Search results

Drape of the fabric is its ability to hang freely in graceful folds when some area of it is supported over a surface and the rest is unsupported. When two‐dimensional fabrics are converted to three‐dimensional garment forms, a number of operations are required which affect drape behaviour of the fabric while present in garment form. In the present study, the effect of sewing and fusing of interlining on drape behaviour of men's suiting fabrics is investigated.Design/methodology/approach – The effect of sewing and fusing of interlining on drape behaviour of men's suiting fabrics is investigated. Comparisons were also made between different stitches (chain stitch and lock stitch), different seams for lock stitch and different types of interlinings for their effect on drape behaviour of fabrics. In addition to drape coefficient and number of folds, a new drape parameter – average amplitude to average radius (A/r) ratio – was also defined and calculated for drape image geometry.Findings – Drape coefficient has a good to strong correlation with A/r ratio and number of folds for most of the shell, sewn and interlining fused fabrics except for a few cases. A/r defines image in a more descriptive manner than drape coefficient. Drape coefficient changes with the types of seams and stitches used, as well as with the interlining used.Originality/value – This paper provides information on the effects of sewing (seams and stitch types) and fused interlining on drape behaviour of men's suiting fabrics.

The purpose of this research paper is to study the enablers of Six Sigma and to establish relationship among them using interpretive structural modeling (ISM).

The research paper presents a blend of theoretical framework and practical applications. In the paper, 11 enablers of Six Sigma are identified from literature survey and experts' opinion and then these are validated by questionnaire survey in India. Finally, ISM is used to obtain structural relationship among these enablers of Six Sigma.

The ISM‐based model indicates that “effective top management leadership role”, “availability of funds” and “availability of expert training” are strategic requirements; “organizational culture”, “organizational infrastructure”, “quality maturity level of organization”, and “employees' adaptability and flexibility towards learning” are tactical requirements. “Statistical thinking”, “committed work force”, “reliable data gathering and retrieval system”, and “technical competence” are operational requirements for Six Sigma applications.

Enablers are the building blocks for deployment of Six Sigma. To know the key enablers and relationship among them can help many organizations to develop Six Sigma competences. It is one of the foremost attempts to model enablers of Six Sigma. The paper provides useful insights to the Six Sigma implementers, consultants, and researchers.

Feminist contributions to debates on gender, poverty, and social justice have deepened our understanding of the ways gender as a structuring principle of social life and an embedded hierarchy of values produces different concepts and experience of poverty as well as adds new meaning to the idea of “human flourishing.” Gender inequality remains a major barrier to human development; the disadvantages facing women and girls are a major source of inequality; since women and girls are discriminated against in health, education, political representation, and labor market, which has negative repercussions for development of their capabilities and their freedom of choice, remaining far away from social justice (Nussbaum, 1995). Recent statistics show just how far societies are from achieving gender equality. In the above backdrop, the chapter focuses on the position and status of women in India in the realm of gender equality, poverty reduction, and social justice as well as the public actions viewed from India's perspectives. At the same time it highlights the importance of global actions in an endeavor to establish gender equality, breaking the chain of poverty trap and establishing social justice along with their fallouts in the subsequent years.

In 2008, a number of Southern African countries cultivated about 900,000 ha of Jatropha, with a number of biodiesel plants ready for production; however, none of the projects succeeded. In 2014, KiOR advanced biofuel Energy Company in the USA announced bankruptcy due to incompetent technology. Studies disclose that the reasons for biofuel plants failure are not only due to lack of incentives and unclear policies but also due to lack of economic feasibility and low production yields. This paper aims to review the techno-economy assessment of second-generation biofuel technologies. The purpose of this paper is to summarize specific techno-economic indicators such as production cost, technology efficiency and process life cycle analysis for advanced biofuel technology and to narrate and illustrate a clear view of what requires assessment to deploy a feasible advanced biofuel technology. This study also reviews assessment of biomass supply chain, feedstock availability and site selection criteria. The review also elaborates on the use of different processes, forecasting and simulation-modeling tools used in different techno-economic analysis studies. The review provides guidance for conducting a technical and economic feasibility study for the advanced biofuels energy business.

The aim of this review is, therefore, to evaluate the techno-economic feasibility studies for the establishment of viable industrial scale production of second-generation biofuels. It does so by grouping studies based on technology selection, feedstock availability and suitability, process simulation and economies as well as technology environmental impact assessment.

In conclusion, techno-economic analysis tools offer researchers insight in terms of where their research and development should focus, to attain the most significant enhancement for the economics of a technology. The study patterns within the scope of techno-economics of advanced biofuel reveal that there is no generic answer as to which technology would be feasible at a commercial scale. It is therefore important to keep in mind that models can only simplify and give a simulation of reality to a certain extent. Nevertheless, reviewed studies do not reach the same results, but some results are logically similar.

