Minnesota Journal of Business Law and Entrepreneurship
Minnesota Journal of Business Law and Entrepreneurship The Minnesota Journal of Business Law and Entrepreneurship is a student-edited legal publication dedicated to examining the legal, regulatory, and policy issues that shape business activity and entrepreneurial innovation. The Journal publishes high-quality scholarship from academics, legal practitioners, policymakers, and students on topics including corporate governance, startups, venture capital, securities regulation, intellectual property, technology law, and economic development. Committed to rigorous legal analysis and practical relevance, the Journal serves as a forum for advancing dialogue at the intersection of law and business. By highlighting emerging trends and fostering interdisciplinary perspectives, the Journal contributes to the development of legal frameworks that support innovation, ethical business practices, and sustainable economic growth.
Examining the Relationship between Training and Development Practices and Employee Performance in Private Hospitals: The Mediating Role of Employee Engagement
This study looks at how employee performance is related to training and development practices in private hospitals, mediated by employee engagement. The study was conducted on 450 employees of selected private hospitals in Tiruchirappalli (Trichy) in Tamilnadu, India in the quantitative, cross sectional research design with a structured questionnaire. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used for analyzing the collected data in SmartPLS 4. The findings suggest that training and development activities have positive significant impact on employee performance and employee engagement. Moreover, employee engagement has a positive effect on employee performance, and it acts as a partial mediation between the training and development practices and employee performance. The results indicated that investment in employee training can develop employee knowledge and skills, and consequently improve employee psychological engagement, which leads to better work performance. The study adds to the HRM body of knowledge, given that this literature lacks empirical evidence from the private healthcare industry and emphasises the importance of linking employee development programmes with engagement measures to boost organisational efficiency. The results have implications for hospital managers and HR practitioners in the design of training programs for their staff to enhance the quality of services and organizational performance through employee engagement.
Strategic Branding and Consumer Purchase Intention: An Empirical Analysis of the Mediating Role of Brand Image
In today's fiercely competitive environment, strategic branding has emerged as an essential organization strategy for shaping consumer behaviour and gaining sustainable competitive advantages. This study investigates the impact of strategic branding on the purchase intention of customers, using the brand image as the mediator. The research design used was the quantitative research design and the data collected was the primary data which were obtained through the structured questionnaire from 485 consumers in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) using SmartPLS software was used to analyze the collected data. The reliability and convergent validity of the measurement model were satisfactory, and the model fit of the structural model was good. The results indicated a high and positive relation between strategic branding and brand image and purchase intention. In addition, the image of the brand plays a significant role in determining the intention of consumers to buy and it partially mediates between strategic branding and consumer buying intention. Results indicated that the organizations can be more powerful in building consumers' purchasing intent by adopting effective branding strategy to increase positive brand perception and emotional relationship. The study adds to the literature of branding and consumer behavior by confirming the mediating role of brand image and gives practical applications for those who are interested in enhancing the performance of their brands and customer acquisition by designing and implementing a good branding strategy.
Sustainable Marketing and Green Consumerism: Economic Implications
The approaches of creating, marketing and delivering products and services have transformed as organisations become more conscious of sustainability. Sustainable marketing has turned into a strategy that takes into account the environmental, social and economic aspects and caters to the demand of the consumers for responsible consumption. The paper touches on sustainable marketing practices and green consumerism, and explores the economic effects on businesses, consumers as well as society. The study is based on review based analytical approach which is used to analyse and synthesize the findings from relevant academic studies, industry reports and policy documents to understand the factors affecting the green purchasing behaviour of corporations, green purchasing programmes and competitive market. The results imply that consumers are willing to support environmentally responsible products when sustainability information is both easily understood and credible, and reflects product quality and value. The study also demonstrates the role of sustainable marketing in the company's long-term economic success, by improving its brand reputation, customer loyalty, innovativeness, reducing operational costs through resource efficiency and creating new market opportunities. But there are difficulties like greenwashing, high implementation costs, lack of consumer awareness and variable regulations that are still affecting the effectiveness of the sustainable marketing strategies. Governments, business and consumers can help to create an environment for responsible production and consumption is also explored as part of the paper. The results demonstrate that those businesses that take a proactive approach to sustainability change are more likely to develop a competitive advantage and positively impact the environment and economic development. This study presents Sustainable marketing and green consumerism as not only strategies to protect the environment, but also strategies that enhance economic resilience and sustainability of businesses. The findings will provide helpful guidance for the policy maker, business leader, researcher, and marketing professional in the promotion of sustainable development through having responsible market practices and engaging appropriate consumer participation within these markets.
