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Gillette’s historically successful “razor and blade” business model (RBM) has been a promising benchmark for multiple businesses across diverse industries worldwide in the past several decades. The extant literature deals with very few nuances of this business model notwithstanding the fact that there are several variants of this business model being put to practical use by firms in diverse industries in grossly metaphorically equivalent situations.

This study adopts the 2 × 2 truth table framework from the domains of mathematical logic and combinatorics in fleshing out all possible (four logical possibilities) variants of the razor and blade business model for further analysis. This application presents four mutually exclusive yet collectively exhaustive possibilities on any chosen dimension. Two major dimensions (viz., provision of subsidy and intra- or extra-firm involvement in the making of razors or blades or both) form part of the discussion in this paper. In addition, this study synthesizes and streamlines entrepreneurial wisdom from multiple intra-industry and inter-industry benchmarks in terms of real-time firms explicitly or implicitly adopting several variants of the RBM that suit their unique context and idiosyncratic trajectory of evolution in situations that are grossly reflective of the metaphorically equivalent scenario of razor and recurrent blades. Inductive method of research is carried out with real-time cases from diverse industries with a pivotally common pattern of razor and blade model in some form or the other.

Several new variants of the razor and blade model (much beyond what the extant literature explicitly projects) have been discovered from the multiple metaphorically equivalent cases of RBM across industries. All of these expand the portfolio of options that relevant entrepreneurial firms can explore and exploit the best possible option chosen from them, given their unique context and idiosyncratic trajectory of growth.

This study has enriched the literature by presenting and analyzing a more inclusive or perhaps comprehensive palette of explicit choices in the form of several variants of the RBM for the relevant entrepreneurial firms to choose from. Future research can undertake the task of comparing these variants of RBM with those of upcoming servitization business models such as guaranteed availability, subscription and performance-based contracting and exploring the prospects of diverse combinations.

Smart entrepreneurial firms identify and adopt inspiring benchmarks (like razor and blade model whenever appropriate) duly tweaked and blended into a gestalt benchmark for optimal profits and attractive market shares. They target diverse market segments for tied-goods with different variants or combinations of the relevant benchmarks in the form of variegated customer value propositions (CVPs) that have unique and enticing appeal to the respective market segments.

Value-sensitive customers on the rise globally choose the option that best suits them from among multiple alternatives offered by competing firms in the market. As long as the ratio of utility to price of such an offer is among the highest, even a no-frills CVP may be most appealing to one market segment while a plush CVP may be tempting to yet another market segment simultaneously. While professional business firms embrace resource leverage practices consciously, amateur customers do so subconsciously. Each party subliminally desires to have the maximum bang-to-buck ratio as the optimal return on investment, given their priorities ceteris paribus.

Prior studies on the RBM have explicitly captured only a few variants of the razor and blade model. This study is perhaps the first of its kind that ferrets out many other variants (more than ten) of the razor and blade model with due simplification and exemplification, justification and demystification.

Cryptoassets are a diverse category of digital assets that rely on blockchain technology. They encompass various categories, such as cryptocurrencies, utility tokens, security tokens, tokenized assets and securities, and stablecoins. Cryptocurrencies are decentralized digital units of value that enable secure and transparent transactions. Utility tokens provide access to specific services or products within a blockchain network. Security tokens offer rights and entitlements similar to traditional securities, representing ownership in real-world assets or participation in investment opportunities. Tokenized assets and securities are digital representations of tangible or intangible assets, allowing for fractional ownership and enhanced liquidity. Stablecoins are blockchain-based digital assets designed to maintain a stable value, often pegged to fiat currencies or physical assets. This chapter examines each category's characteristics, benefits, and risks; explores their implementations and current applications in the fintech ecosystem; and discusses relevant regulations and future development opportunities.

The cyber-physical system (CPS) is a well proven technology for improving system performance, resilience, and interconnectivity. In emerging nations like India, the logistics industry lacks practices connecting logistical equipment with cyberspace. This paper aims to bridge this gap by identifying and evaluating the performance metrics of connectivity solutions. Its goal is to establish an appropriate infrastructure that enables seamless connectivity within the CPS-enabled logistics ecosystem.

