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Entrepreneurship; Business Strategy; Business Environment courses.

This case is appropriate for use in Masters in Business Administration (MBA) programs as well as advanced undergraduate courses. The case provides an apt simulation of the emerging Indian fast food companies in the competitive dynamics of Indian business environment.

Rakesh an MBA graduate from the University of Hartford, Connecticut, after four years of corporate experience, made a decision to start a business of his own. Thus, was born Infusions Foods Pvt Ltd (IFPL) an entrepreneurial venture of Rakesh Raghunathan. IFPL launched its fast food chain of grilled wraps under the brand name of PETAWRAP. The brand was positioned to target the recent consumer behavior shift of Indian consumers which was towards healthy, nutritious food combined with the concept of necessity-based eating out.IFPL had successfully opened six company owned outlets by March 2011. Their strategy for success was built on the age-old four-point formula of a good-quality product, at value for money prices, delivered efficiently to the customers. The absence of “a hygienic branded product” in this Indian fast food industry contributed to the initial success of their company. Rakesh believed that key to building the brand image depended on quality in terms of operations standardization and product quality.

The case is structured to achieve the following pedagogical objectives: To identify the forces on which of an entrepreneurial opportunity is dependent; To analyze the changes in competitive dynamics of Indian fast food industry and identify the factors that lead to the emergence and acceptance of PetaWrap; To understand the challenges of building a brand in low-cost business model and the economics of cost incurred; To evaluate the business strategy and the business model adopted by the company for expansion.

Teaching notes

India has a big pool of internet savvy population that is not only accessing the internet but also buying online. Online shopping could be defined as the concept of buying and selling of goods over the internet. From the perspective of the seller, it is the attempt on the seller's part to attract and persuade the prospect to conduct the purchase decision-making process, and ensure satisfaction and loyalty. From the perspective of the buyer, online purchase behavior is the degree to which consumers access, browse, shop and transact and repeat the behavior. With a revolution in the very basics of transaction from a physical store format to a non-store one, the retail industry has begun to understand the indispensability of the internet as a medium of transaction. However, the rate of diffusion and adoption of the new phenomenon among consumers is still relatively low. With the internet advancing new opportunities, it is important to understand the factors that could motivate Indian consumers to indulge in online buying. This paper is a theoretical attempt at conceptualizing “motivation” as a construct, in the context of online buying and testing it empirically. The objective of the study is to explore the critical motivational factors that influence the online buying decision of people, and to establish their causal impact, if any, through developing an integrated model.

The study, descriptive, diagnostic, and causal in nature, has been conducted in the context of online buying of railway tickets in India. In the first phase, a pilot survey was conducted on a sample of 100 users of the online railway reservation. After having tested the survey instrument for validity and reliability, the second phase of the study was conducted on a sample of 327 users of online railway reservation facilities. A series of multiple regressions analyses was conducted to determine the causal impacts of critical motivational parameters on online reservation of railway ticket by users in the Indian context. The analysis of demographics based on gender and age groups were also made to capture the cross-comparisons of critical motivational attributes.

The results were in expected direction and fulfilled the research aims of the current study. The factor analysis had grouped the items into nine constructs with 38 items. For analytical purposes, descriptive statistics were used through measures of central tendency and dispersion. The item total correlations to each construct were found significant. All the critical motivational constructs were found to have a significant impact on the intention of buyers of booking/purchasing railway tickets online in India. The analyses of demographics established that as far as gender is concerned, all the critical motivational attributes to online buying intention have no significant differences between men and women; however, for age groups it was observed that some of the attributes were found significant and others were not.

Through identifying and empirically establishing critical motivational parameters in online reservation of railway tickets in Indian context across demographics, this study helps to understand what consumers expect from the online reservation facilities from the railways for their convenience and satisfaction. By examining the various dimensions explored and established in this study, the concerned authority can develop a better understanding of consumer needs and expectations. Academicians and researchers can use this study for assessing consumer motivation towards online reservation of railway tickets in Indian context, and identifying such attributes that would lead to favourable motivational disposition towards online reservation of railway tickets. The policy decision makers of railway authority may also use the findings of this study as a resource, while constructing, managing, and evaluating their marketing strategies in the Indian context.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the life priorities of Gen Y, the largest cohort of generation in India. Further variations in the life priorities of Gen Y with regard to their demographics have also been analyzed.

