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This case is most suited for the course on Strategic Management.

The case can be used for post graduate management students and executive education participants. It should be used in the section dealing with capabilities of an organization.

Sonalika Group, situated in Punjab, India, started its operations in 1969 by manufacturing agricultural implements and equipment’s. By 1990, the firm graduated into manufacturing tractors. It gradually expanded its wings in countries like Nigeria, Argentina and Brazil and became the third largest tractor manufacturer of India in FY 2012. The year 2005 was a landmark year when it entered the passenger vehicle segment through its subsidiary International Cars and Motors Limited that launched a multi-utility vehicle (MUV) named Rhino. The vehicle was expected to fill up the vacant spot created by the withdrawal of “Qualis”, which was a highly popular MUV manufactured by Toyota. However, the enthusiasm of launching Rhino waned with time because its sales did not pick up as expected. After selling around 5,000 units of Rhino, the company stopped its production as the product had started showing up teething problems. The marketers and designers burnt midnight oil to bring out an improved version of Rhino. This version was christened “Extreme” and launched in 2012. Despite all marketing, sales and service efforts, “Extreme” also failed to take off. The group is wondering when it was so successful in tractors why it has not been successful in passenger vehicle category. It has to work out a strategy to be successful in passenger vehicle segment as well.

Expected learning outcomes are as follows: to analyse the external and internal environment for a business and understand its impact on business decision-making; to understand the relationship between operational capabilities and dynamic capabilities; to identify opportunities and match it with internal capabilities; to analyse the reasons for product failure and identify remedial measures; to understand the process of technology diffusion and thereby strategic planning.

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CSS 11: Strategy

Using the extant literature review, this paper aims to explore the relationship between gender, entrepreneurial education (EE) and entrepreneurial intention (EI) in the Indian context, which the authors believe is a novel approach to this research stream. The authors also use career preparedness as a control variable to examine this relationship.

Data were collected from 368 undergraduate students across four Indian universities (one exclusively for female students) through a standard structured questionnaire. Additionally, rather than examining, EI has been treated as a monolithic construct; however, the authors conceptualize it as comprising three different dimensions that include grand vision and risk-taking ability; opportunity exploitation; and ability to persevere. An additional analysis was conducted for the students who reported higher scores for “being well prepared for their careers” through their institutes’ academic programs and communities of entrepreneurs. The authors also interviewed some entrepreneurship instructors, who confirmed the present findings through their observations.

The findings indicate that, essentially, there is a positive relationship between EE and EI. The authors find that male students scored higher for the first two dimensions of EI but not the third. Additionally, the authors used career preparedness as a control variable for additional analysis. The authors observed that students with higher “career preparedness” reported a positive relationship between EE and EI, independent of gender, for all three dimensions of EI. Thus, it may be assumed that if a community of entrepreneurs needs to be developed in India, a focus on career preparedness is critical.

First, given that the present survey reflected a single moment in linking EE to EI (which may be considered a limitation of the study), future researchers might focus on a longitudinal approach. Second, all the respondents are attending urban universities (and, as such, very likely belong to the upper middle class of Indian society). The financial divide between urban and rural India is well known; as such, the results might be different if the sample was drawn from rural and poor India.

The salience/value of this study lies in the conceptualization of EI comprising three sub-constructs to understand the impact of formal EE (with three sub-constructs) on EI. The focus on career preparedness for a female student is a new direction of inquiry with respect to entrepreneurial intention.

Building on the relationship marketing and stimulus-organism-response (SOR) theory, the purpose of this paper is to study the impact of the integrated store service quality (ISSQ) on the omnichannel customer lifetime value (CLV). The mediating role of customer commitment (affective, normative and continuance) and relationship program receptiveness with the moderating role of customer relationship proneness were relied upon to better understand the omnichannel customer profitability metric (CLV).

The study is descriptive and relies upon the cross-sectional data collected using the self-administered structured questionnaires from 785 omnichannel shoppers. A purposive sampling technique was performed in the study. Structural equation modeling was performed using the SMART-PLS 4.0 software to analyze the data.

The results indicate that omnichannel customer commitment (affective, normative and continuance) differentially mediates the relationship between ISSQ and relationship program receptiveness, subsequently impacting the omnichannel CLV. The customer relationship proneness significantly and positively moderated the relationships between different dimensions of customer commitment and relationship program receptiveness.

The study relied upon the cross-sectional data from the Indian population aged above 18 years for testing the proposed model. Further studies could test the model across different populations to generalize the study results.

This study addresses the need to investigate the omnichannel retail store customer profitability and their relationship performance with the store. By testing the customer relationship management model in the omnichannel retail store context, this study is the first to show that ISSQ will impact the customer profitability and relationship performance metric (CLV) through omnichannel customer commitment and relationship program receptiveness. The moderating effect of customer relationship proneness on a few proposed hypotheses was also tested to give managerial recommendations.

