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Small business enterprises (SBEs) are a very critical element of the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector especially in the underdeveloped locations of the country. SBEs not only provide employment but also support the local economy by way of their products and services. In modern times, their presence on the digital platform is becoming essential and thus, these types of studies are required to bring to the table the issues and practices from the less represented sections of the sector. This study attempts to understand the responsiveness of the SBEs in Sikkim, India, and Bhutan in terms of their frequency of digital marketing (DM) usage. This study also attempts to understand the relationship between the factors affecting the practice or adoption of DM among the SBEs of Bhutan and Sikkim, India. For this purpose, empirical data were gathered from 320 SBEs from Sikkim and Bhutan representing the various sectors as defined by the national governments of the two countries. The SBEs of Bhutan and Sikkim are not found to be very active on the front of DM. The SBEs in these two locations need to become more active in using the digital platforms and tools to promote their products and services. The industry trends and government support in the form of infrastructural development are expected to play a vital role in orienting the SBEs into the adoption of DM in a better way. This study is crucial for the MSME sector, the government, telecom services providers, and local entrepreneurs.

Due to its high leverage nature, a bank suffers vitally from the credit risk it inherently bears. As a result, managing credit is the ultimate responsibility of a bank. In this chapter, we examine how efficiently banks manage their credit risk via a powerful tool used widely in the decision/management science area called data envelopment analysis (DEA). Among various existing versions, our DEA is a two-stage, dynamic model that captures how each bank performs relative to its peer banks in terms of value creation and credit risk control. Using data from the largest 22 banks in the United States over the period of 1996 till 2013, we have identified leading banks such as First Bank systems and Bank of New York Mellon before and after mergers and acquisitions, respectively. With the goal of preventing financial crises such as the one that occurred in 2008, a conceptual model of credit risk reduction and management (CRR&M) is proposed in the final section of this study. Discussions on strategy formulations at both the individual bank level and the national level are provided. With the help of our two-stage DEA-based decision support systems and CRR&M-driven strategies, policy/decision-makers in a banking sector can identify improvement opportunities regarding value creation and risk mitigation. The effective tool and procedures presented in this work will help banks worldwide manage the unknown and become more resilient to potential credit crises in the 21st century.