A novel integrated decision method is employed to classify the optimal connectivity solution for CPS. It integrates Regret Theory (RT) and Preference Ranking for Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation (PROMETHEE-1) method in a Hesitant Fuzzy (HF) environment. This method considers the psychological traits of decision-makers and effectively incorporates their hesitancy for the classification.

The findings highlight security (c10) as the foremost critical performance metric, followed by cost (c6), scalability (c9), traceability (c2) and trustworthiness (c1) to build connective infrastructure for CPS. For extensive coverage scenarios, like freight transportation, cellular connectivity (a2) emerges as the most suitable connectivity solution.

This study provides a roadmap to logistics managers for selecting a suitable connectivity infrastructure to enhance seamless connectivity in logistics operations and processes. Technology providers can utilize the findings to develop the CPS infrastructure for effective freight logistics management.

This research introduces a novel decision-making tool for making choices related to advanced technology assessment. It holds significant value in facilitating well-informed decisions in the digital transformation era.

The purpose of this study is to examine the variables affecting college students’ consumption behaviour in the context of the internet celebrity economy and the We Media environment.

In this study, five independent variables − perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, attitude, We Media environment and internet celebrity marketing, as well as one mediating variable, consumption intention, are used to analyse college students’ consumption behaviour.

This study concluded that all five independent variables have positive relationships with the consumption intention and that the consumption intention also has a positive relationship with the consumption behaviour.

This study expanded the technology acceptance model and theory of planned behaviour model, which could provide insights for future research on consumption intention and behaviour. In addition, this study gives guidance for businesses considering to join this new industry in the internet celebrity economy.

The purpose of the study is to find out the impact of Digital Financial Inclusion (DFI) on economic growth [(Industrial Production Index (INDP)] of Bangladesh.

Using the monthly data over the period 2018 M12 to 2021 M12, this study applied the Auto-regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model to assess the effect of DFI indicators on INDP. The secondary data was collected from the Bangladesh Bank and CEIC Global Economic Data.

The study found that the majority of DFI indicators are positively associated with INDP. From the short-run ARDL, it is seen that one unit positive increase in Point of Sales Transactions (POST) can increase the INDP by 0.055 units. From the long-run ARDL, it is seen that POST and e-commerce transactions (ECOMT) have a significant positive impact, while Automated Teller Machine Transactions (ATMT) have a significant negative effect on INDP. One unit increase in POST and ECOMT increases INDP by 0.13544 and 0.11611 units, respectively.

During the era of the fourth industrial revolution, the findings will be beneficial for policymakers, financial technology service providers, manufacturers, consumers, corporations and investors as they pave the way for a more inclusive approach to financial transactions for economic growth.

The study’s novelty is that it explored the influential DFI indicators and shed light on both short-run and long-run relationships between the indicators and macro-economy from the context of a developing nation.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-04-2023-0306

The adoption and usage of information and communication technology (ICT) has introduced transformation in the tourism arena with ICT applications extensively used in tourism industry. In addition to ICT, an advanced infrastructure is essential for the development of tourism industry. Thus, the goal of present research is to probe the impact of ICT and infrastructure on tourism development (TD) in 28 Asian economies using method of moments panel quantile regression (MM-QR) model introduced by Machado and Silva (2019) applied to a panel data from 2008 to 2020. Empirical findings demonstrate that there is an asymmetric non-linear effect of ICT and infrastructure through all quantile range. This indicates that ICT has negative effect on TD in poor countries while positive impact in rich countries. Negative impact in poor countries may be due to higher establishment cost and information technology (IT) productivity paradox. However, results confirm the importance of ICT and infrastructure in endorsing the development of tourism sector in Asian nations by lessening time and money costs and facilitating travelers.

