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The purpose of this paper is to cite the statistical data reflecting the trends and tendencies in research activity undertaken by Chandigarh city affiliations. The period under study is from 1964 to the first quarter of 2014. Scopus is the source of information retrieved. Various parameters like decade-wise growth of publications, publications of individual institutions, number of patents earned by each institute of Chandigarh under study, research productivity of top five authors of seven city-based institutes, document type, highly cited papers, research output of authors of parent institute vis-á-vis their affiliations with other institutes, collaborations at national and international levels have been taken into consideration for this paper. Institutes which have come up in the past 2-3 decades have also been contributing actively. An important finding of the paper undertaken is that foreign collaborations and foreign journals have remained the epicenter of the research activity. Chandigarh has emerged as a hub of academic and scholarly activity. It also reflects that the city-based research activity is also integrated into the global research activity.

The present paper reviews the publication output of Chandigarh city affiliations from 1964 to 2014. The publication data were procured from Scopus, which is an international multi-disciplinary bibliographical database covering 53m records, more than 20,000 titles and 5,000 publishers. It is a product of Elsevier and is the considered the world’s largest indexing and abstracting database and offers citation searching. Launched in 2004, it provides access to science–technology–medicine (STM) literature with a limited coverage of social science and arts and humanities. Database search was undertaken on May 22nd, 2014, and results were downloaded under various headings like year, author, number of publications, document type, affiliations and collaborations with other nations. The whole data were exported to MS-Excel format from Scopus database. Data of 160 authors were retrieved on the basis of at least one author affiliated to a research institution in Chandigarh. The paper was conducted by focussing on top seven institutes of Chandigarh engaged in diverse fields. These are Panjab University (PU), Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Govt. Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Punjab Engineering College (PEC), University Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (UIPS), Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTECH) and Central Scientific Instruments Organization (CSIO). Although UIPS is an integral part of PU, Scopus has treated it as a separate institution and so have the researchers. The researchers have used simple percentile method to find out the growth in research output of these institutes in six decades covering the period from 1964 to the first quarter of 2014, collaborations with other nations and affiliations with other institutes. Taking into consideration the number of publications, their citations and h index, the researchers have tried to find out the most productive authors from these institutes. Although the research process in Panjab University was started early in 1926 as revealed by Scopus, to maintain the uniformity with the research process initiated by other city-based institutes, the authors have taken 1964 as the year of initiation of data analysis for writing this paper. Each city-based institute has to its credit research publications in more than 20 diverse subject areas. Due to this diversity, data could not be analyzed under subject areas. To study the research output of Chandigarh city affiliations for the past 50 years and the current year, the authors have divided the years into five decades and additional few months of 2014.

There has been a phenomenal growth in the research productivity of city-based institutes, which was nil or negligible from 1964 to 1983, except Panjab University and PGI. The research activity gained momentum with every passing decade. PGI and PU have emerged as frontrunners in research productivity, but at the same time, IMTECH and UIPS have also performed well on this front too. As compared to PGI and PU, which came up in 1962 and 1956 (Chandigarh), respectively, IMTECH and UIPS are of recent origin, that is, 1984 and 1994, respectively. In the first decade of its establishment, UIPS generated 27 per cent of its total research output. Not only this, the institute has fetched maximum number of patents (89) in just two decades and that too with 1,259 publications only. IMTECH has also been coming up with qualitative research since its establishment in 1984. It has to its credit 37 patents from 1,290 publications. Major research findings took the form of articles and that too in journals. Another remarkable feature of UIPS and IMTECH is that their publications have fetched maximum citations as compared to other institutes. Comparing all the seven institutes, the authors have concluded that the authors of Panjab University have made maximum affiliation with the authors of with other national and international institutes in generating research output. Panjab University tops the list of city-based institutes by collaborating with 97 different nations. PGI has taken second slot by collaborating with 88 countries. From a list of 100 collaborating nations, USA has emerged as the major collaborating nation. Chandigarh has emerged as an education hub. It has many institutes of repute in different domains. Consequently, the research scenario is very encouraging. Researchers have a vision and are active in exploring the emerging horizons as is evident from the paper. National and international collaborations also form the basis of growth of research productivity. Government should provide all round support and upgrade the existing infrastructure to enhance further the research output of the city.

Various bibliometric studies have also been conducted to know about the trends and patterns in the research publications. From a single institute, journal to a state, the analysis of research activity has become an area of focus. The present paper takes into account the research productivity in seven major academic institutes of Chandigarh, the city beautiful as revealed by Scopus.

The study evaluates the accident-adjusted dynamic efficiency of public bus operators providing bus transportation services in eight major metropolitan cities of India.

The slack-based measure (SBM)–undesirable window analysis approach is used to gauge the dynamic efficiency levels and identify the sources of inefficiency in bus transportation services. This innovative approach integrates the SBM model developed by Tone (2001, 2004) and the window analysis approach of Charnes et al. (1985). The main advantage of this approach is that one can explicitly incorporate the number of accidents in the production technology specification as an undesirable (bad) output and potently handle the issue of the “curse of dimensionality” in a small sample like ours.