The purpose of the paper is to unravel a strategic architecture for e‐learning for a traditional university like Himachal Pradesh University (H.P. University) and provide guidelines as to how to carry the implementation of e‐learning for the university of the future.

Getting to the future first is not just about excelling competitors bent on reaching the same prize. It is also concerning having one's own view of what the prize is. There can be as many prizes as runners; imagination is the only restraining factor. The paper provides a literature review for a traditional university like H.P. University to venture into e‐learning.

To venture into e‐learning, H.P. University will have to reengineer itself, understand how competition will differ in the future and capture and refine insights into future opportunities.

The paper has limitations that it presents a review of literature from secondary sources.

The paper provides guidelines as to how to implement e‐learning which will be beneficial for both the staff and the students.

The paper advocates the concept of strategic thinking in the education sector for implementing e‐learning.

Upon completion of this case study, students will be able to identify the key changes in the marketing environment affecting the industry, demonstrate the elements of the marketing mix in the fast-food industry, illustrate the crucial elements of customer value-driven marketing strategy, critique relevant marketing strategies that are crucial for business development and formulate effective market expansion strategies for Al-Chef Cafetaria to achieve sustainable competitive advantage in the VUCA world.

The Al-Chef Cafeteria, established by Ali Arif, one of the partners, became one of the most happening quick service restaurants (QSRs) in Patna. However, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the once-thriving fast-food market in the city as the government imposed lockdowns to restrict the onslaught of the pandemic. The relentless waves of the pandemic in the subsequent months severely impacted India and worsened the economic challenges. Consumer behaviour towards outdoor eateries, especially QSRs, became uncertain, which led to the exit of several smaller players in the industry. In June 2021, because of an uncertain future, Arif was forced to contemplate different business trajectories for survival and growth. Arif’s resilience was highlighted, as he endeavoured to revive his dream cafe. To start the café, Arif had quit a stable job in the Middle East. His journey mirrored the broader narrative of businesses navigating uncharted waters as the cafe transformed from a flourishing enterprise to one reeling from adversity and looking forward to undergoing a strategist lens for revival. Against an uncertain business landscape and wavering consumer sentiment, Arif grappled with the question of whether a return to normalcy was possible or if a new-normal system would emerge. This case study highlighted the challenges and uncertainties faced by the Al-Chef Cafeteria post-pandemic and the strategies needed to rewire the previous business model to chart a new growth trajectory.

This case is suitable for postgraduate-level marketing management or sales management (business development) courses in any of the following programmes: MBA programme, PG diploma in marketing management/PG diploma in hospitality and tourism management/PG diploma in sales management/PG diploma in food and beverage service/PG diploma in service management, part-time diploma programmes in management and executive programmes in management.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing.

Safety climate plays an important role in the high-risk construction industry. Advances have been made in the understanding of construction safety climate in terms of four interrelated themes, specifically, its definition, measurement, antecedents and consequences. However, knowledge remains fragmented as the studies are scattered, and a systematic review covering these four themes is lacking. To address this research gap, this study aims to perform a systematic literature review of construction safety climate literature regarding the four themes.

Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol guidelines, 178 eligible articles were obtained. This study provided thematic analysis of the 178 papers to identify what is known and what is not yet fully known regarding the four themes of construction safety climate. This study also conducted a descriptive analysis to identify the influential scholars, keywords, theories and research methods used by the literature, and finally presented an integrative framework directing future research.

The literature has not reached a consensus on the definition and measurement of construction safety climate. While it has identified the impact of safety climate on both behavioral and accident consequences, it has paid less attention to the antecedents and their underlying mechanisms regarding safety climate. Fang D. and Lingard H. are identified as the most influential authors in this field. “Questionnaire” and “safety behavior” are the keywords most closely related to safety climate. Unfortunately, the existing evidence for the causal relationships between safety climate and its antecedents and consequences is weak, as many studies lack clear theoretical substance, use a concurrent research design and focus only on individual-level climate perceptions. Finally, to support the development of construction safety climate around the four themes, potential research directions and research methods supporting them are illustrated.

This review makes contributions by integrating existing construction studies covering its definition, measurement, antecedents and consequences. This review also makes contributions to specific themes: no review exists on the antecedents of construction safety climate, and this review fills that gap; with regard to consequences, the existing reviews focus either on safety outcomes or safety behavior, but this review included both of them and further elaborated the different theories underpinning the relationships between safety climate and them. It is hoped that this systematic review will be helpful to the research community toward developing a nomologic network and promoting knowledge integration with respect to construction safety climate.