Ten-item Schwartz Value Inventory was subjected to factor analysis to explore defining factors for studying the life priorities of Gen Y in Indian context. Respondents ranking of the factors so revealed will allow us to study their preferred life priorities. The effect of demographics was assessed by employing an independent sample t-test.

Factor analysis revealed two factors, “materialism” and “altruism,” and Gen Y preferred materialism over altruism as their life priority. Gender and work experience did not show significant differences with regard to the life preferences Gen Y.

Gen Y is increasing its presence at workplaces across the world, and limited research has been done to study their motivations, needs and expectations at work in Indian context. This study could help managers gain insightful information related to the life priorities of Gen Y which could be harnessed to make effective strategies for their recruitment and retention.

The paper provides a valuable contribution by measuring the life priorities of Gen Y in India and adds to the scant literature on this cohort of generation.

The paper examines relationships between acculturation, affective attitude toward the advertisement (Aad), and purchase intention (PI) of Asian‐Indian immigrants. Our results indicate that (i) Aad as well as PI of Asian‐Indian immigrants for the Indian versus the American advertisements vary within and across the stages of acculturation: low, moderate, and high, and (ii) there is a strong positive relationship between Aad and PI. Our results imply that the degree of acculturation (DA) should be considered in advertising. Low and moderate acculturated Asian‐Indians would be more effectively reached by developing Indian advertisements depicting Indian cultural themes rather than American advertisements showing mainstream American culture. High acculturated Asian‐Indian immigrants should be reached by American advertisements rather than Indian advertisements. Our findings also confirm that the more consumers like an advertisement the more likely they are to indicate an intention to purchase the advertised product.

According to Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), the size of the Indian online retail industry is INR 2000 crore and the industry is projected a steady annual growth rate of 35 per cent to reach INR 7000 crore by 2015. Given the growing importance of the online retail industry in India, it remains imperative for web retailers and internet marketers to understand the determinants of online customers' purchase intention to decipher what is important to the Indian online customer. This paper attempts to identify the determinants of online purchase intention among youth in the Indian context.

Based on a detailed literature review, customer online purchase intention shopping orientation factors such as impulse purchase orientation, brand orientation and quality orientation were considered along with online trust and prior online purchase experience. The results are based on 95 valid responses received from the online survey.

The research established that impulse purchase orientation, prior online purchase experience and online trust have significant impact on the customer purchase intention. Males are found to have more intention to shop online than females.

A bigger and more representative sample which includes respondents from all walks of life would have been appropriate though the internet savvy students contribute the major share of online buyers.

The study has implications for web‐retailers, marketing managers, internet marketers, online vendors and web‐shoppers in India. Indian online shoppers typically tend to seek offers and great value price deals instead of brand or quality. Online retailers may target the impulse purchase orientation nature of Indian consumers and should focus on increasing online trust.

In the Indian context, this is the first time shopping orientations have been studied with customers' online purchase intentions.

This study aims to examine the relationship between the perception of consumers about corporate social responsibility (CSR) and consumers’ purchasing behaviour in the retail sector. Specifically, this study investigates the impact of perceived CSR on consumer attitude and behaviour and the influence of attitude on the relationship between perceived CSR and purchase behaviour.

In this study for collection of the data, an online questionnaire was distributed among the Indian retail consumers. From the collected primary data set, 249 data points were found fit for analysis. Further, the direct, indirect and moderating effects were evaluated using the structural equation modelling technique.

It is identified that while perceived CSR has a significant influence on consumer purchase behaviour, consumer attitude is having an insignificant impact on the relationship between perceived CSR and purchase behaviour. The findings of this study also show that consumer demographics do not have any moderating impact on the relationship between perceived CSR and purchase behaviour.

The findings of this study are useful to retail managers interested in enhancing CSR. The results of this study suggest that retailers should focus on strengthening consumers’ perceptions about retailers’ CSR initiatives and enhancing co-creation activities. As an extension to this research, further study can include more potential mediators like consumer effectiveness and timing of CSR initiatives.

