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General theories have been criticized for their inability to explore the mechanics of more specific domain knowledge and understand how, when and where general theory applies to and extends domain knowledge in supply chain management (SCM). Middle-range theorizing (MRT) is a potential solution to this limitation. This paper aims to assist researchers in understanding the relationship between MRT and general theorizing (GT) and connecting MRT research findings to general theory.

This research provides a structured literature review of 518 articles, from eight journals in logistics, SCM and operations management. Theoretically based articles are analyzed by primary domain and SCM context.

There are frameworks for conducting MRT; however, the literature does not sufficiently assist researchers in understanding how middle-range (MR) theory should relate to general theory. Findings include a better understanding of underserved areas in SCM, guideline frameworks for understanding when to apply MRT, when to apply GT and how MRT knowledge can be connected to SCM domain knowledge.

This study provides a timely and appropriate compilation of theory research in SCM, including significant implications for both theory and practice, by helping to articulate the evolving philosophy of science in SCM.

This paper aims to review logistics and supply chain management topics where theories have been applied to better understand the supply chain management (SCM) discipline identity. The purpose is threefold: to identify research topics in logistics and supply chain management where one or more theories have been examined; provide commentary on the theories that have been applied to the various logistics and SCM research topics; and to provide reference material and direction for future research.

This structured literature review (SLR) examines research papers in logistics and SCM from 1991 to 2015 published in eight leading academic journals. Papers in the data set are grouped by topic and further analyzed in terms of research method, purpose, year and journal.

This research categorizes papers by the topics that were studied to understand important insights about how these topics have been examined by researchers. Within each topic area, theories that researchers have used to investigate the topics are identified. This method exposes insights such as: how topics have evolved over time, which topics have lost prominence, which topics may be particularly promising for future research and how topics are treated in the literature.

Despite multiple calls for clarification regarding how theory has been used in logistics and SCM, the logistics and SCM disciplines continue to grow without adequate research on how theory has been used to examine SCM topics. This SLR therefore provides a broad compilation of logistics and SCM research that uses named theories and that is organized by SCM topic to better understand the SCM discipline.

The focus of this paper is to identify factors determining willingness to pay, preferences for geographic areas, and preferred times for study abroad and semester abroad programs.

A unique survey instrument is utilized, which was administered to a section in the college of business of a regional university in Florida. The survey itself contains a variety of demographic questions. The survey also includes questions to assess students' financial conditions, interest in study abroad, parents' influence on study abroad, international experience, international program awareness, and willingness to pay for study abroad.

Results reported here reveal that students consider various factors in their decision to participate in such a program, including not only the cost of the program, but also the academic and cultural components and the popularity of the professor. Factors determining the willingness to pay, preferences for geographic areas, and preferred times for study abroad and semester abroad programs also play a role.

There are biases in the sample limiting the generalizability of the results. Also, extra credit was offered as a reward for completing the survey, which may result in some students providing unreliable answers.

The results of the study should be useful for any university that is currently developing a study abroad plan from both a marketing perspective and an attendance‐maximization viewpoint.

This study is intended to be a first step in synthesizing and summarizing factors important to students as they make decisions regarding study abroad programs.

Solar energy applications are limited because of its intermittent and discontinuous availability with respect to time. Hence, solar energy thermal conversion systems need integration with thermal storage units (TSUs) to use solar energy in off sunshine hours. This paper aims to perform thermal analysis of a solar air heater (SAH) integrated with a phase change material (PCM)-based TSU to supply hot air during night period.

An experimental setup with TSU as main component was prepared with SAH at its upward side, food chamber at its downward side as subcomponents. In TSU, paraffin wax was used as thermal energy storage material. Mass flow rate of air considered as an input parameter in the experiment. Two different absorber plates, namely, plane and ribbed absorber plates were used for the experimentation. Each day for a fixed mass flow of air, observations were made during charging and discharging of PCM.

Nusselt number and convection heat transfer coefficients were analytically calculated by considering flow through TSU as external flow over bank of tubes in a rectangular duct. A temperature drop of around 7-8°C during charging of PCM and temperature rise of around 4-5°C during discharging of PCM was observed from the experimental results. The average practical efficiency of TSU with ribbed absorber plate SAH during charging and discharging of PCM was 22 and 6 per cent, respectively, higher than that of TSU with plane absorber plate SAH.

