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This review has two purposes: (1) to systematically analyse the literature on export competitiveness (EC) and (2) to provide an overview of various determinants and the methodological trends in the subject field, making it possible to develop a roadmap for future researchers.

The systematic literature review (SLR) method was employed in this paper. The authors have covered three decades of research articles published in Scopus listed journals between 1991 and 2020. The determinants of EC are synthesized and widely used theories, and methodologies are identified and classified. The authors have also provided directions for future research.

The key determinants identified are labour and capital productivity, labour costs, exchange and real effective exchange rate (REER), domestic gross domestic product (GDP), trade liberalization and barriers. The findings reveal that EC is now a scientific measure, since the studies in this subject field have moved towards measuring EC and its determinants.

There has been no comprehensive review in this area exploring the theories, context, constructs and methodologies until now. Therefore, this review provides deep insights into the topic and also offers a unified picture of the subject field.

This study aims to examine whether export competitiveness (EC) in the two groups of the Indian textile industry i.e. “textiles” and “textile products” group differ.

The study examines how exchange rate (ER), real effective exchange rate (REER) and EC of both the groups are related in the long run over the period 1991-1992 to 2018-2019 using Granger causality test and Johansen and Juselius co-integration test.

The study confirms that EC is a challenge that needs to be addressed to sustain in the international market, as the volatile trend can be found for EC in both groups. The econometric framework shedding light on both groups of the textile industry suggest that select determinants have different relationships with the EC for two groups. The findings of the Granger causality test reveal that the presence of unidirectional causality running from ER to EC in the case of both the groups. Also, the select variables are found to be co-integrated in the long run. However, in the case of REER, no causality is found running from REER to EC.

ER is a vital determinant of EC and exporters can sustain competitiveness in global markets by reducing their profit mark-up in the face of an appreciating currency.

This study aims to know whether board composition is effective in improving firm performance and particularly to determine whether this relationship varies across different levels of performance, that is, companies with very low performance, low performance, moderate performance, high performance and very high performance.

The authors use a data set covering 213 Indian companies registered on S&P Bombay Stock Exchange 500 Index over the period 2001 to 2019 by using Tobin's Q as a performance parameter. The study applies the quantile regression technique and compares the results with fixed effect generalized least squares (GLS) regression.

The findings reveal that board size positively affects the company's performance across all quantiles. Independent directors negatively impact the performance of companies across all quantiles. However, the strength of these relationships increases with increase in performance, thereby supporting agency theory and stewardship theory, respectively. The effect of executive directors on the performance of the companies varies across quantiles. The effect is adverse at moderate and high quantiles only.

The findings provide some grounds for regulators to exercise caution while designing board composition guidelines, keeping in mind the unique internal environment of each company which ultimately affects their performance levels. Similarly, Indian companies are also suggested to compose their boards keeping in mind their performance levels.

The study contributes towards the debate on the board composition and firm performance relationship by adding to the agency theory and stewardship theory that all the companies cannot have the similar board composition. Rather its composition depends upon the performance levels of the companies.

The aim of the paper is to measure the service quality, satisfaction, service value and behavioral intentions of Gen Z in leading global Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs) in India by integrating QUICKSERV into an established model of consumer behavior.

A cross-sectional study design was used for the hypothesis testing. Service quality perceptions with satisfaction, service value and behavioral intentions were measured using structural equation modeling.

The outcomes suggest a direct effect of the service quality of QSRs on the satisfaction, service value and behavioral intentions of Gen Z customers. Satisfaction further influenced customers' behavioral intentions. However, customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions were not directly influenced by service value. Finally, the association between service quality and behavioral intentions was mediated by satisfaction.

Managers should encourage a pleasant attitude, good grooming and friendliness in QSR employees as Gen Z highly values these aspects. At the same time, QSRs should focus to elevate the service value of Gen Z customers by lowering their sacrifice perceptions and fostering initiatives.

Although many studies have considered millennials along with Gen Z to analyze the relationship between service quality and behavioral intentions in different service settings, few researchers have considered the impact of Gen Z consumer features in service quality research separately. The findings of the study will help both practitioners of different QSR brands and facilitators in hospitality academia to better understand the nuances and uniqueness of Gen Z consumer behavior in the QSRs.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the skill mapping process in a manufacturing organization and to examine its relationship with the select performance indicators, such as quality and defects. This paper also explores the role of the supervisor in the whole process of skill mapping of the blue-collar employees.

