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1 – 10 of 46The study examines the emancipatory potential of entrepreneurship for women in STEM who have experienced a mid-career break. As studies on this subject are rather scarce, it also…
Abstract
Purpose
The study examines the emancipatory potential of entrepreneurship for women in STEM who have experienced a mid-career break. As studies on this subject are rather scarce, it also makes an important contribution to the literature by providing key insights into the entrepreneurial journeys of women in STEM who have experienced a career break and have started their own enterprises. The findings could be used by governments to intervene in the identified areas of difficulty and to facilitate the entrepreneurial endeavours of women in order to bring this community back into the workforce.
Design/methodology/approach
The study maps the entrepreneurial journeys of 23 women with a STEM background who turned into entrepreneurs after experiencing a career break. Qualitative data was collected through personal interviews with women entrepreneurs and was then analysed to interpret the results.
Findings
While the study confirms the emancipatory potential of entrepreneurship among well-educated middle-class women with a STEM background who face constraints related to career advancement and work–life balance, it also provides insights on various aspects related to their entrepreneurial development. This includes aspects such as their motivation to start a business, major barriers they face in developing their businesses and the strategies they use to handle those barriers. Suggestions for policy development are also proposed.
Originality/value
In addition to studying the entrepreneurial aspect of a rather underexamined segment of women in STEM who have experienced a career break, the study also examines the scope of the emancipatory potential of entrepreneurship for this segment of women. To the best of our understanding, no such study on STEM women has been carried out in developing nations in spite of the fact that this segment of women forms an important techno-economic resource which remains largely underutilised in developing economies.
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Entrepreneurial alertness is a key factor in business opportunity identification. Scholars have determined that successful entrepreneurs have high levels of entrepreneurial…
Abstract
Purpose
Entrepreneurial alertness is a key factor in business opportunity identification. Scholars have determined that successful entrepreneurs have high levels of entrepreneurial alertness, but only a limited number of studies are available on the concept. One of the major reasons identified is the fragmented constituents and less knowledge of the components determining the level of alertness. The present study aims to integrate the varied research on entrepreneurial alertness, identify its core components and develop the understanding of the concept of entrepreneurial alertness.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on a systematic review of secondary research. The first stage involved identifying relevant publications and applying practical screening. In the second stage, the resources were screened for the inclusion criteria, and in the final stage, the articles meeting the inclusion criteria were read in detail for the final analysis.
Findings
The review resulted in identification of the following core components of the alertness construct – sensing and searching information, cognitive ability, personality factors (like creativity and self-efficacy), environment, social networks, knowledge and experience. The review also highlighted that cognitive ability plays a central role in alertness.
Originality/value
Based on the review of literature, the study proposes a model of the alertness construct, which attempts to draw a relationship between the identified components. The review also uncovers several unexplored areas, which still need to be addressed in the area of entrepreneurial alertness.
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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of gender and regional cultures on entrepreneurial intentions and perceived barriers to entrepreneurship in two diverse…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of gender and regional cultures on entrepreneurial intentions and perceived barriers to entrepreneurship in two diverse regions of a state. Authors in the past have consistently expressed the need for studies on entrepreneurial intentions that would encompass both the gender and cultural dimensions, as there is a potential interactive effect between sex and culture, which remains largely unstudied despite its potential to provide an explanation for the contradictory findings that have emerged when either sex or culture was studied separately.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a quantitative study. The primary data were derived from the students of professional courses. The sampling method used was proportionate stratified sampling. The scales used were tested with regard to validity and reliability. The chi-square test, Fisher’s exact test and Mann–Whitney U test were used to draw relationships between the variables.
Findings
The findings indicated significant gender differences in perceptions of barriers and entrepreneurial intentions among youth. The findings also showed that the barrier perceptions and the entrepreneurial intentions between genders vary with change in culture at the regional level.
Originality/value
This paper adds to the very limited research available on perceived barriers and entrepreneurial intentions that focuses on the effect of gender from a cross-cultural perspective. This paper further contributes by testing the results in two culturally diverse regions of a single state of India, which has helped us understand the impact of regional cultures while controlling for the effects of the entrepreneurship support systems provided by the governments in different nations.
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Surya Prakash, Naga Vamsi Krishna Jasti, F.T.S. Chan, Nilaish, Vijay Prakash Sharma and Lalit Kumar Sharma
The objective of the present study is to identify and analyze a set of critical success factors (CSFs) for ice-cream industry [cold chain management (CCM)] that helps in…
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of the present study is to identify and analyze a set of critical success factors (CSFs) for ice-cream industry [cold chain management (CCM)] that helps in increasing the efficacy, quality, performance and growth of the supply chain organization.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire survey with companies in ice-cream sector and a panel study with experts were conducted to identify and validate CSFs and their associated sub-factors. Eight CSFs identified from the cold chain domain vetted for the ice-cream industry and then prioritized by using one of the most well-known decision-making frameworks, Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory. The general verdicts of the modelling and its application to the real-world case have been tested through an ice-cream company supply chain.
