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Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) could act as a practical approach to offer sustainability deliverables in manufacturing firms aligning with the natural resource-based view (NRBV) theory's strategic capabilities: pollution prevention, product stewardship and sustainable development. Also, the emergence of Blockchain Technology (BCT) and Circular Economy (CE) are proven to deliver sustainable outcomes in the past literature. Therefore, the present research examines the relationship between BCT and CE and TPM's direct and mediation effect through the lens of NRBV theory.

The current study proposes a conceptual framework to examine the relationship between BCT, CE and TPM and validates the framework through the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling. Responses from 316 Indian manufacturing firms were collected to conduct the analysis.

The investigation outcomes indicate that BCT positively influences CE and TPM and that TPM has a significant positive impact on CE under the premises of NRBV theory. The results also suggest that TPM partially mediates the relationship between BCT and CE.

This research fills a gap in the literature by investigating the effect of BCT and TPM on CE within the framework of the NRBV theory. It explores the link between BCT, TPM and CE under the NRBV theory's strategic capabilities and TPM mediation.

The positive influence of TPM and BCT on CE could initiate the amalgamation of BCT-TPM, improving the longevity of production equipment and products and speeding up the implementation of CE practices.

This research fills a gap in the literature by investigating the effect of BCT and TPM on CE within the framework of the NRBV theory. It explores the link between BCT, TPM and CE under the NRBV theory's strategic capabilities along with TPM mediation.

Equipment performance helps the manufacturing sector achieve operational and financial improvements despite process variations. However, the literature lacks a clear index or metric to quantify the monetary advantages of enhanced equipment performance. Thus, the paper presents two innovative monetary performance measures to estimate the financial advantages of enhancing equipment performance by isolating the effect of manufacturing fluctuations such as product mix price, direct and indirect characteristics, and cost changes.

The research provides two measures, ISB (Improvement Saving Benefits) and IEB (Improvement Earning Benefits), to assess equipment performance improvements. The effectiveness of the metrics is validated through a three stages approach, namely (1) experts' binary opinion, (2) sample, and (3) actual cases. The relevant data may be collected through accounting systems, purpose-built software, or electronic spreadsheets.

The findings suggest that both measures provide an effective cost–benefit analysis of equipment performance enhancement. The measure ISB indicates savings from performance increases when equipment capacity is greater than product demand. IEB is utilised when equipment capacity is less than product demand. Both measurements may replace the unitary cost variation, which is subject to manufacturing changes.

Manufacturing businesses may utilise the ISB and IEB metrics to conduct a systematic analysis of equipment performance and to appreciate the financial savings perspective in order to emphasise profitability in the short and long term.

The study introduces two novel financial equipment performance improvement indicators that distinguish the effects of manufacturing variations. Manufacturing variations cause cost advantages from operational improvements to be misrepresented. There is currently no approach for manufacturing organisations to calculate the financial advantages of enhancing equipment performance while isolating production irregularities.

The study aims to highlight the barriers faced by the entrepreneurs toward achieving sustainability in business and innovation cultivation by offering solutions for academicians, practitioners and policymakers. The study uses the resource-based view (RBV) theory to discuss how an organization’s resources and capabilities influence the competitive ambience and barriers faced by entrepreneurs.

The present research uses grey-causal modelling (GSC) to analyse the barriers against successful entrepreneurship.

The research focuses on the usefulness of dynamic capabilities, managing and cooperating resources in the entrepreneurship setting. The paper highlights the importance of resource gathering and nurturing as a method to combat scarcity. This research further identifies that financial limitations, regulatory obstacles, challenges to sourcing qualified labour, poor infrastructure and technology, limited mentorship opportunities, lack of scalability, low initial cost barriers in product development and risk-averse attitudes are the major factors hindering entrepreneurs from obtaining sustainable business and innovation.

The contribution of this research to the literature is that it assesses RBV theory within the realm of entrepreneurship, providing a different perspective on resources and capabilities as well as the challenges faced by entrepreneurs. The systematic approach to the analysis and prioritization of various barriers is innovative, and it adds knowledge in this area.

