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The pharmaceutical industry is facing significant pressure to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Other ecological, societal and regulatory pressures are also driving the industry to “go green”. While such a (green) transition could be possible through appropriate green practices’ implementation, the present understanding about it is superficial and vague. A key reason is the lack of green practices’-related studies on pharmaceuticals, which are also insufficiently comprehensive. This knowledge gap is sought to be addressed.

A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted with 73 carefully selected articles, then subjected to thematic content analyses for synthesising the relevant themes and sub-themes.

Around 76 operational-level green practices covering all key stakeholders across the drug lifecycle were identified. It was revealed that designing drugs having accelerated environmental degradability is important to combat AMR. Also, redesigning existing drugs is environmentally more resource-intensive than developing new ones with significant cost-saving potential in solvent recycling and flexible manufacturing, both of which are not common at present. With regards to green-related barriers, stringent quality requirements on drugs (and therefore risks in making relevant green-oriented modifications) and time-consuming and costly regulatory approvals were found to be the key ones.

The operational green practices’ framework developed for individual pharmaceutical supply chain stakeholders could help practitioners in benchmarking, modifying and ultimately, adopting green practices. The findings could also assist policymakers in reframing existing regulations, such as Good Manufacturing Practices or GMP-related, to promote greener drug development.

This work is the first systematic attempt to identify and categorise operational-level green supply chain practices across stakeholders in the pharmaceutical sector.

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  Biodegradability of drugs is more important than environmental degradability.

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  Flexible manufacturing process design (or quality by design) reduces resource wastage.

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  Ecopharmacovigilance is effective in combating PIE and AMR-related issues.

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  Upstream and downstream coordination is key to greening pharma operations.

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  Costly and time-consuming regulatory approval is a key barrier to greening pharma processes.

Biodegradability of drugs is more important than environmental degradability.

Flexible manufacturing process design (or quality by design) reduces resource wastage.

Ecopharmacovigilance is effective in combating PIE and AMR-related issues.

Upstream and downstream coordination is key to greening pharma operations.

Costly and time-consuming regulatory approval is a key barrier to greening pharma processes.

The study aims to add to the body of knowledge of open source tangible product management (also called open design). The objective is also to develop a guideline for efficient open source tangible product development and adoption.

The exploratory research design using secondary data (like newspapers, magazines, research articles, bogs, papers, etc.) is used to analyze open source tangible product design challenges and enablers. The success stories of Open Source Software projects (OSS) were studied for identification of critical success factors and further their relevancy was tested in the two popular cases of open source drug discovery (malaria and tuberculosis)

Open innovation has become a part of competitive strategy of current businesses. It requires an efficient intellectual property protection regime for its implementation. However, in a market dominated by proprietary benefits, the open source technology development can serve as remedy for innovation needs of neglected sectors. The OSS literature revealed managing two classes of factors, namely technology sponsor level factors and environmental factors for efficiency and effectiveness. The case study analysis in the context of applicability of these OSS critical factors showed their limitations in open source tangible products, and highlighted understanding additional challenges and remedies.

Open source innovation is a collaborative effort involving inputs from various/diverse players, hence monitoring the effort and motivation level of the contributors is a cumbersome task. Only the information that is available online and in print media is taken as research inputs in this work. Also the data taken were from two case studies; a lot more case studies in the open design domain can progress the theory. The implications of this study are far-reaching in the areas where profit motivated proprietary efforts lack in addressing societal need. It provides guidelines for addressing those unmet needs by developing products in a collaborative way without intellectual property hurdles.

The essence of open design is becoming more vital, and there is a pressing need to build theory to support it, which still is elusive and dispersed. The study fills the gap using secondary data and case study approach.

The Indian pharmaceutical industry has contributed significantly to global healthcare by securing superior-quality, inexpensive and reachable medicines worldwide. However, supply chain management (SCM) has been challenging due to constantly shifting requirements for short lifecycles of products, the convergence of industry and changeable realities on the ground. This study aims to identify, assess and prioritize the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities of the pharmaceutical SCM environment in India.