The key empirical findings suggest wide variations in average efficiency levels across sample bus operators in metropolitan cities. The Chennai Transport Corporation is observed as the most efficient and consistent bus operator due to its most stable efficiency performance. The results additionally unveil that the role of managerial inefficiency was diminutive, and the scale-related issues were the real cause of sub-optimal or supra-optimal behaviour of sample bus operators in the resource-utilisation process.

There is an urgent requirement for effective policy intercessions to mitigate the sizeable observed inefficiency in the production process and resolve scale-related issues of public bus operators offering transit services in major metropolitan cities of India.

This paper is maybe the first to assess the dynamic efficiency of public bus transit systems in India's major metropolitan cities after treating accidents.

The purpose of this paper is to examine affect of cosmopolitanism and consumers’ susceptibility to interpersonal influence on Indian consumers’ fashion clothing involvement. Moderating effect of demographics was studied.

Survey technique through self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection in both metropolitan and non-metropolitan cities in India.

Utilitarian, value expressive factors of normative influence and cosmopolitanism influence Indian consumers’ fashion clothing involvement. Type of city, income, and education moderated influence of normative values and cosmopolitanism on fashion clothing involvement.

One of the major limitations of current research was that it had a large number of respondents in the age group of 18-40 years. Future research can attempt to reduce age biasness.

The findings can prove helpful to international apparel brands marketing luxury and fashion clothing in India. However, since conformance to social norms was important for Indians, clothing manufacturers should use reference groups, opinion leaders, and celebrities to generate awareness. A blend of global and local lifestyle should be used. International luxury brands can customize their products to combine ethnic tastes.

Fashion clothing market promises immense growth opportunities in India. There is limited research to examine influence cosmopolitanism on Indian consumers’ consumption behaviour. Knowledge about influence of global lifestyle, brands, mass media, and services on Indian consumers’ behaviour can help in targeting them effectively.

This study aims to explore the good crowding effect among Indian domestic travellers during the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of the city destination. This study uses the framework of social motivation theory to achieve the objective.

This study adopted a qualitative research design by taking the case of Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. Using purposive sampling, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 37 respondents, and themes were drawn manually.

The analysis found four themes that create a good crowding effect among domestic tourists, namely, convenience and price; familiarity and place attachment; social affiliation; and safety. The themes indicated that despite the pandemic, and constant occurrences of new variants, Indian domestic tourists’ on-site attitude towards crowding was favourable.

Firstly, the good crowding effect during the pandemic could have been better understood using empirical data. Secondly, the results cannot be generalized, specifically for developed economies.

This study offers practical implications to destination managers and local administrative bodies for whom achieving sustainability in urban tourism has always been concerning. These include developing infrastructural facilities, encouraging cultural activities in city centres and improving the perception of safety to sustain the good crowding effect.

The affective dimension involved in making a travelling decision played a significant role in the post-pandemic phase. While suppliers needed survival, tourists needed social affiliation and escape from the mandated home isolation due to multiple phases of COVID-19 lockdown in India. This study adds value to society by emphasising that the need for social affiliation among travellers remains intact, and the tourism industry should embrace this transformation.

While most of the pandemic-related studies criticised crowd and tourists’ crowd averting behaviour, this study reported that the good crowding effect could also be an outcome owing to different factors. Therefore, this study offers distinctive nuance of tourists’ behaviour in the post-COVID-19 phase, allowing destination managers and tourism stakeholders to re-think their strategies.

The introduction of the 22 member countries of the 4+10+2+6 model of the Asian economy is the immediate task. Japan, Korea, China, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar constitute the now-famous 4+10 model. Following the principle of inclusion, Mongolia, Chinese Taipei, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka, as they belong to the regional map of the continent of Asia, are the eight remaining member countries (see Chapter 1). An overview of Asia's 22 member continental economy the AE-22, with its 3.6 billion people (2006) who have made the region of Asia their home in a land area of 20.5 million km² should be welcome. To put these figures in perspective, the AE-22 comprises only 13.7 percent of the world's land area, but is home to over half the world's population. Tables 2.1–2.4, presented below, illustrate the various figures relating to population, land area, GDP, and GDP per capita of the member nations of the AE-22.

The purpose of this paper is to examine influence of past environmental attitudes, social and personal environmental norms, social influence, and green self-identity on Indian consumers’ green buying behaviour.

Data were collected through self-administered survey method by contacting respondents through mall intercept technique in six cities across India.

The findings suggest that green self-identity, peer influence, and past green buying behaviour influence the decision to purchase green product. Consumers’ self-identification with environment-friendly traits was a major predictor to green buying behaviour.

Influence of social groups, personal norms, and self-identity were examined. However, the study did not focus on any specific brand or product category. Issues like green brands, price sensitivity, and trust can be examined.

The findings can help firms in understanding Indian consumers’ predisposition and attitudes towards green products. Green products should be related to individual’s identity and ecological beliefs. Firms can modify their marketing communication strategies by linking green products them with social and personal factors.