Against the backdrop of the global reshaping of supply chains, supply chain ecosystems have emerged as a critical force in ensuring the high-quality development of enterprises and fostering stable economic growth. However, a systematic theoretical understanding of how to construct these supply chain ecosystems remains nascent. This study aims to explore the mechanism of the process of building supply chain ecosystems between digital innovation platform enterprises and digital trading platform enterprises from the perspective of dynamic capabilities.

An explanatory case study is conducted based on a theoretical framework grounded on dynamic capabilities view. Two preeminent digital platform enterprises in China (Haier and JD.com) are studied. The authors primarily conducted this research by collecting a large volume of these Chinese public materials.

First, the construction processes of supply chain ecosystems in both digital platform enterprises can be delineated into three stages: embryonic, development and maturity. Second, digital innovation platform enterprises’ construction process is primarily influenced by factors such as production and operational collaboration, consumer demand and research and development. This influence is exerted through interactions on digital platforms and within sub-ecosystems. Meanwhile, digital trading platform enterprises’ construction process is influenced by factors such as infrastructure development, consumer demand and financial support, driving dynamic capability formation through multi-party cooperation and ecological interactions based on conceptual identity.

In the establishment of supply chain ecosystems, digital platform enterprises should prioritize the cultivation of opportunity expansion, resource integration and symbiotic relationship capabilities. Furthermore, this study shows that digital platform enterprises need to actively adjust their interactive relationships with cooperating enterprises based on changes in the market, industry, policies and their own developmental stages.

This study addresses prior deficiencies in understanding the comprehensive construction of supply chain ecosystems and provides significant insights to enhance the theoretical foundation of supply chain ecosystem studies. Additionally, this paper uncovers the dynamic capability development behaviors and contextual features inherent in the construction process of supply chain ecosystems by digital platform enterprises.

The Internet has changed consumer decision-making and influenced business behaviour. User-generated product information is abundant and readily available. This paper argues that user-generated content can be efficiently utilised for business intelligence using data science and develops an approach to demonstrate the methods and benefits of the different techniques.

Using Python Selenium, Beautiful Soup and various text mining approaches in R to access, retrieve and analyse user-generated content, we argue that (1) companies can extract information about the product attributes that matter most to consumers and (2) user-generated reviews enable the use of text mining results in combination with other demographic and statistical information (e.g. ratings) as an efficient input for competitive analysis.

The paper shows that combining different types of data (textual and numerical data) and applying and combining different methods can provide organisations with important business information and improve business performance.

The paper shows that combining different types of data (textual and numerical data) and applying and combining different methods can provide organisations with important business information and improve business performance.

The study makes several contributions to the marketing and management literature, mainly by illustrating the methodological advantages of text mining and accompanying statistical analysis, the different types of distilled information and their use in decision-making.

This study combines the TAM and UGT frameworks to investigate how Vietnamese students' views of ChatGPT and intrinsic needs affect their intentions to use it for education (via variables including perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, novelty, information seeking and academic content creation). We will employ TAM theory (Davis, 1989) and UGT theory to elucidate university students' motivations for utilising ChatGPT in Vietnam. Simultaneously, we aim to address the limitation stemming from data uniformity. Our research will make a substantial contribution to the understanding of researchers regarding the use of ChatGPT and its varied consequences as it grows and develops.

This study was conducted at a private university in Vietnam with an estimated population of 15,000 students. One of Vietnam’s top private information technology institutions requires its students to use a variety of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on a regular basis to facilitate and enjoy their academic pursuits (Ngo, 2024; Nguyen). Students who are familiar with ChatGPT and have access to it for educational purposes are the ones that were chosen. This research is a quantitative study that utilises primary data through a survey method. Participants answered a questionnaire online through the Google Form platform sharing via social media platforms from October to December 2023. The questionnaire was divided into two sections: the first contained screening questions and demographic information and the second had five-point Likert-scale questions that measured the study’s components. Two screening questions are used to separate out the intended responders. (i.e. “I have heard the name ChatGPT” and “I know about ChatGPT”) were set to find whether the participants had any knowledge of ChatGPT. If participants were unaware of ChatGPT, their responses were not included in the study. A total of 283 responses were received. The participant’s demographic information is shown in Table 1. It is believed that a sample size of more than 200 provides adequate statistical power for data analysis in structural equation modelling. It is evident that the 283-sample size in this study is adequate to evaluate the research hypothesis and the fitting model. 42.9% of the 283 research samples were made up of men, while 57.1% were women. Business administration accounted for 40.1% of survey respondents, followed by information technology (25.2%) and English language (14.5%). The average ChatGPT usage time of respondents was 56 min in a single use. The study sample’s average age is 20–72 years old.