The paper employs a Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat (SWOT) analysis and recognizes strategies to utilize the advantages of the strengths and opportunities, rectify weaknesses and resolve threats.

A variety of strategies that could have a positive effect on the Indian pharmaceutical business are presented. Findings and suggested strategies can significantly advance knowledge, enhance understanding and contribute to the growth of a successful SCM for the Indian pharmaceutical sector.

This paper would act as a roadmap to greater comprehension of the market leaders and market leaders' operating climate. The findings from this study will offer academic scholars and business practitioners deeper insights into the environment of SCM.

The authors’ examination aims to offer a quantitative perspective on the interrelationships between tourist harassment, the destination image, emotions and destination revisit intent. Furthermore, it explores the moderating role of travelers' experiences and tolerance in the link between tourist harassment, the destination image and revisit intentions.

The authors’ examination seeks to fill this research gap by utilizing a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to test eight hypotheses using AMOS 23 and PROCESS MARCO.

The findings showed that tourist harassment negatively impacts the destination image and revisit intentions. Moreover, it indicated that tourists' experiences and tolerance moderate the link between harassment, the destination image and revisit intentions for travelers with high levels of experience and tolerance compared to those with low levels.

This article contributes to travel research and service failure recovery research on tourist harassment and its consequences. To this end, it developed and validated a new tourist harassment scale. Moreover, it is the first study that examines the moderating role of visitors' experiences and tolerance on the link between tourist harassment, the destination image and revisit intentions. Finally, this article is the first to empirically offer destination harassment reduction techniques.

This paper aims to uncover the key enablers of an agile supply chain in the manufacturing sector amidst disruptions such as pandemics, trade wars and cross-border challenges. The study aims to assess the applicability of existing literature to manufacturing and identify additional industry-specific enablers contributing to the field of supply chain management.

The research methodology is comprehensively described, detailing the utilization of extent literature and semistructured interviews with mid- and top-level executives in a supply chain. The authors ensure the robustness of the data collection process and results interpretation.

The study identifies six essential dimensions of an agile supply chain: information availability, design robustness, external resource planning, quickness and speed, public policy influencing skills and cash flow management. The study provides valuable insights for industry professionals to develop agile supply chains capable of responding to disruptions in a rapidly changing world.

This study is limited by its focus on the manufacturing sector, and future research may explore the applicability of these findings to other industries. By focusing on these essential dimensions identified in the study, managers can develop strategies to improve the agility and responsiveness of their supply chains. In addition, further research may investigate how these enablers may vary in different regions or contexts.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced executives to reconsider their sourcing strategies and reduce dependence on suppliers from specific geographies. To ensure business continuity, companies should assess the risk associated with their suppliers and develop a business continuity plan that includes multisourcing their strategic materials. Digital transformation will revolutionize the supply chain industry, allowing for end-to-end visibility, real time insights and seamless integration of business and processes. Companies should also focus on creating a collaborative workforce ecosystem that prioritizes worker health and well-being. Maintaining trust with stakeholders is crucial, and firms must revisit their relationship management strategies. Finally, to maintain business leadership and competitiveness during volatile periods, the product portfolio needs to be diversified and marketing and sales teams must work in tandem with product teams to position new products accordingly.

This work contributes substantially to the literature on supply chain agility (SCA) by adding several new factors. The findings result in a more efficient and cost-effective supply chain during a stable situation and high service levels in a volatile situation. A less complex methodology for understanding SCA provides factors with a more straightforward method for identifying well-springs of related drivers. First, the study contributes to reestablish the factors such as quickness, responsiveness, competency, flexibility, proactiveness, collaboration and partnership, customer focus, velocity and speed, visibility, robustness, cost-effectiveness, alertness accessibility to information and decisiveness as applicable factors for SCA. Second, the study suggests a few more factors, such as liquidity management, Vendors’ economic assessment and economic diversity, that are the study’s unique contributions in extending the enablers of SCA. Finally, public policy influencing skills, local administration connects and maintaining capable vendors are the areas that were never considered essential for SCA. These factors have emerged as a vital operational factor during the lockdown, and academicians may consider these factors in the future to assess their applicability.