There are no limitations for research on SAH integrated with TSU. Different PCM including paraffin wax, Glauber’s salt, salt hydrates and water are used for thermal storage. Only limitation is lower efficiency of SAH integrated with TSU because of lower heat transfer coefficients with air as working medium. If it can improve heat transfer coefficients of air then heat transfer rates with these units will be higher.

There are no practical limitations for research on SAH integrated with TSU. Sophisticated instrumentation is needed to measure flow rates, temperatures and pressure variations of air.

In poultry farms during night, chicks cannot survive at cold climatic conditions. Hence, hot air should be supplied to poultry farms whenever the atmospheric temperature drops. It is proposed that, in combination with TSUs, heat produced by SAH is stored in day time in the form of either sensible or latent heat and is retrieved to provide hot air in the night times. This will reduce total operating costs in poultry farms.

Conventionally, people are producing hot air by combusting coal in poultry forms. This cost around Rs. 75,000 per month for a batch of 225 to 250 chicks in a poultry form. Hot air could be produced economically during off sunshine hours from SAH integrated with TSU compared to the conventional method of coal burning. Present experimental investigations conducted to fill the literature gap in this area of research and to design a SAH integrated with TSU to produce hot air for poultry forms.

This paper aims to explore the latest study of the emerging data-driven approach in the area of FinTech. This paper attempts to provide comprehensive comparisons, including the advantages and disadvantages of different data-driven algorithms applied to FinTech. This paper also attempts to point out the future directions of data-driven approaches in the FinTech domain.

This paper explores and summarizes the latest data-driven approaches and algorithms applied in FinTech to the following categories: risk management, data privacy protection, portfolio management, and sentiment analysis.

This paper details out comparison between different existed works in FinTech with traditional data analytics techniques and the latest development. The framework for the analysis process is developed, and insights regarding the implementation, regulation and workforce development are provided in this area.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is first to consider broad aspects of data-driven approaches in the application of FinTech industry to explore the potential, challenges and limitations of this area. This study provides a valuable reference for both the current and future participants.

The purpose of this paper is to estimate the relative efficiencies of banks of the Indian domestic banking sector by employing various models of data envelopment analysis (DEA) using the panel data of the recent decade (2008–2017). The paper provides a comparative analysis of these models based on the efficiency outputs. It compares the performance of banks based on their ownership and sizes and studies the decade-long trend of productivity using Malmquist indices.

This paper estimates overall technical, pure technical and scale efficiencies of 21 public sector banks and 17 private banks. It compares the descriptive statistics of efficiency estimates found out through 18 different DEA models and compares them using two non-parametric statistical tests. It studies the difference in efficiencies based on ownership and size by applying the same statistical tests. It employs the Malmquist index method to study the technological and technical progress in the banks’ productivity over the decade of FY 2008–FY 2017.

During FY 2016–2017, only 9 out of 38 banks were overall technically efficient with the whole sample having a mean overall technical inefficiency of 5 percent with scale inefficiency contributing more than pure technical inefficiency. The comparative study ascertains that private sector and public sector banks (PSBs) possess efficiencies that are similar based on super-efficiency slack-based model – variable returns to scale and non-oriented, a model that the authors argue to be the most suitable for the real-life business banking scenarios whereas the private sector banks possess better efficiency than the PSBs. The Malmquist indices prove that private sector banks have a higher increase in productivity based on both technological progress and efficiency improvements whereas PSBs had a loss of efficiency and comparatively less improvement in technology.

This study has a limitation of choosing a single model of inputs and outputs. Improved insights can be drawn by employing more models based on different inputs and outputs. Further, relevance of each input and output can be examined using a regression-based feedback mechanism (Ouenniche and Carrales, 2018). The influence of environmental factors on the efficiencies can be studied using second-stage regression models and the relationship between efficiency scores and financial ratios can be examined.

This study is based on the panel data of the recent decade (2008–2017) and provides insights into the efficiency scenario of the Indian banking industry and how it changed over the past decade, to the leadership of banks, the banking regulators and the policy makers. The comparative analysis of DEA models based on a sample of Indian banks is first of its kind in the Indian context and helps the researchers to select an appropriate model and delve into further research on the same.