Findings
The result shows that the significant CSFs accountable for the growth of the ice-cream industry are the infrastructure and capacity building, consistent product improvement and operational efficiencies of the value chain. Subsequently, it was identified that the use of IT and related technologies and improved processes for operations also play a considerable role in the performance of ice-cream industry.
Practical implications
The study successfully outlines the effective CCM practices for critical issues. The proposed methodology and factor modelling case demonstration might be useful in analyzing the logistic chains of products such as fruits, drugs and meat.
Originality/value
The meritorious identification of critical areas and executing mitigation plans bring notable benefits to the firms such as improved operational efficiencies, improved time to market performance and product innovation, which bring additional benefits to the producers.
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The purpose of the study is to review and understand firm selection mechanism involved in government venture capital (GVC) funding and identify key factors influencing selection…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the study is to review and understand firm selection mechanism involved in government venture capital (GVC) funding and identify key factors influencing selection of tech-based firms for GVC funding.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on real-time methodology. The data was generated from interviews of 60 young applicants, who applied for startup funding, and analyzed using statistical techniques to draw the results.
Findings
This review identifies financial viability, market viability and technological innovation to have the strongest predictive ability in firm selection process of the GVC funding program for tech-based youth-owned startups in the first round of interview. This review also highlighted that social impact is not a statistically significant variable in firm selection process in GVC funding.
Originality/value
This study tests the validity of the theory of GVC based on quantitative analysis of field data and identifies key factors with strong predictive abilities for GVC funding, more particularly for the youth-owned tech-based startups. This study brings to light the mechanism adopted for GVC funding and addresses gaps in the literature relevant to firm selection mechanism in GVC programs. This study would help GVC Fund Managers to review their own GVC programs in terms of selection mechanism and help them in appropriate designing of such programs.
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Intekhab Alam, Ahteshamul Haq, Lalit Kumar Sharma, Sumit Sharma and Ritika
In this paper, the authors design accelerated life test and provide its application in the field of accelerated life test. The authors use maximum likelihood estimation method as…
Abstract
Purpose
In this paper, the authors design accelerated life test and provide its application in the field of accelerated life test. The authors use maximum likelihood estimation method as a parameter estimation method.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper we design accelerated life test and provide its application in the field of accelerated life test. The authors use maximum likelihood estimation method as a parameter estimation method.
Findings
In this study, the authors design accelerated life test under Type-I censoring when the lifetime of test items follows PID and also provides its application in the field of warranty policy. The following conclusion is made on the basis of this study. (1) An inverse relationship is shown between the shape parameter with the expected total cost and expected cycle time, while the shape parameter directly relates to the expected cost rate (see Table 5). (2) A direct relationship is shown between the scale parameter with the expected total cost and expected time cycle, while the inverse relationship is shown with the expected cost rate (see Table 5). (3) An inverse relationship is shown between the replacement age and the expected cost rate, while there are direct relationships between expected total cost and expected time cycle (see Table 5).
Originality/value
This paper is neither published or neither accepted anywhere.
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The prime purpose of the study is to assess the role of education in general and entrepreneurship education in particular in developing youth entrepreneurship in Uttarakhand…
Abstract
Purpose
The prime purpose of the study is to assess the role of education in general and entrepreneurship education in particular in developing youth entrepreneurship in Uttarakhand State, India. The study also tested the methodology based on effectiveness and compared it with the traditional ex post method to find if there is any difference in results. Alternatively, the study also checked whether the students of developing economies are more likely to take up entrepreneurship as a career, which has strongly been contended by some of the recent studies.
Design/methodology/approach
The role of education was assessed on two grounds: increase in general awareness and knowledge about entrepreneurship, and development of entrepreneurial intentions and inclination of students. A structured questionnaire was administered on 530 final-year students. The questionnaire tested the interest and intentions of students towards taking up entrepreneurship as a career and also evaluated the level of awareness and knowledge of entrepreneurship among the students. Cross-tabulation, mean values and t-test were used to analyse the results.
Findings
The research confirmed that higher education institutions (HEIs) of Uttarakhand have not been very effective in building entrepreneurial awareness and knowledge level of students. Students who studied entrepreneurship subject showed a little better awareness and knowledge level of entrepreneurship, which was found to be statistically significant in comparison to their counterparts, but the mean scores indicated poor knowledge level. As the authors used an ex post method and method based on effectiveness of entrepreneurship education, the authors got two different results for impact of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial intentions. More appropriate one being that with the observed level of awareness and knowledge level of entrepreneurship (which was very low); the authors cannot possibly determine the actual impact of entrepreneurial education on entrepreneurial intentions.