This study provides new insights for decision-makers looking to enhance the resilience and agility of their supply chains. The identification of unique enablers specific to the manufacturing industry contributes to the existing body of literature on agile supply chains in the face of disruptions.

Despite the digital penetration in the larger consumer market, the adoption of e-pharmacy services is reported to be very low in emerging economies like India. In this context, the purpose of the current study is to examine the influence of consumers’ risk perception on their intention to purchase medicines/pharmaceuticals through online pharmacies. Furthermore, the study seeks to understand to what extent the perceived usefulness of online pharmacy mediates the relationship between different dimensions of perceived risk and purchase intention.

The study was conducted among a sample of 800 consumers in India who are familiar with online e-commerce. To ensure the homogeneity of the sample and hence the generalizations of results, inclusion criteria were set as not to include respondents who have made a prior purchase through e-pharmacy services. Self-reporting questionnaires were administered among the respondents, who were selected through a purposive and convenience sampling method. Measurement modeling and path analysis were done using IBM SPSS 23.0 and AMOS 24.0 to test the hypotheses and draw inferences.

Results revealed that consumers’ risk perceptions, such as financial, product, source and privacy risks, had a significant direct and indirect effect on their intention to purchase medicines through online pharmacies. India is the major universal provider of generic medicines. The insights gained from this study can help policymakers, corporates, consumers, distributors, retailers and marketing managers to frame effective strategies for improved usage of online platforms for procuring medications.

This study is pioneering in conceptualizing and testing a theoretical model linking consumers’ risk perceptions, perceived usefulness and intention to purchase through online pharmacies, particularly in the context of an emerging economy like India. Implications regarding facilitating and nurturing a conducive platform for online purchasing medicines and its outcomes are elaborated, thus striving to fill a gap in the existing literature. By examining the proposed framework through the lens of the technology acceptance model and theory of risk perception, this study seeks to add to the emergent literature on online pharmacies, especially in emerging economies with huge market potential.

This study investigated the relationship between last-mile distribution or delivery (LMD) and commodity access through the mediating role of commodity availability and commodity security and the moderating effect of supply chain integration (SCI).

The study adopted the survey research design and employed the questionnaire instrument in collecting primary data from respondents in Eastern Regional Health Institutions in Ghana. The total number of valid responses received was 204. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach was adopted to analyze the relationship between the study variables.

The findings showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between LMD and commodity availability as well as LMD and commodity security. Moreover, while the relationship between commodity availability and commodity access is positive and significant, that between commodity security and commodity access is positive but insignificant. Furthermore, there is a positive and statistically significant relationship between LMD and commodity access. The study discovered that the interaction between LMD and commodity access is insignificant and negatively affected by SCI.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, no previous studies have empirically verified the effect of LMD on commodity access in the presence of mediating factors such as commodity availability and commodity security and SCI as the moderating factors.

The purpose of this study is to increase awareness of current supply chain (SC) security-related issues by providing an extensive analysis of existing SC security solutions and their limitations. The security of SCs has received increasing attention from researchers, due to the emerging risks associated with their distributed nature. The increase in risk in SCs comes from threats that are inherently similar regardless of the type of SC, thus, requiring similar defence mechanisms. Being able to identify the types of threats will help developers to build effective defences.

In this work, we provide an analysis of the threats, possible attacks and traceability solutions for SCs, and highlight outstanding problems. Through a comprehensive literature review (2015–2021), we analysed various SC security solutions, focussing on tracking solutions. In particular, we focus on three types of SCs: digital, food and pharmaceutical that are considered prime targets for cyberattacks. We introduce a systematic categorization of threats and discuss emerging solutions for prevention and mitigation.