Food gives us essential nutrients to lead a healthy lifestyle but lately it has been found that many food products have become hazardous due to contamination and lead to many diseases. The rampant use of pesticides and chemical-based fertilizers in agriculture has, increased the productivity but at the same time they have created an alarming situation for the environment. The demand of the hour is to therefore to encourage organic farming and offer a better choice to consumers as well as save the environment. The purpose of this paper is to explore and understand the factors affecting perception of consumers on organic food products in Indian context.

The study used a structured survey of 150 respondents covering Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) of Ghaziabad, Noida and Faridabad (India). Exploratory research was used to know the variables from the literature that affect the perception of consumers regarding organic food. Descriptive research was used to understand the demographic profile of the organic food consumer’s. Conclusive research design was used to test the hypotheses based upon the motivating and inhibiting factor in the growth of organic food.

The data collected from the survey were analyzed using t-test, χ ² test, factor analysis and multiple linear regression tests. Results indicated that the intention to purchase organic products was impacted by the consumer’s belief on the safety and health aspect of the product, trust and certification, information and availability and lifestyle and are hence drivers of growth. And certain impeding factors were identified like doubt in the professed quality of organic food, lack of awareness and price parity.

There are enough evidences of fertile land being converted into wasteland because of use of agro- chemical-based fertilizers in farming. There are also enough incidents of polluted water (ground and surface) due to agrochemical-based farming. Heavy use of pesticides leads to adverse effect on the health of farmers also. There were many reports of farmers committing suicide because of debt due to heavy investment on pesticides and fertilizers. Organic farming is a win-win proposition for environment, farmers and consumer’s.

The study was an effort to understand awareness and perception of organic food consumers in urban India post-agriculture revolution. The result would help the organic food producing and marketing companies to understand the factors that influence the belief of consumers when they purchase organic food and henceforth they can formulate communication strategies and marketing policy based on consumer’s expectations.

The purpose of this study is to determine the enablers of the quality of work life (QWL) of employees working in the Garment industries.

The study was carried out in a fivefold step. In the first step, the enablers of QWL were identified through an exhaustive literature survey, in the second step identified vital few components through Pareto analysis. Then the third step was followed by exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to further, to identify the precise components and validate the same using confirmatory factor analysis in fourth step. The final step included interpretive structural modeling and Cross-Impact Matrix Multiplication Applied to Classification analysis to model the validated components and determine the interrelationships and linkages.

Predominant QWL enablers of employees working in the garment industries are training and development, satisfaction in job, compensation and rewards, relation and co-operation, grievance handling, work environment, job nature, job security and facilities.

In this study, the interpretive structural model is designed based on the opinion of the experts who are working in the garment industry considering the responses from employees in garment sectors. The framework can be extended further to the other sectors.

In future, the researchers in QWL may develop a model to quantify the level of employees’ QWL who are working in different sectors. Enablers of QWL are essential, and based on this further statistical analysis can be carried out. This study will provide limelight to the researchers in choosing the valid and reliable set of enablers for the empirical studies. Organizations can get benefit by implementing the outcome of this research for the enhancement of the QWL of employees.

The study was carried out in 133 garment industries where 851 workers constituted the final valid responses that were considered for analysis. The outcomes from the study help administrators, policy and decision-takers in taking decisions to enhance QWL.

Despite the huge capital outlay in tertiary education building projects (TEBP), these projects undoubtedly failed in meeting the set objectives of cost, time and quality, among others. Therefore, rather than the impacts of risks on the overall project performance, which is common in the construction management literature, the purpose of this study is to assess the impacts of risk factors on the criteria for measuring the success of public TEBP.

The paper adopted a quantitative research method where the data collection was via a questionnaire survey. The researcher administered 452 questionnaires to the client representatives, consultants and contractors involved in building projects across five public tertiary education institutions in Ondo State, Nigeria. Of 452 questionnaires, 279 were retrieved and suitable for the analysis, translating to a 61.73% response rate. The reliability analysis of the research instrument showed 0.965 and 0.807, via Cronbach’s alpha test, indicating high reliability of the instrument used for data collection.

The study found different risk factors affecting the criteria for measuring the success of TEBP. For instance, the environmental risk factor significantly impacted completion to cost, while financial and political risk factors significantly impacted completion to time. In addition, while environmental, legal and management risks significantly impacted end-user satisfaction, safety performance was significantly impacted by logistic, legal, design, construction, political and management risks. Besides, the logistic, legal, design, construction, financial, political and management risk factors impacted profit. However, despite profit being one of the criteria for measuring the success of building projects, it recorded the highest risk impacts amounting to 41% variance.

The findings are limited to the public tertiary education building projects procured via competitive tendering; therefore, the results might differ when considering other procurement methods.

The practical implication is that rather than focusing on all risk factors, the project stakeholders could give adequate attention to the significant risk factors impacting each of the parameters for measuring the success of education building projects.

The study revealed specific risk factors impacting the criteria for measuring the success of TEBP, which extend beyond the use of the overall project performance approach.