NLP-Based Trust Signal Detection from 360-Degree Narrative Feedback Using Fine-Tuned BERT and Behavioral Authenticity Analysis
This paper outlines a comprehensive NLP pipeline for extracting trust-relevant signals from unstructured 360-degree narrative feedback using the DEEP (Drive, Engage, Empower, Purpose-align) Leadership Framework. The pipeline integrates three modules: (1) a fine-tuned BERT-based trust-specific sentiment classifier achieving 89.4% accuracy, outperforming generic sentiment by 16.0 percentage points; (2) guided LDA topic modeling mapping narrative themes to 53 DEEP competencies with 0.834 mean alignment; and (3) a novel Behavioral Authenticity Detection (BAD) module differentiating genuine from performative behaviors through six linguistic markers (ACS correlation with multi-rater consensus: r=0.71, p<.001). Validated on 24,800 comments from N=12,400 assessments across 14 organizations, NLP integration improves Trust & Leadership Index prediction from R²=0.921 to 0.943 (ΔR²=0.022, p<.001). Three algorithms are presented: DEEP-NLP Pipeline, Trust-BERT Fine-Tuning Protocol, and BAD Score Computation. Results show that domain-specific NLP notably advances leadership trust assessment exceeding traditional quantitative methods.
Live Streaming Commerce and Consumer Behaviour: A Systematic Review of Emerging Digital Retail Dynamics
Purpose Live streaming commerce has emerged as a transformative force in digital retail by integrating entertainment, real-time interaction, and instant purchasing functionalities within online shopping platforms. This systematic review examines the influence of live streaming commerce on consumer behaviour and synthesises existing scholarly literature to identify dominant theoretical perspectives, contextual trends, behavioural determinants, and methodological approaches shaping this evolving research domain. Design/Methodology/Approach The study adopts the PRISMA 2020 framework to ensure a transparent and systematic review process. Peer-reviewed studies published between 2017 and 2024 were collected from major academic databases including Scopus, Google Scholar, and SpringerLink. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 80 studies were selected for detailed analysis. The selected literature was further examined using the TCCM framework (Theory, Context, Characteristics, and Methodology) to classify and evaluate prevailing research patterns. Findings The review identifies several major determinants influencing consumer behaviour in live streaming commerce environments, including perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived enjoyment, information quality, service quality, system quality, trust, pricing strategies, and product-related factors. The findings indicate that the Stimulus–Organism–Response (S-O-R) model, Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Uses and Gratifications Theory, and Source Credibility Theory are among the most widely applied theoretical foundations. Existing studies are predominantly concentrated in East Asian economies, particularly China, and largely employ quantitative survey-based methodologies using analytical tools such as SPSS and PLS-SEM. Originality/Value This study contributes to the growing body of live streaming commerce literature by offering a comprehensive synthesis of consumer behaviour research through the integrated application of PRISMA and TCCM frameworks. The review highlights emerging digital retail dynamics, identifies theoretical and methodological gaps, and proposes future research directions related to cross-cultural analysis, long-term consumer behaviour, technological innovations, and ethical considerations in live commerce environments.
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Sustainable Entrepreneurship in the Circular Economy: An Integrated Dynamic Capability Framework for Innovation, Organizational Resilience, and Long-Term Value Creation
Sustainability-driven transformation has increasingly become central to contemporary entrepreneurial and organizational discourse, particularly within the context of circular economy systems. However, existing research remains fragmented in explaining how sustainable entrepreneurial orientation translates into long-term organizational value. Most studies either emphasize innovation outcomes or environmental performance in isolation, leaving a conceptual gap in understanding the capability-based mechanisms underlying sustainability-driven value creation. This study addresses this gap by developing an integrated conceptual framework that explains how sustainable entrepreneurship contributes to long-term value creation through circular innovation capability and organizational resilience. Drawing upon Resource-Based View, Dynamic Capability Theory, Stakeholder Theory, and Institutional Theory, the paper conceptualizes sustainability not as a direct performance driver but as a multi-stage capability development process embedded within organizational and institutional contexts. The framework proposes that sustainable entrepreneurship strengthens circular innovation capability, which subsequently enhances organizational resilience, ultimately enabling sustained economic, environmental, and social value creation. Additionally, ESG governance and institutional support are identified as critical boundary conditions that shape the strength of these relationships. The study contributes to theory by shifting the focus from linear cause–effect relationships to a sequential capability-based understanding of sustainability transitions. Practically, it provides insights for managers and policymakers on how to design governance structures and institutional mechanisms that support circular economy transformation.