The originality of this article specifically illustrates important technical and economic indicators that should be considered when conducting feasibility studies for advance biofuels.

This study proposes a model that influences customer citizenship behavior during COVID-19, and empirically tests the effects of fast-food restaurant customers' perceptions of justice (price and procedural justice) on trust; trust on satisfaction and loyalty; and trust, satisfaction and loyalty on customer citizenship behavior. Furthermore, it was questioned whether there was a disparity between customer expectations based on the restaurant's image and consumption experience.

The data were gathered from customers of fast-food restaurants in the shopping centers in Turkey. The data set, which included 437 valid questionnaires, was subjected to CFA for validity and reliability, SEM analysis for hypothesis and paired sample t-Tests for the research questions.

The findings of the study indicate that perceived justice affects customer trust, which, consequently, affects customer loyalty and satisfaction during the COVID-19 period. Findings also demonstrate that, while customer loyalty and trust increase customer citizenship behavior, customer satisfaction alone is insufficient to increase customer citizenship behavior. The study also shows that during the COVID-19 period, fast-food restaurants should have raised awareness of employees’ fair behaviors toward the customers and provided additional services to differentiate themselves in the market. Also, it indicates that customer expectations related to price, cleanliness and professional appearance of staff are not met after taking service.

No research has been found in the literature focusing on the expectations, justice, trust, satisfaction, loyalty and citizenship behaviors of fast-food restaurant customers in the COVID-19 pandemic process. Therefore, the results can fill the gap in relevant literature by testing the relationships between justice, trust, satisfaction, loyalty and citizenship during the pandemic and provide inferences for fast-food business owners.

The purpose of this study is to examine the socio-economic inequalities that exist in the use of unhygienic menstrual practices in India and its states, as well as to identify the contribution of various socio-economic factors that leads to these inequalities.

Data from the National Family Health Survey-5 (2019–21) for 240,285 menstruating women aged 15–24 years is used to examine the above objectives. The concentration index for unhygienic menstrual practices is calculated to measure the socio-economic inequalities, which are then decomposed into their determining factors.

The state of Punjab experiencing the highest level of economic inequality, followed by Telangana and Haryana. The results from decomposition analysis suggest that rural residence (13%), illiteracy (7%), poor economic status (53%), not reading newspaper (12%) and not watching TV (14%) contribute 99% to the total socio-economic inequality in using unhygienic menstrual practices in India. The contribution of economic status to total inequalities is more in all the states except for Kerala and Mizoram, where caste and residence play an important role.

This paper signifies the role of economic inequality in the use of unhygienic menstrual practices in India as well as the contribution of various socio-economic factors contributing towards these inequalities. The results from decomposition analysis suggest the need for unique health intervention strategies for different states following the evidence of major contributions to total inequalities in the use of unhygienic menstrual practices.

This case can be used to teach students how to analyze innovative business models, as well as to trace their reasons for success and failure. The following objectives also align with categories in Bloom’s taxonomy (Forehand, 2010), consistent with the keywords underlined. More specifically, this case will enable students to learn the following: First, to analyze the distinctive features of a social commerce business model, and how these differ from a traditional e-commerce model. This objective maps to Discussion Question No. 1. This objective helps students to understand the value proposition of an unfamiliar business model (social commerce platform) and compare it with that of a familiar business model (e-commerce platform). Second, racing the causes for success and failure of a venture, using frameworks from entrepreneurship and strategy. This relates to Discussion Question No. 2. This objective helps students analyze strategic decisions of an entrepreneur in light of available resource constraints and by applying appropriate conceptual frameworks. Third, developing recommendations to help a new venture sustain its business model in the face of severe challenges. Discussion Question No. 3 covers this objective. This objective enables students to debate possible paths that the startup could take. The discussion on possible paths naturally causes students to create sustainable or viable options.

The case describes the challenge facing Vidit Aatrey, the founder and chief executive of Meesho, a social commerce venture headquartered in Bangalore, India, in October of 2022. While Meesho recorded the second-highest sales (by order volume) during India’s festive season, it also recorded layoffs and business closures. While Meesho’s core business of getting resellers to sell through its online platform seemed to be working, its new business ventures, such as expanding into the grocery business and into Indonesia, had failed and resulted in more than 300 layoffs. Meesho was also pressed for funding: valued at US$4.9bn, the global market for venture capital funding had chilled and now demanded profitability, not growth-at-all-costs. Meesho’s cash burn rate was about $40m per month, and Aatrey was hard pressed to come up with options for profitable growth.

This case is intended for students of management at a master’s level in a course on entrepreneurship. At the authors’ institute, this case is used with MBA students in an elective course on entrepreneurship and also in an elective course in general management.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CCS 3: Entrepreneurship

Health-care knowledge is dispersed among different departments in a health care organization, which makes it difficult at times to provide quality care services to patients. Therefore, this study aims to identify the main challenges in adopting health information technology (HIT).