This study applies stakeholder theory as well as extends the classic theory of planned behaviour model and proposes the establishment of links among consumers’ perceptions about CSR, consumer attitude and behaviour around the retail sector. In addition, this study considers not only overall consumer behaviour but also specific dimensions of consumer behaviour, namely, loyalty, intention and satisfaction.

The research examined the influence of cosmopolitanism, global self-identity and online communities on Indian consumers’ green knowledge and consequently, its effect on the perception of green apparel product attributes.

A mall intercept technique was used for data collection in four cities in India. The hypothesized relationships were examined through structural equation modeling.

Cosmopolitanism, global self-identity and online communities influenced green knowledge. Green knowledge influenced Indian consumers’ perception of green apparel. The results indicate that social conformance and identification with online communities predicted consumers’ understanding of green apparel.

The research focused on green knowledge, cosmopolitanism, online communities and consumers’ perception of green apparel. The role of demographics, culture and product attributes like price, quality, promotions and design were not considered and may provide valuable insights.

Green apparel manufacturers can communicate about the product attributes by linking it with growing global environmental consciousness, cosmopolitanism and global self-identity traits that focus on green consumption. Online communities can be used to inform, educate and promote green apparel.

The study will pave the way forward to explore green consumption paradigms among fashion-oriented consumers in the Indian market who drive sustainable behavior.

The research suggested that conformance with global values and identification with online communities can be critical in helping consumers understand green apparel. It examined the importance of offline and online social conformance in evaluating green apparel.

This study aims to investigate the domestic sustainable consumption practices in Indian households and the motivations to do so. These practices also contribute to environment management and its impact on Indian society through the action of reusing, reducing and recycling of consumed products for two generations, namely, the Baby Boomer and the Generation Z.

An exploratory qualitative research was undertaken in which the data were collected through personal interview technique with 64 respondents including males and females from the generations of Baby Boomers and Generation Z of Indian households.

The theoretical framework of the 3R was extended to inculcate broader themes like awareness, action and motivation for the domestic sustainable activities. The findings conclude that the domestic sustainable consumption practices of Baby Boomers in India were far more advanced than their Generation Z counterparts. These two generations differed in their awareness sources, actions of sustainability and the motivations for undergoing the domestic sustainable activities. Managerial implications have been framed for organisations like start-ups, sustainable firms, government organisations and second-hand product vendors. These practices in such organisations could help in the enhancement of circular economy through the domestic waste disposal.

Practical implications are for organisations that can consider the domestic sustainability consumption practices while planning their strategies to maximise stakeholder satisfaction through their corporate social responsibility initiatives and create more goodwill and growth avenues for their businesses.

Where most of the past literature concentrates on the supply chain and manufacturing initiatives of sustainability or sustainable consumption, very few studies look at the angle of domestic sustainability initiative and how they could be linked to the initiative of circular economy. This paper fills this gap in past literature.

Marketing, retail.

The case study is specific to the marketing demographics of Indian shoppers with respect to organized retail stores, and therefore, the inter-relationships between various design elements and the relative importance of certain parameters discussed in the text may not follow the same pattern elsewhere in the world.

The case emulates the real-life situation of an organized retail store, Super Mart, to understand the inculcation of voice of the customer in the design of organized retail stores in India. It gives insights about factors which influence the shopping intent of customers while giving information about the inter-relationships among various design characteristics. It also gives an idea about inter-dependence between design characteristics and customer requirements. This is followed by certain questions, the responses to which can be interpreted from the text and the data provided therein.

The case aims to educate its audience about the following aspects of organized retail business: factors influencing offline shopping intent of customers; relative order of importance of customer requirements with respect to organized retail stores; inter-relationships between various design elements; and future trends in the organized retail space. Such a knowledge would help hone the skills of the next generation of business leaders in the retail space.

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Research and innovation are a major national priority in India and are conducted across a diverse group of institutions. While Research Management (RM) activities were previously integrated into researcher and other roles in India, there is now recognition that RM services rendered by professionally trained staff can reduce the administrative burden on researchers, thereby enhancing the ease of doing research. This chapter provides context on the complex higher education and research ecosystem in India, outlines the circumstances leading to the development of RM support at Indian institutions, and highlights the contributions of the India Research Management Initiative in creating a community of practice for RM. The chapter concludes with some projections for the future of RM in India.