Search results

Drawing from our current original research on cultural trends in Latin America‐based multinational firms, this paper challenges the stereotypical perception of Latin America as a homogeneous region and explores the cultural distances among groups of multinational employees. After collecting surveys from 733 employees across eight multinationals in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico, we establish that, much like it happens in other lumped‐together regions of the globe, such as “East Asia” and “Africa”, Latin American countries present significant differences in the way firm employees respond to situations where cultural traits are at stake. By researching these countries, we recorded significant variation in aspects such as the treatment and place of women in the workplace, attachment or detachment to formal rules, formal organizational hierarchies, and structured business planning, in addition to varying levels of tolerance to invasion of privacy. Implications of the study include the need to develop methodologies that adequately capture cultural differences within large geographic blocs and business practices that prepare the expatriate, the international manager, and the policy maker for the different realities they are bound to encounter in different countries.

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the dispersion and damping behaviors of Love-type waves propagating in an irregular fluid-saturated fissured porous stratum coated by a sandy layer.

Two cases are analyzed in this study. In case-I, the irregular fissured porous stratum is covered by a dry sandy layer, whereas in case-II, the sandy layer is considered to be viscous in nature. The method of separation of variables is incorporated in this study to acquire the displacement components of the considered media.

With the help of the suitable boundary conditions, the complex frequency relation is established in each case leading to two distinct equations. The real and imaginary parts of the complex frequency relation define the dispersion and attenuation properties of Love-type waves, respectively. Using the MATHEMATICA software, several graphical implementations are executed to illustrate the influence of the sandiness parameter, total porosity, volume fraction of fissures, fluctuation parameter, flatness parameters and ratio of widths of layers on the phase velocity and attenuation coefficient. Furthermore, comparison between the two cases is clearly framed through the variation of aforementioned parameters. Some particular cases in the presence and absence of irregular interfaces are also analyzed.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, although many articles regarding the surface wave propagation in different crustal layers have been published, the propagation of Love-type waves in a sandwiched fissured porous stratum with irregular boundaries is still undiscovered. Results accomplished in this analytical study can be employed in different practical areas, such as earthquake engineering, material science, carbon sequestration and seismology.

This paper aims to study photothermal excitation process in an initially stressed semi-infinite double porous thermoelastic semiconductor with voids subjected to Eringen’s nonlocal elasticity theory under the fractional order triple-phase-lag thermoelasticity theory. The considered substrate is governed by the mechanical and thermal loads at the free surface.

The normal mode technique is used to carry out the investigation of photothermal transportation. By virtue of the MATHEMATICA software, each distribution is exhibited graphically.

The expressions of the displacements, temperature, volume fractions of both kinds of voids, carrier density and stresses are determined analytically. With the help of the numerical data for silicon (Si) material, graphical implementations are presented on the basis of initial stress, fractional order, nonlocality and thermoelectric coupling parameters.

The present study fabricates the association of Eringen’s nonlocal theory and the stress analysis in a semiconducting double porous thermoelastic material with voids, which significantly implies the originality of the conducted work.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the thermo-diffusion process in a semi-infinite nonlocal fiber-reinforced double porous thermoelastic diffusive material with voids (FRDPTDMWV) in light of the fractional-order Lord–Shulman thermo-elasto-diffusion (LSTED) model. By virtue of Eringen’s nonlocal elasticity theory, the governing equations for the considered material are developed. The free surface of the substrate is governed by the inclined mechanical load and thermal and chemical shocks.

With the aid of the normal mode technique, the solutions of the nondimensional coupled governing equations have been obtained.

The expressions of field variables are obtained analytically. By using MATHEMATICA software, various graphical implementations are presented to describe the impacts of angle of inclination, fractional-order and nonlocality parameters. The present model is also validated on the basis of some comparative studies with some preestablished cases.

As observed from the literature survey, many different studies have been carried out by taking into account the deformation analysis in nonlocal double porous thermoelastic material structures and thermo-mechanical interaction in fiber-reinforced medium under fractional-order thermoelasticity theories. However, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no research emphasizing the thermo-elasto-diffusive interactions in a nonlocal FRDPTDMWV has been carried out. Moreover, the effect of fractional-order LSTED theory on fiber-reinforced thermoelastic diffusive half-space with double porosity has not been illuminated till now, which significantly defines the novelty of the conducted research.

Introduction: Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) have long been viable in the Indian economy. In the case of post-COVID-19, 20–40% of MSMEs in government can be permanently closed. The state should pay special attention to MSMEs for survival (Min, 2023).

Purpose: This chapter provides a framework for MSMEs to study industry challenges in Punjab and to discuss the conceptual framework and road map for future MSMEs in Punjab.

