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The purpose of this paper is to explain how human resource (HR) managers of incubators can be more effective by applying Relationship focused theory, wherein the HR managers consider the forms of relationships among entrepreneurs. For helping create successful startups, HR managers of incubators can analyze and govern the practice of entrepreneurial action using a relationship-focused (rather than an individual-focused) approach.

A fourfold typology of relationships is used to explain the utility of relationships for practicing entrepreneurial work in an incubator. HR managers of incubators should consider the forms of relationships among the entrepreneurs that they oversee within incubators.

Social and task antecedents determine the ideal relationship between budding entrepreneurs, and incubator climate restrains the link between relationships and entrepreneurial outcomes.

Relationship-focused theory is used to explain the manner in which entrepreneurial action can be organized among budding entrepreneurs within incubators. The focus stays on the ‘relationship’ between budding entrepreneurs housed within incubators.

Given that an industrial cluster contains a high concentration of numerous stakeholders, a firm in an industrial cluster often ends up forming relationships with many of the stakeholders. The research questions are as follows: Does stakeholder-based management always lead to greater value creation? What are the moderators in this association? This paper proposes that although relationships with stakeholders can act as a “catalyst” for value-creation, they can also act as a “retardant.” A combination of (1) the strategic nature of the relationships and (2) the policy environment determines whether the relationships with stakeholders act as catalysts or retardants.

Using relationship-focused theory, a conceptual framework that adopts a relational view of stakeholder theory is developed. Given the high concentration of stakeholders in industrial clusters, the conceptual framework uses stakeholders in industrial clusters as a setting. A firm can form relationships with a variety of stakeholders in an industrial cluster. The strategic nature of a relationship with a stakeholder is assessed in terms of variations in strategic intent and intellectual spillover.

The key argument is the following: whether a relationship with a stakeholder becomes a catalyst or a retardant for value creation is contingent on the fit between the strategic nature of the relationship and the policy environment. For instance, in a probusiness policy environment, relying on relationships with stakeholders that maximize intellectual spillover can act as a catalyst for value creation. In contrast, in an antibusiness environment, not having to rely on intellectual spillover is a safer option.

Whereas the literature implicitly assumes that stakeholder theory has relational essence, the conceptual framework developed in this paper adopts a relational view of stakeholder theory in a very explicit way. This paper applies relationship-focused theory by making explicit the different forms of stakeholder relationships. Such an explicitly relational approach in theorizing can help in more in-depth research on the link between stakeholder relationships and value creation. The conceptual framework will allow future research to analyze value creation in an industrial cluster, especially in terms of how stakeholder relationships can act as either catalysts or retardants.

The literature on intrapreneurship recognizes the notion that regular employees can be expected to be entrepreneurial. Using self-determination theory as a basis, the purpose of this conceptual paper is to focus on the role of compensation systems in incentivizing entrepreneurial action by regular employees who constitute the bulk of the organizational workforce.

This conceptual paper suggests that greater clarity on the role of compensation systems in entrepreneurial action by regular employees would require an understanding of how entrepreneurial action happens through relationships among employees. An exploration of both compensation systems and the relationships among employees undertaking entrepreneurial action as part of team/group settings can deepen our understanding of intrapreneurship. Self-determination theory and relationship-focused theory allow for such an exploration.

The literature on self-determination theory, has identified the needs of autonomy and relatedness among employees. This conceptual paper will propose that the interaction between compensation systems and the needs for autonomy versus relatedness among employees determines the type of relationships chosen for entrepreneurial action. After the chosen type of relationships are formed and entrepreneurial action begins, challenges in the implementation of compensation systems are likely to emerge – distributive justice issues under individual based compensation and free-riding issues under team-based compensation. The entrepreneurial performance of the team/group will likely be influenced by the interaction between the challenges in the implementation of compensation systems and the type of relationships chosen for entrepreneurial action.

This conceptual paper gives a new direction to how collective entrepreneurial processes and outcomes can be understood. Self-determination theory and relationship-focused theory, in unison, can be useful in analyzing the role of intrinsic motivators, extrinsic motivators, and relationships during entrepreneurial action.

This study aims to suggest that firms and stock market investors are more sensitive about inventory leanness when industry information technology (IT) usage is high. First, when industry IT usage is high, a firm's inventory leanness is more responsive to information inputs (cash holding and sales efficiency). Second, when industry IT usage is high, the price-to-earnings ratio (indicative of stock market investors' willingness to pay a premium) is more sensitive to the firm's inventory leanness.