Practical implications
The research has direct implications for research scholars working in the field of determining the impact of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial intentions, entrepreneurship education institutions and also the policymakers.
Originality/value
In comparison to most of the earlier studies done to find the impact of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial intentions, this study differs in its methodological approach and first of all evaluates the effectiveness and impact of entrepreneurial education in developing entrepreneurial awareness and knowledge of student. The author undertakes that if entrepreneurship education is ineffective in developing the desired level of awareness and knowledge of entrepreneurship, the actual effect of entrepreneurial education on entrepreneurial intentions cannot actually be determined and the authors may not be able to get accurate outcomes of such studies. To justify the stand, author compares the traditional ex post approach with the approach based on effectiveness of the programme and brings into light the difference in outcomes. The proposed approach rests on the premises that education must be absorbed and not just delivered to assess its impact.
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Ashpreet Sharma, Lalit Mohan Kathuria and Tanveen Kaur
Given the dominant share of India in global production of fruits and vegetables, this paper intends to analyze the export competitiveness of India and other major food exporters…
Abstract
Purpose
Given the dominant share of India in global production of fruits and vegetables, this paper intends to analyze the export competitiveness of India and other major food exporters in the world trade. The purpose of this study is to examine export structure, substitutability and complementarity of selected fresh and processed fruits and vegetables of top ten food exporters for the period 2010-20.
Design/methodology/approach
Balassa’s (1965) revealed comparative advantage (RCA) index was used to measure RCA indices of selected fruits and vegetables under study. Also, revealed symmetric comparative advantage (RSCA) and normalized RCA (NRCA) indices have been calculated. Further, Spearman rank correlation coefficients were computed to analyze changes over the study period for India and other competing countries. The export data have been sourced from UN Comtrade, an electronic database of United Nations, as well as World Trade Statistical Review, a database of World Trade Organization. The analysis was undertaken at Harmonized System (HS) four-digit classification for the period 2010-20.
Findings
The results disclosed an improvement in India’s comparative advantage over the period of 2010-20 in HS 07 product category, whereas the advantage ceded to other competitive nations in HS 08 product category. Further, Spearman rank correlation coefficients revealed that India faces competition from countries like China, Indonesia, Brazil, Thailand, Argentina and European Union for HS 07 product category, while countries like Mexico, Indonesia, Brazil and Thailandare the major competitors of India in HS 08 product category.
Originality/value
The paper expands the existing agricultural trade literature in three ways. First, it is one of the very few studies that have analyzed RCA for Indian fresh and processed fruits and vegetables using three different types of indices, namely, Balassa’s RCA, RSCA and NRCA. Second, the authors provide a number of comparisons related to RCA for Indian fruits and vegetables with other top food exporters in the world for a period of 10 years (2010-20). Third, the authors contribute to agricultural trade literature by assessing the substitutability or complementarity of India in the export of fruits and vegetables with other competing nations by using Spearman rank correlation coefficients.
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Kakoli Sen and Arunangshu Bhattacharya
Global business travel spending reached a record breaking $1.2tn in 2015 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016) and the average Indian traveling is now at a phenomenal high for both…
Abstract
Purpose
Global business travel spending reached a record breaking $1.2tn in 2015 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016) and the average Indian traveling is now at a phenomenal high for both business and leisure travel. In this context, the paper aims to investigate how the top hotels in India are addressing the issue of human resource shortages and training and how they are preparing for the future when the market, the customer profile and employee expectations are undergoing a major change. In essence, brand loyalty could be minimal and competition intense.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper adopts a case study approach and reviews how participating hotels are addressing their talent attraction and retention issues and differentiating their people management processes.
Findings
The processes used by top hotel companies provide an overview as to how they manage people and how they will need to innovate to assess progress of the measures and initiatives they are taking. They will also have to be more global in their approach.
Originality/value
The findings will be of interest to managers who are responsible for hiring and managing employees. The study also has implications for policymakers and higher education institutions in relation to managing skill shortages that exist in the hotel industry.
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Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party made fighting corruption as a major election plank, and won the 2014 elections, and formed the National Democratic Alliance government – a…
Abstract
Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party made fighting corruption as a major election plank, and won the 2014 elections, and formed the National Democratic Alliance government – a majority party government in India in nearly 30 years. Modi was re-elected in May 2019 with a bigger majority. As his government celebrates the second term, it is time to assess the last five years’ accomplishments in fighting corruption. This chapter deals with the subject under four major headings. The first examines the efficacy of existing anti-corruption agencies. The second explains the office of Lokpal (Ombudsman). The third analyses the initial challenges and efforts of the Modi government. The fourth draws some conclusions.
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