NEP-2020 and Outcome Based Education: A New Direction for Indian Universities
The implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has introduced a transformative vision for Indian higher education by emphasizing multidisciplinary learning, academic flexibility, employability, innovation, and holistic student development. Outcome-Based Education (OBE) complements this vision by shifting educational practice from content-oriented instruction to competency-oriented learning, where measurable outcomes guide curriculum design, pedagogy, assessment, and continuous quality improvement. The convergence of NEP-2020 and OBE provides Indian universities with an opportunity to strengthen graduate attributes, enhance institutional accountability, promote industry relevance, and improve global competitiveness. However, successful implementation requires systematic curriculum mapping, faculty preparedness, digital infrastructure, learner-centric assessment systems, and effective quality assurance mechanisms. This paper explores the conceptual relationship between NEP-2020 and OBE, examines their role in transforming higher education, identifies implementation challenges, and proposes strategic measures for institutional excellence. The study highlights that integrating OBE principles within the NEP framework can significantly improve educational quality, research culture, innovation, lifelong learning, and graduate employability while supporting national development goals and international accreditation standards. The findings provide a comprehensive academic perspective for policymakers, university administrators, faculty members, and quality assurance agencies seeking sustainable higher education reforms.
Driving a Sustainable Tomorrow: Mobilising Employees’ Pro-Environmental Behaviour through GHRM Practices
The increasing urgency of environmental sustainability has transformed the role of human resource management from a traditional administrative function into a strategic driver of organizational sustainability. Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) has emerged as a comprehensive approach that integrates environmentally responsible practices into recruitment, training, performance management, rewards, employee involvement, and organizational culture. This paper examines how GHRM practices stimulate employees' pro-environmental behaviour and contribute to sustainable organizational performance. It explores the mechanisms through which environmentally oriented HR policies influence employees' environmental awareness, motivation, commitment, and voluntary green actions within the workplace. The study further presents an integrated conceptual framework illustrating the relationships among GHRM practices, psychological and organizational mediators, employees' pro-environmental behaviour, and sustainability outcomes. By synthesizing contemporary theoretical perspectives and recent empirical evidence, the paper provides insights into the strategic importance of aligning human resource practices with environmental objectives. The findings are expected to assist managers, policymakers, and researchers in developing effective employee-centred sustainability strategies that strengthen environmental responsibility, improve organizational resilience, and support long-term sustainable development across diverse industrial sectors.
Influence of Consumer Ordering Behaviour on Restaurant Performance through Online Food Delivery Platforms: A Study of Bengaluru City
Online food delivery (OFD) platforms such as Swiggy and Zomato have fundamentally reshaped how consumers in Indian metropolitan cities access restaurant food, and have simultaneously become a critical sales and visibility channel for restaurants. This study examines the influence of consumer ordering behaviour on restaurant performance through OFD platforms in Bengaluru City. Using a descriptive and analytical research design, primary data were collected from two respondent groups – 500 consumers using OFD platforms and 100 restaurants registered on these platforms – through structured questionnaires. The study examines consumer ordering frequency, platform and cuisine preferences, spending behavior, and the factors driving online ordering decisions (convenience, discounts, delivery speed, ratings and reviews, food quality, app usability, payment convenience, and customer support), and relates these to restaurant-reported outcomes including sales growth, revenue impact, customer retention, and profitability. The findings show that 76 percent of consumers order food online at least once a week, with food quality (mean = 4.20) and delivery speed (mean = 4.05) ranked as the strongest decision drivers. On the restaurant side, 80 percent of respondents reported a highly or moderately increased impact of online consumer orders on sales, and a strong positive correlation (r = 0.81, p < 0.001) was found between online ordering frequency and restaurant business growth. The study concludes that consumer ordering behavior is a significant determinant of restaurant performance in the OFD ecosystem and offers targeted suggestions for restaurants, delivery platforms, and future researchers to strengthen customer retention and sustainable business growth in Bengaluru's increasingly digital food service market.