Our study shows that the current traceability solutions for SC systems do not offer a broadened security analysis and fail to provide extensive protection against cyberattacks. Furthermore, global SCs face common challenges, as there are still unresolved issues, especially those related to the increasing SC complexity and interconnectivity, where cyberattacks are spread across suppliers.

This is the first time that a systematic categorization of general threats for SC is made based on an existing threat model for hardware SC.

Nowadays, in many organizations, products are not delivered instantly. So, the customers should wait to receive their needed products, which will form a queueing-inventory model. Waiting a long time in the queue to receive products may cause dissatisfaction and churn of loyal customers, which can be a significant loss for organizations. Although many studies have been done on queueing-inventory models, more practical models in this area are needed, such as considering customer prioritization. Moreover, in many models, minimizing the total cost for the organization has been overlooked.

This paper will compare several machine learning (ML) algorithms to prioritize customers. Moreover, benefiting from the best ML algorithm, customers will be categorized into different classes based on their value and importance. Finally, a mathematical model will be developed to determine the allocation policy of on-hand products to each group of customers through multi-channel service retailing to minimize the organization’s total costs and increase the loyal customers' satisfaction level.

To investigate the application of the proposed method, a real-life case study on vaccine distribution at Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran has been addressed to ensure model validation. The proposed model’s accuracy was assessed as excellent based on the results generated by the ML algorithms, problem modeling and case study.

Prioritizing customers based on their value with the help of ML algorithms and optimizing the waiting queues to reduce customers' waiting time based on a mathematical model could lead to an increase in satisfaction levels among loyal customers and prevent their churn. This study’s uniqueness lies in its focus on determining the policy in which customers receive products based on their value in the queue, which is a relatively rare topic of research in queueing management systems. Additionally, the results obtained from the study provide strong validation for the model’s functionality.

This study aims to examine consumer purchase behavior towards E-pharmacy from a consumption value perspective. For this purpose, the influence of consumption values on consumer purchase intention is evaluated. Further, the role of consumer involvement in online purchase setup in the context of E-pharmacy is observed using moderation analysis.

The study used a cross-sectional survey design, wherein the respondents in the Delhi-National Capital Region of India were approached using a purposive sampling method. Responses received through the structured questionnaire were subjected to analysis using Smart PLS Version 4.0.9.6.

Results indicate a significant influence of functional (partial), emotional, social and conditional values on consumers’ purchase intention. Moreover, the moderation effect of consumer online involvement is seen in functional value (partial) and emotional value–purchase intention relationships.

This study reinforces the use of the consumption value perspective to explain consumer purchase behavior toward information system (IS)-based platforms such as E-pharmacy. Some of the results, in this context, that did not establish significant relationships between a given form of consumption values and purchase intention, open up the possibilities of retesting the said relationships in the future. The researchers would realize the benefit of such examinations, as the E-pharmacy sector further evolves and matures in the future. Further, the successful establishment of a significant moderating role of consumer online involvement in certain consumption value-purchase intention relationships such as safety, perceived convenience and comfort value paves the way for future researchers to explore consumer online involvement for a similar role in IS research.

This study provides cues for E-pharmacy marketers to focus on enhancing product safety, usage comfort, users’ social image and awareness toward health consciousness that will help build purchase intention and assist in overcoming the challenges in the long run. It further suggests that marketers should have a strong re-look at forming price value perceptions and they must enhance the interactive features of the company’s mobile apps/websites with the help of the emerging artificial intelligence tools to re-orient the epistemic value and perceived convenience value toward E-pharmacy services. Furthermore, this study recommends following digital marketing practices to increase consumer online involvement, which would help strengthen perceived convenience formation that would otherwise be difficult to attain for E-pharmacy consumers.

This study provides novel insight into consumer purchase intention evaluation through the consumption value perspective in an emerging E-pharmacy market. The consumption value frame of reference helps to understand consumers’ buying rationale that affects their buying behavior beyond the initial adoption. Further, the moderation analysis of consumer online involvement provides an additional dimension to understanding consumer buying behavior concerning E-pharmacy.