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The purpose of the research paper is to examine customers' online purchase intention towards apparel in the online environment, with a focus on the role of conviction and brand reputation of the e-retailer.

Hypotheses are based on an extensive literature review and tested using adapted existing scales for the constructs-social media usage for apparel, electronic word of mouth (EWOM), conviction, apparel e-retailer's brand reputation and online purchase intention towards apparel, and data are collected from 362 online customers of apparel brands in eight major cities across the country. Structural equation modelling (SEM) is applied to analyze data and test hypotheses because of multiple dependent variables.

The quantitative results indicate that impact of social media and EWOM on online purchase intention towards apparel is mediated by conviction. The results also explain the moderating effect of apparel e-retailer's brand reputation.

Findings provide suggestions for the apparel business in an online environment that address the issue of breach of trust and implications for apparel e-retailers, managers and researchers. The study contributes to the existing retail literature by proposing concept of conviction and role of apparel e-retailer's brand reputation in this context.

The purpose of this paper is to propose the concept of conviction in online environment. It examines the vital role of conviction and firm’s brand reputation while understanding the impact of social media usage and electronic word-of-mouth (EWOM) on purchase decisions of Generation Y.

Literature review resulted in six constructs – social media usage, EWOM, conviction, firm’s brand reputation and purchase intention and customer loyalty. The authors adopted the concept of conviction from another field of enquiry (organizational learning), conducted a qualitative study and an e-mail survey with post-graduate management students (Generation Y) of a university to examine the impact of social media and EWOM on customer purchase decision. Data were collected and analyzed with the help of structural equation modeling.

Results indicated that impact of social media usage and EWOM on purchase decision is mediated by conviction. Firm’s reputation as brand (perceived by the customer) moderates the relationship between EWOM and purchase intention in a manner that this relationship is significantly stronger if there is more positive brand reputation.

This study validates the concept of conviction in online environment. The purchase decision is defined as purchase intention and loyalty of the customer.

The purpose of this paper is to propose the theory which gives valuable insight into the context of social media, electronic word of mouth (EWOM), trust and purchase-decision involvement.

A review of the existing literature was carried out and construct-wise measurement items were adapted from existing scales. Experts reviewed the items and validated. Convergent validity, discriminant validity and reliability of the scales were tested with the data collected from 252 respondents. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the proposed model.

Social media usage and EWOM have positive impact on purchase-decision involvement and online trust plays a vital mediating role in this context.

The implications of findings of this research are relevant for managers and public policy makers. People can be sensitized against any menace or can be made aware about any good things in the society in true sense so that they become proactive, participate and take decision (or purchase decision).

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the natural convection heat transfer and irreversibility characteristics in a quadrantal porous cavity subjected to uniform temperature heating from the bottom wall.

Brinkmann-extended Darcy model is used to simulate the momentum transfer in the porous medium. The Boussinesq approximation is invoked to account for the variation in density arising out of the temperature differential for the porous quadrantal enclosure subjected to uniform heating on the bottom wall. The governing transport equations are solved using the finite element method. A parametric study is carried out for the Rayleigh number (Ra) in the range of 10³ to 10⁶ and Darcy number (Da) in the range of 10⁻⁵-10⁻².

A complex interaction between the buoyant and viscous forces that govern the transport of heat and entropy generation and the permeability of the porous medium plays a significant role on the same. The effect of Da is almost insignificant in dictating the heat transfer for low values of Ra (10³, 10⁴), while there is a significant alteration in Nusselt number for Ra ≥10⁵ and moreover, the change is more intense for larger values of Da. For lower values of Ra (≤10⁴), the main contributor of irreversibility is the thermal irreversibility irrespective of all values of Da. However, the fluid friction irreversibility is the dominant player at higher values of Ra (=10⁶) and Da (=10⁻²).

From an industrial point of view, the present study will have applications in micro-electronic devices, building systems with complex geometries, solar collectors, electric machinery and lubrication systems.

This research examines numerically the buoyancy driven heat transfer irreversibility in a quadrantal porous enclosure that is subjected to uniform temperature heating from the bottom wall, that was not investigated in the literature before.

GMR Infrastructure Limited (GMRIL) had to make a decision on its continued role in the 555.48 km Kishangarh Udaipur Ahmedabad (KUA) Expressway Project, India's then longest road public-private partnership (PPP) project. GMR had terminated the contract citing NHAI's failure in fulfilling Conditions Precedent (CP) of providing (i) environment clearance (EC), (ii) revised toll free notification and (iii) 80% of required land. The case intends to educate the reader on the concessionaire-authority dynamics in typical Indian infrastructure PPPs. Taking into account its internal strategy, the extant unfavourable investment climate, the Central Government's steps to revive private interest in the highways sector and NHAI's quick turnaround in fulfilling CP, GMR had to decide how to respond.