The study aims to present demand chain management (DCM) modeling of Indian apparel retailers. This will result in a structured model presenting contextual interrelationship among DCM variables so that retailers can proactively manage their demand chain.

The research follows an exploratory research design. It initially involves identification and analysis of influential factors of the implementation of DCM practices through the review of literature. Then, these variables were analyzed using total interpretive structural modeling or TISM followed by a statistical verification and case-based validation of the model.

The major findings of the paper are: top-management commitment and support, information management and supply chain agility in supply chain are the most significant enablers with the highest driving power. The other apparel retail specific significant variables are assortment planning, category management and marketing orientation. The model also indicates that the firms that implement customer-centric DCM practices do well in terms of organizational performance and thereby achieve differential advantage over their competitors.

Because the literature on DCM is still in nascent stage, the study bases itself on interpretive method; that is, TISM of analysis with a limited number of experts. Future studies may consider larger sample with more advanced statistical tools such as structural equation modeling for further validation of the findings.

The novelty of the paper lies in the study of an emerging supply chain philosophy; that is, DCM and its key practices per se. It has rarely been studied from the theory building perspective hitherto. Moreover, TISM-based approach is applied for the first time to study the DCM practices and its drivers vis-à-vis dependents.

This study aims to explore a paradigm for using servitization in circular supply chains, with research fields including smart, sustainable supply chains, circular economy, innovation, digital technology, product service systems and sustainability as focal areas.

A comprehensive statistical analysis of the literature on servitization, circular economy and smart supply chains reveals the history of the industry, including scholarly work, major concerns and future research prospects. The database for the analysis is provided by Scopus. Consequently, 288 research articles were reviewed, and the research trends of servitization, circular supply chains and smart supply chains from 2014 to 2022 (Q1) were covered.

The analysis reconnoitres bibliometric statistics highlighting notable authors, contemporary keywords for sifting through the literature, scientific dimensions related to smart supply chain, servitization and the circular economy, historical growth based on exploration trends and country-by-country investigation of the research field. The study also proposes a conceptual framework that illustrates how a greater emphasis on removing barriers to servitization could increase the efficiency of various circular supply chains. Given this, there is room for further research into the role servitization plays in ensuring long-term sustainability.

This paper helps to understand current scholarly publications on servitization, smart supply chains and their significance in the circular economy. It also provides a template to utilize the field’s prior accomplishments as a guide to future research opportunities.

The primary objectives of the case study are to get the participants exposed to the issues of working capital which even profitable companies face on a day-to-day basis; give the participants an understanding of how to balance the, at times, conflicting objectives of increasing profits and sales through favorable credit terms; and expose them to the impact of increase in inventory levels and average collection period on margins in a period of slow growth. They will also learn about the concept of factoring and its uses.

The case study is about a group of companies engaged in education, steel fabrication and oil businesses owned by a single proprietor. The company was based in Fatehnagar which was part of Hyderabad district in the state of Telangana, India, and the case study traces the origins of the group from 1960s to 2021. The group was invested the surplus cash flows from the oil business to initiate and expand other businesses during this period. The economic downturn due to the COVID-19 pandemic had hit the company, particularly its oldest business – Noble Chemical Agency. The oil business was facing issues related to its growth and profitability, and the uncertainty around COVID-19-related restrictions had only augmented the fears of the management. The case study looks at issues and the dilemma which the owner of the company faced. The case study highlights various issues related to working capital management, especially related to receivables management and inventory levels faced by businesses during the slow-growth phase. It demonstrates how working capital management issues, if not resolved in time, can lead to insolvency of even a successful company with a sound business model.

The case study is meant for teaching in postgraduate management programs (Master of Business Administration and Postgraduate Diploma in Management) in the following courses: corporate finance/financial management course in the first year (the case study should be taught towards the end of the course); and management accounting courses in first year (the case study should be positioned in the middle of these courses). The case study can also be used to highlight issues related to working capital and small business management in a Management Development Programme (MDP) course for “Finance fundamentals for non-finance executives”.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 1: Accounting and finance.