Influence of factors like past environmental attitudes, social and personal norms on green buying have not been examined in Indian context. The study adds to existing literature by applying self-construal theory in explaining green buying behaviour.

The paper aims to investigate materialism as one of the retail shopping motives along with utilitarian/hedonic motivations in the Indian context. It aims to identify the key shopping motivations, which explain the shopping value in the context of malls. Furthermore, it intends to develop a shopping motivations-based typology of Indian mall shoppers, and to profile the motivational and demographic characteristics of the discerned segments.

The data were collected through a mall intercept survey. The shopping motivations were identified through literature, and established scales were utilised to collect data. Exploratory factor analysis was used to understand the underlying structure of mall shopping motives. Hierarchical and K-means clustering were used to cluster the consumers. Additionally, ANOVA along with post hoc tests were used to explore the mean differences between the various clusters. Cross-tabulation along with the chi-square statistic was used to understand the demographic characteristics of the clusters.

Indian mall shoppers are motivated by hedonistic, materialistic and utilitarian motives. They can be primarily classified into four clusters, namely, balanced shoppers, materialist shoppers, hedonistic shoppers and value shoppers.

Knowledge of distinct consumer segments will aid marketers in formulating marketing and promotional strategies for augmenting mall footfalls.

Although past research has accentuated hedonic and utilitarian motivations as the primary shopping motives, little research has been conducted to examine materialism as a shopping motive. Rise of materialism in the emerging Indian market has metamorphosed the consumer behaviour. The study examines the utilitarian, hedonistic and materialistic dimensions of shopping and unfolds a typology of mall shoppers. It contributes to the repository of cross-national research on shopping behaviour by unravelling the shopping motivations of Indian consumers.

This all-inclusive bibliometric study aims to highlight the importance and shift of the researchers and the society towards the sustainable menstrual products (SMPs). This study also provides insights for this taboo topic which needs to be addressed for improving the menstrual hygiene of women.

This study adopts a trio of systematic literature review, bibliometric analysis and content analysis of the research articles taken from the SCOPUS database. The influential journals, authors and countries were established with the bibliometric analysis. Most prestigious research articles were identified based on the page-rank analysis. The intellectual structure was established with bibliographic coupling through which various themes were identified. For the content analysis, thematic mapping and author keyword analysis was performed to gain deeper understanding of themes.

It was established that the taboo yet novel research domain of SMPs is a necessary step towards the improvement of hygiene of women as well as the economy. The products are here to stay making them a Classic; hence, more research normalizing their usage is necessary. From this analysis, research gaps providing directions to the researchers were identified.

To the best knowledge of the authors, this is the first study that provides a comprehensive review of the SMPs. The research methodology applied in this review involves the triad of systematic literature review, bibliometric and content analyses study that establishes an intellectual structure and provides an all-inclusive overview of this taboo research area.

strategic alliances/collaborative strategies;

defending against global competitors;

related diversification;

entrepreneurship-organizational life cycle; and

evaluating strategies for firm growth.

MBA/PGP level programmes in management and/or entrepreneurship.

Aztec Fluids & Machinery, set up just over four years ago in the city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat, India, caters to the printer hardware, spares and consumables needs of the digital ink jet printing market. The company has identified vendors principally from the UK and China for its printers and consumable sourcing and presently markets these using a hybrid channel structure of direct selling and through 12 distributors in ten cities of India. A recent development of note is the successful transformation of a flexible roll printer into a flat-bed type one by the co-founder. The experiment assumes significance since the cost of a conventional flat-bed screen printer is almost five times that of the improvised printer. The huge, fragmented, price-sensitive, yet quality-conscious market in India offers immense potential for this innovation. At the same time, Aztec's recent interactions with a couple of its UK-based vendors present other alternatives for growth.

To explore organizational life cycle: the introduction and early growth phases.

To understand alliance dynamics for early-stage entrepreneurs –rationale, management and the manifestation of trust between different types of partners: suppliers and customers.

To understand how small firms prepare for and evaluate the challenges of growth.

Teaching note.

This study sets about assessing measurement invariance of the widely used CETSCALE in the context of an economically disadvantageous inland city in China. The 10-item CETSCALE (Shimp and Sharma 1987) was administered to a college-level student sample (male = 55 and female = 198) in Nanning City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. AMOS v. 20 was used to conduct confirmatory factor analysis and assess measurement invariance across gender.

This study is designed to assess measurement invariance of the 10-item CETSCALE with student sample in Nanning, the capital city of Guangxi, China.

The results support full metric invariance and factor variance invariance and partial scalar invariance and measurement residual invariance for the refined 5-item CETSCALE. It is found that college students in an economically underdeveloped multi-ethnic inland city like Nanning were less consumer ethnocentric than those in the affluent coastal cities.

This is the first study to assess measurement invariance of the CETSCALE with student sample from an economically underdeveloped multi-ethnic inland city in China.