ESG Disclosure and Cost of Capital in Indian Maharatna CPSEs: Evidence on WACC and Debt Pricing Using BRSR-Based ESG Index
This research paper looks at the correlation between the quality of the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosure and the cost of capital in Indian Maharatna Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs). By evaluation of the effect of the ESG disclosure on the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) and the cost of debt using a comprehensive BRSR-based ESG Index constructed out of Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reports that are required by SEBI during the period FY 2022-23 to FY 2024-25, we examine the effect of ESG disclosure on both the &WACC and the cost of debt. We have used a sample of all 14 Maharatna CPSEs (India): the largest government-owned corporations in India in terms of the energy, infrastructure, and manufacturing industries. The results of the empirical data indicate statistically significant negative correlation between scores of ESG disclosure and WACC and high ESG-performers CPSEs demonstrate that WACC is about 85-125 basis points below among its lower-scoring counterparts. Moreover, there is attractive Environmental (E) pillar which has the greatest impact on debt pricing and the next pillar is Governance (G) and Social (S) pillars. The implication of these findings to policy makers, investors and corporate managers is that, ESG disclosures are financial enough to matter in emerging markets.
Calibrating Brand Awareness of Pharmaceutical Brands in India: A Mixed-Methods Framework with Influencer-Mediated Awareness across Allopathic and Ayurvedic Segments
Measuring brand awareness in the Indian pharmaceutical market is less straightforward than in conventional consumer categories. The presence of branded generics, the separation between prescribers and end-users, and the regulatory divide between allopathic and Ayurvedic segments together create a setting where standard awareness models do not fully apply. This study develops and tests a framework that combines covariance-based structural equation modelling (CB-SEM) with an Awareness Calibration Index (ACI). A central addition is Influencer-Mediated Awareness (IMA), conceptualised in two forms: professional (IMA-P), reflecting Key Opinion Leader and peer influence among physicians, and consumer-facing (IMA-C), capturing the role of digital and culturally embedded health influencers. Data were collected from 420 physicians and 600 chronic-disease consumers across four cities in eastern India. The measurement model shows acceptable fit (CFI = 0.94, RMSEA = 0.059, SRMR = 0.063). Results indicate that Scientific Recall and Perceived Bio-equivalence remain important for prescriber decisions, although IMA-P also shows a meaningful contribution. On the consumer side, IMA-C emerges as a comparatively strong driver of brand equity, particularly within the herbal segment. The ACI results point to a clear hierarchy in awareness levels, with herbal brands outperforming both OTC and prescription categories. Taken together, the findings suggest that awareness formation in pharmaceutical markets is becoming more layered, with influencer-driven pathways increasingly complementing traditional mechanisms.
Emerging B-School Business Models: An AI-Triggered Transformation with special reference to Wharton School Case Study
With the acute emphasis on the Outcome-Based Education (OBE) system that is globally acknowledged in today’s academic world, there is a considerable drift in the business models of B-Schools thriving worldwide. The conventional teacher-centric approach and lecture-oriented pattern are being redesigned to be a more learner-centric approach, including experiential learning. This new form of academic delivery largely relies on technological advancements and the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools. This research aims at understanding the four major aspects involved in B-School business model success viz., positioning, value generation, execution and outcome assessment. The research revolves around the B-School - Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the study of itspioneeringstrategic move to bring transformation in the traditional way of academic delivery into a holistic business model through collaborative spirit with AI and analytical abilities. The study reveals that integrating with AI has strategically enabled the B-School to enhance its attainments in terms of robust curriculum design, innovative pedagogical techniques, enrichment of academic deliverables, efficient administrative processes and capturing globally smart competitive advantage. Researchers intend to showcase the success story of the B-School as a case study for building new insights among Academicians, Management committees of B-Schools, Government authorities, regulators and last but not least the learner community that needs to embrace the new horizons of education. Finally, AI and technology applications need to be considered as an aid for betterment and not a challengeby the stakeholders.
Volatility and Return Spillover Analysis from Selected ASEAN Markets with Indian Benchmark Index: A Post-Pandemic Market Study
The COVID-19 pandemic has been disrupting financial activities in countries, and also across the world, it creating a lot more uncertainty, and not so much stability in the wider global financial markets. This study is looking into how volatility moves around, and how returns spillover between the benchmark stock market indices for the chosen ASEAN-5 economies, plus India, specifically in the period after the pandemic. After the economic shocks from COVID-19, Asian financial markets have been getting more tightly linked together. so, studying how these markets relate to each other is becoming more important for investment evaluation and practical decision-making. The study is using daily stock market index data from 2019 to 2025 and then applying econometric models like GARCH and VAR, to grasp the scale as well as the direction of spillover effects among these markets. The results are pointing toward a higher level of mutual risk transmission between the ASEAN-5 economies and India, which seems to matter a lot for policymakers, investors and even the market regulators working in the post pandemic financial setting. On that basis, the paper is recommending diversified investment approaches, and also coordinated policy steps for boosting market steadiness while managing financial risks in a more effective way.