The rise of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has enabled researchers and industry professionals to reinvent their strategies for basic economic understanding. Two years after the outbreak of the pandemic, businesses are now trying to adapt to the impact it has brought, hoping to receive support as it did in the past. However, before this feat can be accomplished, it is imperative to understand the recovery hurdles created by the pandemic. This research aims to fill the literature gaps by examining the challenges during recovery within the creative small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) industry, as there are few relevant studies that focus on this field.

Through a methodical bibliometric literature review and network analysis, the paper intends to critically explore relevant recovery challenges within the field while providing answers to the appropriate research questions. A total of 43 articles were selected for an in-depth review. Using the analysis from the selected articles as a guide, a framework was developed to address the recovery challenges alongside the recommended propositions.

The findings from this paper suggest that a lack of synergy among four major categories (governmental, supply chain, organizational and stakeholders) contributes to recovery challenges within the field of research.

The review also offers clarification in understanding the current and upcoming trends within the creative industry, SMEs and COVID-19. This paper can thus help researchers, industry practitioners and managers discover and analyze the recovery challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Chairman of the 60-year old company Texica, Ashutosh Verma approached Dr. Asim Vakil who had wide experience in consulting turnaround activities in declining organizations. The organization had undergone a few rounds of downsizing and was also reporting about 15–20% attrition in the organization. Vakil was requested to redesign the job description and the appraisal system of the employees. He found several gaps in the existing process. The human resource processes were not well-structured and the key performance indicators of the employees were not communicated to them properly. So, the team decided to deep-dive into the activity based job allocation to different employees and found interesting results. They decided to discuss their results with the Chairman. The Chairman asked the team to discuss the results with the top management of the organization. The meeting was aimed at identifying not only the operational issues in the organization but also the attitudinal problems in the organization.

The learning outcomes of this paper is as follows: to review the basic differences between the two evolving bonds, i.e. green vs masala bonds in the Indian capital market; to comprehend the factors that need to be considered in deciding the type of bond to be issued; to assess complexities, such as process, timing, risk and location in relation to the issue of the green bonds; and to understanding the rudiments of bond economics, such as pricing, all-in-cost and yield-to-maturity of bonds and make a comparison of all-in-cost of the Reg-S bond and green bond to Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC).

In September 2017, IRFC, a public sector undertaking registered as a Non-Banking Finance Company with Reserve Bank of India under the administrative control of the Ministry of Railways, was planning to raise US$500m 10-year green bonds from investors in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. The green bond proceeds were proposed to be used for low carbon transport and in this way, contribute significantly to the green initiatives of the Indian Railways. Many companies in India had issued regular bonds without labeling them as green but had used the proceeds of the bond for climate-aligned assets. Therefore, a bigger challenge before the IRFC management was the economics of green bond for getting a nod from the Board of Governors to go ahead. Some preliminary estimates on cost of green bonds were received from few bankers but to see that the terms of green bonds are met eventually, the Director (Finance) developed his own estimate of the cost of the new bonds. The Managing Director and Director (Finance) of IRFC were trying to figure out the economic advantage of green bonds besides its social benefits.

MBA Programme Executive Training.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 1: Accounting and Finance.

This paper aims to examine options under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) for exempting or justifying export restrictions or prohibitions that are in principle prohibited under Article XI:1 GATT. The paper begins by examining the exception under Article XI:2 (a) GATT, before going on to the arguments under GATT Article XX (b) and (j). In addition, the analysis considers the national security exception in Article XXI (b) (iii) GATT, given that WTO members have increasingly invoked this provision in recent years, as well as during the pandemic, when Namibia implemented COVID-19-related trade restrictions under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade based on national security concerns.

The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on trade have been far-reaching. Countries have attempted to place export restrictions on personal protective equipment and COVID-19 vaccines. Even though export restrictions are generally unlawful under the GATT, countries have decided it is necessary at this time. Members have relied heavily on the “national security” and “critical shortage” exceptions outlined in the GATT.

This paper concludes that, depending on the circumstances of a particular case, a pandemic may constitute an emergency in international relations, as defined in Article XXI (b) (iii) GATT, and that, in such a situation, a WTO member may legitimately take action to protect its vital security interests.

The paper provides an original conclusion based on WTO case law on an issue of contemporary relevance.