This study highlights the contextual role of industry IT usage during the 1998–2009 lost decade (wherein the steepest falls in manufacturing jobs happened in the USA).

The results highlight the significant contextual role of industry IT usage. In manufacturing industry sectors with high IT usage, (1) inventory levels of firms are more responsive to information inputs and (2) stock market investors have greater appreciation for inventory leanness.

The lost decade, 1998–2009, was a difficult period for the manufacturing industry. Nonetheless, there was variation in stock market valuations of manufacturing firms, with many firms outperforming others. Stock market investors were sensitive to inventory leanness. Firms that positively impressed stock market investors were strategically positioned in high IT usage industry sectors and prioritized inventory leanness. Further, their inventories were sensitive to information inputs – their inventories were leaner in response to improved sales-efficiency and/or shortage in cash.

Over the last five decades, business to business (B2B) marketing has evolved from a transactional model to a behavioral model. This evolution is a consequence of the rise in thoughts of managing customer journeys, services marketing and acknowledging value co-creation amongst stakeholders. The contemporary B2B marketing strategies of relationship, innovation, sustainability and digital marketing that emerge through the literature review are discussed to demonstrate how they add value to the competitive advantage of firms and facilitate co-creation between business partners to help design the customer journey. The purpose of the paper is to discuss how the apparel industry could implement the B2B marketing strategies highlighted and further suggests a framework of value co-creation. The framework shows the journey between business partners followed by the value propositions as service exchange through resource integration within the service ecosystem.

Through a review of the literature, the evolution of B2B marketing unveils the importance of services marketing and how the marketing strategies discussed add value to the services marketing, this is further explored with propositions of value co-creation between business partners. The propositions are based on the theory of service dominant logic, whereby, the partners in the service ecosystem co-create value from value propositions offered by the business partners in collaboration with supply chain innovation.

A framework is suggested in the context of the apparel industry that demonstrates the value propositions as a part of the B2B marketing strategy. Through resource integration and collaboration between the business partners, the value propositions in the form of services, are exchanged resulting in value co-creation that leads to the ultimate offering to the end customer.

The service dominant logic theory and the supply chain innovation model are the basis of the framework, showing the value propositions made, are in collaboration between the firm and the supply chain partners. The value propositions in the form of services are exchanged as an outcome of resource integration amongst the business partners resulting in value co-creation which will aid apparel manufacturers differentiate their services and manage customer journeys better. The framework will be further researched through primary research to determine its rationality in the real-world context. The nature of the industry being fast paced, the literature will be outdated in a short span of time and with the vast growth, new strategies will need to be executed eventually.

The paper discusses how the apparel industry can move forward with the B2B marketing strategies highlighted through the literature review and further suggests a framework of value co-creation. This will aid apparel manufacturers to focus their marketing efforts in an era of services marketing and compete better globally with service offerings.

The competitive advantage strategies and other key emerging themes of co-creation, value co-creation and customer journeys are highlighted and shows increasing importance to the survival of businesses in an era of service orientation and relationship marketing.

Through a critical literature review of B2B marketing strategies and with the use of theoretical models of service dominant logic and supply chain innovation, the conceptual paper proposes a framework by the authors that allows future research to analyse value co-creation in B2B marketing strategies for the apparel industry.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a general mathematical model for the evaluation of the bending and vibration responses of the skew sandwich composite plate using higher-order shear deformation theory. The sandwich structural components are highly preferable in modern engineering application because of their desirable structural advantages despite the manufacturing and analysis complexities. The present model is developed to solve the bending and vibration problem of the skew sandwich composite plate with adequate accuracy numerically in the absence of the experimental analysis.

The skew sandwich composite plate structure is modelled in the present analysis by considering laminated face sheet in conjunction with isotropic and/or orthotropic core numerically with the help of the higher-order mathematical model. Further, the responses are computed numerically with the help of in-house computer code developed in matrix laboratory (MATLAB) environment in conjunction with finite element (FE) steps. The system governing equations are derived via variational technique for the computation of the static and the frequency responses.

The skew sandwich composite plate is investigated using the higher-order kinematic model where the transverse displacement through the thickness is considered to be linear. The convergence and the validation study of the bending and the frequency values of the sandwich structure indicate the necessary accuracy. Further, the current model has been used to highlight the applicability of the higher-order kinematics for the evaluation of the sandwich structural responses (frequency and static deflections) for different design parameters.

In the present paper, the bending and the vibration responses of the skew sandwich composite plate are analysed numerically using the equivalent single-layer higher-order kinematic theory for the isotropic and the orthotropic core numerically with the help of isoparametric FE steps. Finally, it is understood that the present model is capable of solving the sandwich structural responses with less computation cost and adequate accuracy.