Work-Life Balance of Female Doctors in India: Antecedents and Its Impact on Job Satisfaction, Burnout, and Organizational Commitment – An Empirical Study
Work-life balance (WLB) has become a critical concern among healthcare professionals, particularly female doctors, who frequently encounter demanding professional responsibilities alongside family and personal commitments. In India, the increasing participation of women in the medical profession has intensified the need to understand the factors influencing their work-life balance and its outcomes. This empirical study investigates the antecedents of work-life balance and examines its impact on job satisfaction, burnout, and organizational commitment among female doctors working in government hospitals in Karnataka, India. A quantitative, cross-sectional research design was adopted. Primary data were collected from 300 female doctors employed in government hospitals using a structured questionnaire with a five-point Likert scale. Convenience sampling was used for respondent selection. The study considers workload, family support, organizational support, flexible working arrangements, childcare responsibilities, supervisor support, and role conflict as antecedents of work-life balance. Data were analyzed using SPSS 29 and AMOS 29. Statistical techniques included descriptive statistics, Cronbach's alpha, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The findings indicate that organizational support, supervisor support, family support, and flexible working arrangements positively influence work-life balance, whereas excessive workload, childcare responsibilities, and role conflict negatively affect it. Furthermore, improved work-life balance significantly enhances job satisfaction and organizational commitment while reducing burnout among female doctors. The structural model demonstrated acceptable goodness-of-fit indices, confirming the proposed theoretical framework. The study contributes to the existing literature by providing empirical evidence from the Indian public healthcare sector and offers practical recommendations for hospital administrators and policymakers. Strategies such as flexible scheduling, supportive leadership, family-friendly policies, childcare facilities, and employee wellness programs can improve work-life balance and promote higher organizational commitment while reducing occupational burnout.
Comparative Study of Traditional vs AI-based Recruitment Methods in HRM- An Empirical Study
The way that businesses recruit has changed dramatically with the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) into human resource management (HRM). Compared to current AI-based recruitment, traditional recruitment is based on a large number of processes. Such as; reviewing resumes manually, relying on the judgments made by humans to evaluate candidates and to place them appropriately in the company, creating job postings for potential employees to apply to positions at the company, and conducting face-to-face interviews to determine whether or not a candidate will be hired. There are many reasons why these traditional ways of recruiting have their disadvantages. For example, they can be very expensive, take a long time to complete, and require a lot of time from recruiters and other HR personnel. On the other hand, AI-recruitment uses different types of technology. These include machine learning, natural language processing (NLP), predictive analytics, chatbots and automatic resume screening. All of this technology allows companies to make better recruitment decisions faster and more efficiently. The purpose of this research paper was to examine how both traditional recruitment methods and AI-based recruitment methods differ from one another. Data were used from sources that included articles published from 2020-2026 from academic journals, HR consultants and industry surveys. Using data from those sources, it compared the two recruitment methods against each other by measuring their performance in nine areas. As a result, companies who use an AI-based recruitment method can save time when making hiring decisions. Additionally, companies who use an AI-based recruitment method can also save money when making hiring decisions. Companies who use an ai-based recruitment method can also successfully increase the quality of new hires. They can also create a more positive experience for candidates throughout the hiring process. Finally, companies who use an AI-based recruitment method can also provide equal opportunities to diverse candidates. However, there are still some disadvantages to using an ai-based recruitment method. Some of those disadvantages may include: biased algorithms being developed through machine learning models, ethical issues related to ai-human interactions and biases created due to limited training data.