This study surveyed 148 stakeholders in 4 key categories [patients, health-care providers, United Arab Emirates (UAE) citizens and foresight experts] to identify the challenges they face in adopting health care technologies. Responses were analyzed using exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).

EFA revealed four key latent factors predicting resistance to HIT adoption, namely, organizational strategy (ORGS); technical barriers; readiness for big data and the internet of things (IoT); and orientation (ORI). ORGS accounted for the greatest amount of variance. CFA indicated that readiness for big data and the IoT was only moderately correlated with HIT adoption, but the other three factors were strongly correlated. Specific items relating to cost, the effectiveness and usability of the technology and the organization were strongly correlated with HIT adoption. These results indicate that, in addition to financial considerations, effective HIT adoption requires ensuring that technologies will be easy to implement to ensure their long-term use.

The results indicate that readiness for big data and the IoT-related infrastructure poses a challenge to HIT adoption in the UAE context. Respondents believed that the infrastructure of big data can be helpful in more efficiently storing and sharing health-care information. On the technological side, respondents felt that they may experience a steep learning curve. Regarding ORI, stakeholders expected many more such initiatives from health-care providers to make it more knowledge-specific and proactive.

This study has implications for knowledge management in the health -care sector for information technologies. The HIT can help firms in creating a knowledge eco-system, which is not possible in a dispersed knowledge environment. The utilization of the knowledge base that emerged from the practices and data can help the health care sector to set new standards of information flow and other clinical services such as monitoring the self-health condition. The HIT can further influence the actions of the pharmaceutical and medical device industry.

This paper highlights the challenges in HIT adoption and the most prominent factors. The conceptual model was empirically tested after the collection of primary data from the UAE using stakeholder theory.

The online shopping behavior is the outcome of the variety of attribution from product/ service offering to internet experience. The present study attempts to develop a complete product/service offering by exploring and examining the different combinations of online shopping attributes to provide the customized experience. Therefore, this study aims to fill the gap of customer desired experience and present scenario in online shopping behavior.

The exploration of attributes pertaining to online shopping behavior was done by seeking theoretical support from different technology adoption theories/models and the Delphi technique, exercised with active participants of online and offline shopping. The theoretical and experience shared attributes were devised and social desirability scale (SDS) was used for eliminating the social desirability bias. Further, the questionnaire was administered online and offline during mall intercept. The Conjoint analysis was used to investigate the relative importance and utilities of the attributes and its levels individually and compositely at different levels.

In the context, brand loyalty, online reputation management and Web interactivity were found most relavant followed by e-WOM, perceived risk and price. The specific levels of attributes such as taking consumer advice, search engine optimization (SEO), perception-based interactivity, consumer message boards, product risk and discount pricing were the crucial in motivating the customers for online shopping. This research affords the avenue for the marketers to motivate and delight consumers to retribalize by the way of “e-tribalizing.”

The current study was conducted in confined geographical locations and limited in sample size; thus, the issue of generalization may prevail, but forthcoming researchers may exercise the techniques with better probabilistic sampling technique. The mass customization of the website features by comparing attribute orientation of customers around websites was recommended with the third-party certification to reduce the consumers’ perceived risk during online shopping. Finally, the different levels, such as Facebook fan page in ORM and Everyday Low Price (EDLP) in pricing may be considered for the future research work.

The research studies on online shopping behavior with Web interactivity, e-WOM, perceived risk, brand loyalty, ORM and price using a decompositional technique are scant. This study persuades the customers to go for online shopping by putting them in the almost real-time purchasing scenario. The study confirmed the need of people to retribalize through e-tribalization by the way of customization for the masses in the context of online shopping.

The purpose of the paper is to conduct a comprehensive bibliometric analysis and systematic review to examine the research landscape of women empowerment through participation in self-help groups (SHGs), identifying the eminent contributors, intellectual communities and future research agenda in the field of SHGs and women empowerment.

The global works of literature related to the theme of SHGs and women empowerment between 1998 and May 6, 2022 were scanned for bibliometric analysis and systematic review. A total of 176 English language documents from the Scopus database were extracted. Bibliometric analysis is conducted using Biblioshiny and VOSviewer software.

This study finds that SHGs are paramount in achieving rural women’s empowerment multidimensionally. Found that India is the most contributing country with 136 documents, and Ranjula Bali Swain and Fan Yang Wallentin are the most cited authors in the research field of SHGs and women empowerment. In addition, the paper proposes a comprehensive conceptual framework to portray rudimentary antecedents of women’s empowerment achieved through participation in SHGs.

This bibliometric analysis, along with a systematic review demonstrating a framework encapsulating the principal dimensions of women empowerment and their indicators, will be helpful to practitioners, government, policymakers and researchers working in the area of SHGs and women empowerment.

This study recognizes numerous significant contributions by eminent scholars and presents a concise review of the literature for novice researchers working in the area of SHGs and women empowerment.