The study uses a case-based approach and the company selected is Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, Swaraj Division, located in Phase 4, Industrial Area, Mohali (Punjab). The qualitative aspect of the paper is based on ten semi-structured interviews of the senior-level managers. These interviews are conducted in order to understand the role of the supervisor in skill mapping process and its relationship with the organizational performance. The quantitative aspect is based on the regression analysis to find out the impact of skill index on select performance indicators.

The results of the study indicate that the role of the supervisor in performance appraisal is very important in the whole process of skill mapping. Swaraj is an example where a robust skill mapping process for blue-collar employees have supported the business in improving the skill of employees and consequently supporting the business to perform well on key deliverables, such as better quality and less defects. The select variables are inter-correlated and variations in the select organizational performance indicators (production and defects) are due to variations in the skill index of the blue-collar employees in the manufacturing organization. The performance indicators of the manufacturing organization in terms of manufacturing defects have declined and also the production has increased, which is a good indicator for the organization.

The present study is of interest to researchers who are trying to understand the system for skill mapping and utilization of appraisal inputs in improving organizational performance.

To the authors’ best knowledge, this paper is one of the first to address the skill mapping process in a manufacturing organization especially for the blue-collar employees.

Systematic literature review (SLR) papers have gained significant importance during the last years as many reputed journals have asked for literature review submissions from the authors. However, at the same time, authors are experiencing a high number of desk rejections because of a lack of quality and its contribution to the existing body of knowledge. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to offer guidance to researchers who intend to communicate SLR papers in top-rated journals. We attempt to offer a guide to buddy researchers who plan to write SLR papers. This purpose is achieved by clearly stating how the traditional review method is different from SLR, when and how can each type of literature review method be used, writing effective motivation of a review paper and finally how to synthesize the available literature. We have also presented a few suggestions for writing an impactful SLR in the last. Overall, this chapter serves as a guide to various aspirants of SLR paper to understand the prerequisites of an SLR paper and offers deep insights to bring in more clarity before writing an SLR paper, thereby reducing the chances of desk rejection.

This chapter introduces the specifics of spirituality-centric management practices in service and operation focused industries. Strategic management practices are often challenged by the human factor of businesses. Consequently, businesses often waver with the fulfillment of their strategic goals and face harmful repercussions. Subsequently, strategic leadership plays a crucial role in the advancement of incorporating spirituality in the workplace and cultivating a perception of the spiritual domain at the individual, team, and organizational levels. To succeed, organizations need to overcome the challenges pertaining their members' retainment and wellness. This is because members often act on their emotional, moral, and ethical concerns that are pillared by their spirituality-centric views on colleagues and management. As the overarching term, workplace spirituality has been linked with organizational learning, togetherness, sense of nurturement, and interpersonal fulfillment with tasks and often coincidences with managerial application of strategic approaches. For the synthesis of service focused businesses, authors exemplify studies within tourism and hospitality industries.

The manufacturing industry is presently experiencing technological disruption on a global scale. Consequently, to tackle such disruption, firms are identifying a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) scenario and seeking ways to counter it. Accordingly, this paper aims to investigate the employee performance through assessing organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) among the shop floor employees of the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry where a high-performance work system (HPWS) has been implemented.

A descriptive research design was used in the study, and 395 shop floor employees working in leading multinational firms, with a minimum global turnover of US$1bn, were interviewed. These manufacturing firms were located in three industrial clusters in the northern part of India.

The results indicate that HPWS influences OCB. Most of the dimensions of HPWS and OCB were found to be positively associated. The findings also disprove the labour process theory in the context of the study.

The findings report a broad view of the relationship between HPWS and OCB in the Indian manufacturing context. The study offers the practical insights that HPWS is a universally accepted framework and that organizations should focus on the effective implementation of HPWS in a VUCA scenario, which is in line with past studies. The study also provides future directions for research.

This paper has established the relationship between HPWS and OCB in the manufacturing sector, especially for shop floor employees.