Designing Equity-Aware Intelligent Business Ecosystems: A Conceptual Framework for Inclusive Digital Transformation and Sustainable Organizational Development
The accelerating adoption of intelligent technologies has reshaped contemporary business environments by enabling organizations to improve operational efficiency, strengthen decision-making processes, and enhance stakeholder engagement. Technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced data analytics are increasingly embedded within organizational systems, creating new opportunities for innovation and value creation. Despite these advancements, concerns remain regarding unequal access to digital resources, algorithmic bias, data privacy, and the potential exclusion of vulnerable populations from the benefits of technological progress. These challenges highlight the need for business models that balance technological innovation with principles of equity, inclusiveness, and social responsibility. This paper presents a conceptual framework for designing equity-aware intelligent business ecosystems that align digital transformation initiatives with sustainable organizational development objectives. The framework synthesizes insights from existing research on intelligent technologies, responsible innovation, digital governance, and inclusive business practices. It proposes a multi-layered structure in which AI, IoT, and data analytics function as technological enablers, while governance mechanisms, ethical safeguards, and stakeholder participation guide their implementation. The framework emphasizes the integration of fairness, transparency, accessibility, and accountability throughout organizational processes to ensure that technological benefits are distributed more equitably across diverse stakeholder groups. The study further illustrates how equity-oriented intelligent ecosystems can contribute to improved service delivery, resource optimization, informed decision-making, and long-term organizational resilience. By linking technological capabilities with sustainability and inclusion objectives, the proposed framework offers a structured foundation for organizations seeking to develop responsible and socially responsive digital transformation strategies. The paper contributes to the growing discourse on equitable innovation by providing a holistic perspective that connects intelligent technologies with sustainable organizational development and inclusive value creation.
The Influence of Unicorns and Soonicorns on Innovation and Venture Capital in Indian Startup Ecosystem: Empirical Evidence
The Indian startup ecosystem has emerged as one of the most dynamic and rapidly evolving markets globally, with significant contributions from high-growth companies known as unicorns valued at over $1 billion and soonicorns companies close to achieving unicorn status. These entities, driven by innovation and strategic risk-taking, have a profound impact on the broader startup landscape by attracting venture capital (VC) investment flows, influencing market competition, and serving as benchmarks for growth. Despite the attention surrounding unicorns and soonicorns, there is limited empirical research examining their direct and indirect effects on the growth and performance of other startups within the Indian ecosystem. This study aims to address this gap by exploring how the presence of unicorns and soonicorns influences the growth paths of other startups, particularly through the mediating role of venture capital investment flows and the moderating influence of government policy support. A structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was utilized to test the hypotheses, using data collected from startups, venture capitalists, and industry analysts. By employing statistical analysis, the study examines six hypotheses. The study is grounded in Resource Dependence Theory (RDT) positing that unicorns and soonicorns act as catalysts within the startup ecosystem by attracting critical external resources and fostering innovation diffusion, respectively. Results indicate a positive association between a unicorn and soonicorn presence and the overall performance and growth of Indian startups. Additionally, venture capital investment flows partially mediate this relationship, underscoring the importance of funding availability in scaling startups. Government policy support is found to moderate these relationships, with stronger effects observed in policy-rich environments. The findings highlight the pivotal role of unicorns and soonicorns in shaping India’s startup ecosystem and provide actionable insights for policymakers and investors on enhancing the support for high-potential startups. Future studies could track the influence of unicorns and soonicorns over time to analyze how long-term policy changes affect their impact on other startups.
Bridging The Regulatory Gap: Artificial Intelligence, Public Awareness, and International Standards in India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Framework
The rapid expansion of digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) has significantly transformed the way personal data is collected, processed, and utilized. In India, the emergence of large-scale digital platforms, e-governance systems, and AI-driven services has intensified concerns regarding data privacy, transparency, and accountability. The enactment of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP), 2023 represents a major milestone in India’s attempt to regulate personal data processing and safeguard individual rights. However, the evolving technological landscape, particularly the integration of AI systems into governance, commerce, and social platforms, has created regulatory gaps that require careful policy attention. This paper examines the relationship between artificial intelligence, public awareness, and international regulatory standards within India’s digital personal data protection framework. It explores how AI technologies complicate traditional data protection mechanisms, highlights the importance of informed public participation in privacy protection, and analyzes how global regulatory models such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) influence India’s policy approach. The study adopts a doctrinal and analytical methodology to evaluate legislative provisions, policy initiatives, and international best practices. The findings suggest that while India has made significant progress in establishing a statutory framework for data protection, challenges remain in enforcement capacity, algorithmic accountability, and public literacy regarding data rights. Strengthening institutional mechanisms, aligning domestic regulations with international standards, and expanding digital literacy initiatives can help bridge the regulatory gap. Ultimately, a balanced regulatory ecosystem combining technological innovation, legal safeguards, and citizen awareness is essential for ensuring responsible AI governance and sustainable digital growth in India.