The objective of this paper is to investigate the effect of working capital efficiency (WCE) and its components on the composite financial performance of a sample of Indian firms.

Our sample includes 796 non-financial listed firms from 2015–16 to 2021–22. Sample firms’ profitability, liquidity, solvency, cash flow management, and financial and operational leverage have been used to classify them into companies with high composite financial performance (HCFP) and with low composite financial performance (LCFP) by using K-Means Clustering technique. A composite financial performance score (CFPS) of 1 has been assigned to HCFP and 0 to LCFP. We have used logistic regression models with fixed effect to estimate the effect of cash conversion cycle (CCC) and its components, i.e. inventory days, accounts receivable days and accounts payable days on CFPS in the presence of control variables such as growth, leverage, firm size, and age.

The study finds that CCC and inventory days are inversely associated with CFPS. This finding shows that the firms’ WCE leads to superior financial performance on a composite basis.

The research findings are based on samples drawn from the population of the listed Indian non-financial companies. Since the operation, financial practices, working capital policies, and management styles of firms vary greatly among nations, the results of this study should be extended to firms in other countries after taking into account the degree of resemblance to the sample firms.

The findings of this study hold significant value for industry practitioners, as they provide guidance in determining the optimal allocation of funds for working capital and devising strategies for effectively managing inventory levels, credit sales, and vendor payments in order to increase the overall value of the company. This study aims to help investors in building their investment portfolios by identifying companies with superior composite financial performance. Investors can enhance the construction of their investment portfolios by strategically selecting companies that demonstrate superior overall performance.

The results of our study will help companies improve their WCM strategies to enhance their overall value, and their significance increases manifold during economic downturns. Business firms that perform well by efficiently managing their working capital have a multiplier effect on the economy and society at large in the form of GDP contribution, labor income, taxes to the government, investment in capital assets, and payments to suppliers.

To understand the impact of WCE on firms’ performance, the extant working capital literature focuses on some specific characteristics such as profitability, valuation, solvency, and liquidity. The limitation of employing a single parameter is its inability to present the comprehensive performance evaluation of firms. This study is among the earliest studies that focus on the holistic evaluation of WCE's impact on the composite performance of a company.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the nonlinear flexural behaviour of laminated curved panel under uniformly distributed load. The study has been extended to analyse different types of shell panels by employing the newly developed nonlinear mathematical model.

The authors have developed a novel nonlinear mathematical model based on the higher order shear deformation theory for laminated curved panel by taking the geometric nonlinearity in Green-Lagrange sense. In addition to that all the nonlinear higher order terms are considered in the present formulation for more accurate prediction of the flexural behaviour of laminated panels. The sets of nonlinear governing equations are obtained using variational principle and discretised using nonlinear finite element steps. Finally, the nonlinear responses are computed through the direct iterative method for shell panels of various geometries (spherical/cylindrical/hyperboloid/elliptical).

The importance of the present numerical model for small strain large deformation problems has been demonstrated through the convergence and the comparison studies. The results give insight into the laminated composite panel behaviour under mechanical loading and their deformation behaviour. The effects of different design parameters and the shell geometries on the flexural responses of the laminated curved structures are analysed in detailed. It is also observed that the present numerical model are realistic in nature as compared to other available mathematical model for the nonlinear analysis of the laminated structure.

A novel nonlinear mathematical model is developed first time to address the severe geometrical nonlinearity for curved laminated structures. The outcome from this paper can be utilized for the design of the laminated structures under real life circumstances.

A delamination fracture analysis of two-dimensional functionally graded multilayered end-loaded split beam configuration with non-linear mechanical behaviour of material is conducted. The beam is made of an arbitrary number of longitudinal layers. Perfect adhesion between layers is assumed. The material is two-dimensional functionally graded in the cross-section of each layer. Also, each layer has individual thickness and material properties. A delamination crack is located arbitrary along the beam height. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The delamination fracture behaviour is investigated analytically in terms of the strain energy release rate by analysing the balance of the energy. An additional analysis of the delamination fracture is performed by applying the J-integral approach for verification.

The solutions derived are used to evaluate the effects of crack location, material gradients and material non-linearity on the delamination fracture behaviour of end-loaded split beam. The effect of material gradient on the distribution of the J-integral value along the crack front is elucidated too.

Delamination in the multilayered functionally graded end-loaded split beam exhibiting non-linear mechanical behaviour of the material is analysed assuming that the material property is distributed non-linearly in both thickness and width directions in each layer.