four Indian manufacturing plants belonging to automobiles, auto ancillary, fashion apparel and electrical industry.

The empirical analysis suggests various drivers of volume flexibility and different strategies employed by firms to enhance flexibility. The study also illustrates various contingent factors that determine the need of volume flexibility in firms.

The sample of the study is majorly confined to the northern region of India. Methodologically, the analysis is solely based on the qualitative data.

The study suggests practitioners to consider a range of contingent factors, while evaluating the need of volume flexibility in manufacturing plants. Rather than relying on a single strategy, a mix of strategies should be used to develop volume flexibility in firms.

The identification of a range of strategies employed by volume flexible firms as well as contingent factors that need to be evaluated before employing volume flexibility are the major contributions of this study.

Many insurance companies vigorously pursue top‐line growth, even though it has the potential to develop unprofitably over time. The time lag (or tail) between when insurance is sold and when claims are paid generates risks unique to insurance companies. Furthermore, the insurance market is both mature and efficient (i.e. its level of competitive risk is very high), which means that profitable opportunities are both rare and untenable unless protected by competitive advantage. There is currently no practical measure available (of which the authors are aware) at the business unit level to evaluate insurance premium growth in the face of the industry's risks, impairing executives' ability to assess segment opportunities (and hazards), thus hampering strategic decision making. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a practical measure developed by the authors called Underwriting Return (UWR) which aims at helping to alleviate this situation.

The paper introduces UWR which was developed during the course and scope of the authors' work in the insurance industry, and their research into applying value‐based management to that industry.

The paper finds that UWR is a practical measure that property and casualty executives can use at the business unit level to help quantify market segments to grow, hold, harvest and abandon.

A variety of strategic analysis tools, such as the popular Boston Consulting Group matrix, are utilized today. In general, the application of such tools is hampered by an imprecision of measurement but each can add a level of insight to executives' resource allocation options. UWR can further aid insurance executives in strategic analysis by helping to quantify in which segments to compete, and which ones to abandon. The paper demonstrates the utility of the measure in an example based on an actual analysis.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a methodology for evaluating and comparing supply chain relationships, specifically when, small and medium scale enterprise (SME) is considered as focal company.

The paper proposes a mathematical solution based on interpretive structural modeling and graph theory matrix to determine the supply chain relationship index. The application is demonstrated for the case of Indian automotive SMEs based on the secondary data reported.

Solution determines supply chain buyer‐supplier index for upstream and downstream. Based on which coefficient of similarity and dissimilarity are determined to evaluate the net pool of buyer‐supplier relationship on focal small and medium scale automotive component manufacturing industry.

Developed approach and results will help SMEs in general and Indian automobile component manufacturing SMEs to rethink on their supply chain relationships and identify the reasons behind their present failures and establish the criteria for win‐win partnership.

The paper addresses the following issues: how buyer‐supplier relationships can be quantified and the impact measured for the present working of focal SME; how SMEs can convince upstream and down stream supply chain players to initiate improvement on some dimensions of buyer‐supplier relationships; and on what basis change in relationships (from transactional to alliance) can be made to minimize the supply chain pressure on a focal company.

The main purpose of this research is to construct a generalized set of innovation processes that occur at the ecosystem level based on the academic research. The study analyzes the cultural and creativity-driven over-the-top (OTT) platform that encompasses diverse network of ecosystem members by utilizing the four cooperation practices.

This study begins with the literature review that discusses various topics related to ecosystem (e.g. service innovation, innovative ecosystem). Then, this study introduces a new conceptual framework that describes how cooperations occur in the ecosystem. Finally, a qualitative and explorative case study of the OTT platforms in the global context is conducted.

The application of the framework reveals how co-innovative business ecosystems demonstrate co-evolution through different structures and directions. An ecosystem can evolve by incorporating other industries (i.e. horizontal growth or broadening strategy) to deepen and broaden the industry integration.

As an explorative approach that opens the discussion on how co-innovation and co-evolution occur at the ecosystem level, particularly in the culture and creativity-driven industry, the value of this research extends to other similar industries where diverse actors such as technology firms, Internet firms, direct consumers, government and even the society impact the type of product and service and shape the evolution of the entire ecosystem.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relevance of the concept of supply chain performance in developing countries. The research also attempts to identify performance measure sets for supply chain performance in the context of a developing nation.

The research focuses on supply chain practices in the Indian automobile sector. It identifies and discusses the main motives and determinants for the adoption and implementation of supply chain management concepts. It reviews the relevance of the main models to measure the performance of supply chain in developing countries. The research is based on a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. Primary data were collected through semi‐structured interviews and an exploratory survey. Performance measure sets were identified through factor analysis.

This research proposes that the concept of supply chain performance is not fully embraced by the Indian automobile sector and highlights the difficulties associated with its implementation.

Further research involving other sectors and industries needs to be undertaken in order to gain an in‐depth understanding of the key factors associated with the implementation of supply chain performance practices in India. This could also help develop a generic model to measure supply chain performance.

The paper provides an attempt to adopt the concept of supply chain performance to the Indian context and culture.

The recent COVID-19 virus outbreak, as well as many other global risks, has put the tourism industry on the brink of collapse. Even if interesting advances have been seen the light of publicity based on risk perception, no less true seems to be that the current theory is not enough to understand and describe the impacts of new global risks that may destroy the industry in question of weeks. This introductory chapter gives a snapshot on the fragile conditions we are moving today and interrogates further the future of tourism.

Since it was adopted from psychology just after the turn of twentieth century, risk perception theory has multiplied and successfully evolved in the fields of tourism research. A dearth of studies has focused on risk perception over the recent decades. We have certainly identified three clear-cut traditions: demographical school, psychological school and critical perspective. With benefits and problems each theory has shed light trying to measure the impact of global risks in the tourism and hospitality industries.

This book keeps the originality to update what has been published in the earlier decades. We are incorporating new topics to the discussion as well as new epistemologies and methodologies. Gathering different high-quality products authored by well-renowned authors coming from different countries, it lays the foundations to a new understanding of risk perception and tourism safety-security debating the next steps and the real challenges posed on the industry in a not so long near future.

Custodial settings are high‐risk environments for HIV. This paper examines publicly available data about the drug use and risk behaviours of Thai and Indonesian prisoners and outlines a process used to collect new data. In 2005, the Departments of Corrections in Thailand and Indonesia requested researchers examine HIV and drug use issues but the findings are too sensitive to publish. The Departments of Corrections in Thailand and Indonesia are using the results to develop public health responses.