The present study contributes to the existing AI chatbot literature in the educational industry in several ways. First, this study addresses a gap in the literature by investigating the factors that influence students’ ITU ChatGPT for educational purposes in Vietnam. Using the extended model, we investigated factors influencing students’ intentions to use ChatGPT. It integrates three motive factors of the UGT (ACT, IS and N) with the core factors of TAM (PeoU and PU). The integrated framework’s findings indicate that in a Vietnamese educational setting, ChatGPT is a novel technology that should be considered in conjunction with PU and PEoU.

First, only Vietnamese students make up the research sample. To increase the relevance of the findings, it is advised that future research look at the study model in various geographic regions. Second, the present investigation’s constraints arise from the lack of clarity about the Chat GPT version utilised by the respondents, specifically whether it was the free or premium edition. Furthermore, the limited duration of the survey presents an obstacle to gathering thorough data. Due to their reliance on the particular features and functionalities of the Chat GPT version used, these restrictions may have an effect on the researcher’s objectivity. Furthermore, the limited survey time may curtail the coverage of the collected answers, particularly considering that our survey predominantly focuses on business administration students, thus limiting the diversity and richness of the gathered data. We recommend that future studies should conduct comparative research between different versions of GPT Chat, including free and paid variants that can provide valuable insights into potential differences in performance and results. Such analysis can provide a deeper understanding of the strengths and limitations of different GPT Chat versions. Third, because the study focused on behavioural intention, actual usage and post-usage behaviour may not be covered by the findings. To gain a deeper understanding of users' actual behaviour, we suggest doing research on their usage and post-usage behaviours.

The findings will assist service providers and legislators in determining critical variables and influencing students' incentives to use ChatGPT in educational settings that use constructivist teaching methods. As a result, the information will assist service providers in creating AI chatbots that are more user-friendly, visually appealing, efficient, safe and convenient for education. Governments, in conjunction with service providers, have the potential to significantly accelerate the adoption of AI-based chatbots by highlighting their ethical and sustainable use. The findings demonstrate that students' ITU towards ChatGPT is substantially impacted by PU and PEoU. It is recommended that service providers emphasize the advantages and ease of use of AI chatbots in order to draw new clients. Additionally, in order to promote ChatGPT or related technologies, marketers should concentrate on raising the technology’s perceived novelty value. This is because people are open to new technologies as long as they believe they are interesting and innovative.

ChatGPT is an advanced AI-powered chatbot that has the potential to advance and revolutionize the learning and teaching process. This study attempted to look at the elements that lead students to want to use ChatGPT from an academic standpoint by combining the UGT and TAM. For practitioners, academics and educators, the findings provide a solid knowledge of and encouragement for the sustainable use of such AI tools. Despite having important practical consequences, the study contains a number of limitations that indicate possible research gaps that should be filled by further investigation.

In recent years, new and technologically innovative financial products and services, generally subsumed under the fintech umbrella, have permeated all areas of capital markets at an exponential rate. Primarily driven by developments in Web3 and advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), fintech solutions offer valuable benefits to all existing markets and participants and are the basis for introducing wholly new segments to classic capital market ecosystems. However, this increasing fintech adaptation does not come without challenges. Due to the technologies' nascent nature and often unregulated status, many products are susceptible to manipulation and fraud. The result can be sizable investor losses and excessive regulatory and public scrutiny. This chapter highlights the most essential and prominent fintech solutions used in capital markets today, along with their features, value additiveness, and degree of adaptation.