Need for This Study: The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically impacted the variable economic activities within the world. This study is responsible for explaining the different vulnerable sectors related to small- and medium-sized enterprises. On the other hand, this study is an analytical and descriptive research in nature.

Methodology: A mixed method of data collection has been used in this chapter. The data have been collected by floating a questionnaire to the various entrepreneurs of MSMEs. Secondary data have been collected through the Internet.

Findings: Through this research, we could analyse the MSMEs’ conceptual framework, the challenges they face, and the industrial units’ future roadmap.

Practical Implications: This research is mainly considered a clear explanation of current competition and market access challenges that small- and medium-sized enterprises face. This situation is derived due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so many enterprises are trying to find their exit ways. On the other hand, some MSMEs are trying to focus on the online business market to make some profit and to overcome the loss.

This chapter aims to make sense of the growing research that examines the role of culture in mergers and acquisitions. We provide a detailed review of the many related but distinct constructs that have been introduced to the literature. While each construct has contributed to our understanding of the role of culture, the lack of connections made among constructs has limited the consolidation of contributions. The review shows what these constructs mean for mergers and acquisitions, what major findings have been discovered, and, most importantly, how constructs interrelate. Our discussion provides several opportunities to foster the needed consolidation of this research.

Purpose: Risk is a multifaceted concept, and its identification requires complex approaches that are often misunderstood. The consequence is that decisions are based on limited perception rather than the full value and meaning of what risk is, as a result, the way it is being tackled is incorrect. The individuals are often limited in their perceptions and ideas and do not embrace the full multifaceted nature of risk. Regulators and individuals want to follow norms and checklists or overuse models, simulations, and templates, thereby reducing responsibility for decision-making. At the same time, the wider use of technology and rules reduces the critical thinking of individuals. We advance the automation process by building robots that follow protocols and forget about the part of risk assessment that cannot be programed. Therefore, with this study, the objective of this study was to discover how people define risk, the influencing factors of risk perception and how they behave toward this perception. The authors also determine how the perception differed with age, gender, marital status, education level and region. The novelty of the research is related to individual risk perception during COVID-19, as this is a new and unknown phenomenon. Methodology: The research is based on the analysis of the self-administered purposely designed questionnaires we distributed across different social media platforms between February and June 2020 in Europe and in some cases was carried out as a interview over communication platforms such as “Skype,” “Zoom” and “Microsoft Teams.” The questionnaire was divided into four parts: Section 1 was designed to collect demographic information from the participants; Section 2 included risk definition statements obtained from literature and a preliminary discussion with peers; Section 3 included risk behavior statements; and Section 4 included statements on risk perception experiences. A five-point Likert Scale was provided, and participants were required to answer along a scale of “1” for “Strongly Agree” to “5” for “Strongly Disagree.” Participants also had the option to elaborate further and provide additional comments in an open-ended box provided at the end of the section. 466 valid responses were received. Thematic analysis was carried out to analyze the interviews and the open-ended questions, while the questionnaire responses were analyzed using various quantitative methods on IBM SPSS (version 23). Findings: The results of the analysis indicate that individuals evaluate the risk before making a decision and view risk as both a loss and opportunity. The study identifies nine factors influencing risk perception. Nevertheless, it must be emphasized that we can continue to develop models and rules, but as long as the risk is not understood, we will never achieve anything.

The behavioural decision-making process of individuals highlights the importance of investors’ sentiment and their correlation with the real economy. This paper aims to contribute to the literature of behavioural finance by examining the influence of contextual factors on investment decision-making.

Using a questionnaire, a total of 445 valid responses were collected from March to May 2021 through online sources. The current study uses a technique of Fuzzy-analytical hierarchical process (AHP) to assign relative weights to various contextual factors influencing investment decision-making. Harman’s single factor test was used to check common method bias.

Results of the study reveal that accounting information, self-image/firm-image coincidence, and neutral information as the top-ranked factors in influencing investment decisions, whereas advocate recommendation and personal financial needs emerged as less important factors in influencing investment decisions.

The current study collects data from Indian stock market investors, which may limit the generalization of the study to India only. Moreover, this study is cross-sectional in nature, and there are numerous factors that are not part of the study but might significantly influence the investors’ decision-making process.

The research has implications for both academicians working in the area of behavioural finance and practitioners’ who are active in stock markets, more specifically dealing with retail investors and in the domain of personal finance. Also, the current study will accommodate different groups, i.e. policy makers, financial advisors, investors, investment professionals, etc. in carrying out their professional work.

The current study will provide a comprehensive overview of individual investor behaviour. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the present study is one of its kind to use the Fuzzy-AHP technique for evaluating the relative ranks of contextual factors influencing investment decision-making.