Digital Innovation and Sustainable Banking Practices in Indian Public Sector Banks: Post-Merger Perspective
This study examines the impact of digital innovation and sustainable banking practices on customer satisfaction in merged public sector banks in India. The study explores how customer satisfaction in merged public sector banks in India will be affected by digital innovation and sustainable banking practices. On the basis of primary data gathered via a patterned questionnaire, the multiple regression method was utilized to point out the impact of digital innovations, convenience, technological foundation, post-merger service modifications, sustainability programs, and communication and awareness. The findings have shown that technology infrastructure positively affects customer satisfaction in a substantial manner, and therefore it is important to note that efficient and reliable digital systems in the post-merger environment is of great importance. On the other hand, sustainability projects have a strong negative contribution, implying a breakdown in visibility, communication or correspondence to customer expectations. Other reasons such as digital innovations, easy access, post-merger change in services, and communication and awareness have positive but insignificant impacts. The paper concludes that more focus should be placed on the enhancement of technological infrastructure and redesign sustainability efforts by merged public sector banks that have been and still enhance digital services and communication strategies. Although this study has some drawbacks that are connected with self-reported data, the sample size and cross-sectional nature, it can offer valuable information that can be utilized to enhance customer satisfaction and promote sustainable development of post-merger banks operating in the public sector.
India’s Role in UN Peacekeeping: Protecting Human Rights in War Zones
The maintenance of international peace and security remains one of the principal objectives of the United Nations (UN), with peacekeeping operations serving as one of its most visible and effective instruments for conflict management. Since its independence, India has consistently emerged as one of the most committed contributors to United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (UNPKOs), demonstrating an unwavering commitment to the principles of the UN Charter, multilateral cooperation, and the protection of vulnerable civilian populations. Indian peacekeepers have served in some of the world's most volatile conflict zones, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Sierra Leone, Lebanon, Sudan, Rwanda, Somalia, and several other regions affected by armed conflict. Beyond the traditional mandate of monitoring ceasefires, India's peacekeeping efforts have increasingly focused on the protection of civilians, promotion of human rights, humanitarian assistance, gender inclusion, post-conflict reconstruction, and support for democratic governance. This article critically examines India's evolving role in UN peacekeeping through the lens of international human rights law and international humanitarian law. It analyses the historical development of India's participation, the legal framework governing peacekeeping missions, and the practical contributions made by Indian military and police contingents in protecting civilians from violence, facilitating humanitarian access, supporting displaced populations, and strengthening local institutions. The paper further evaluates India's leadership in promoting women peacekeepers, capacity-building initiatives, and accountability within UN missions while addressing operational challenges such as resource constraints, changing conflict dynamics, terrorism, and allegations occasionally associated with peacekeeping missions globally. Through selected case studies of Congo, South Sudan, Sierra Leone, and Lebanon, the study argues that India's contribution extends beyond troop deployment to encompass the advancement of human security and the protection of fundamental human rights. The paper concludes by recommending institutional reforms that can further enhance India's effectiveness and leadership in future multidimensional peacekeeping operations.
Challenges Faced by Human Resource Departments in Retaining Creative and Innovative Talent: An Empirical Study
One of the challenges of contemporary organisations is the retention of creative and innovative talent. In the modern era, knowledge, innovation and creativity are gaining ground as the keys for the competitive advantage of businesses, so Human Resource (HR) departments are facing a new priority: keeping highly skilled employees. The present study discusses the problems being faced by HR in retaining creative and innovative talent. A descriptive research design was used, and data were collected using a structured questionnaire from 135 HR professionals and managers. The study found that the main issues that create problems in retaining staff are professional development opportunities, meeting employee expectations, workforce diversity, virtual learning and upskilling programmes, competition from other employers and organizational culture. Descriptive statistics were used to rank the challenges, and independent sample t-test and one-way ANOVA were used to analyse the differences between demographics in perceptions of retention challenges. The results showed that the most pressing issues facing HR departments are professional development and meeting employees' expectations. Gender was a significant difference for employee expectations, workforce diversity, competition from employers, and professional development opportunities, but organisational position was significant for organisational culture and workforce diversity. The findings of the study emphasise the importance of further strengthening employee development programs, creating an inclusive work culture and implementing successful retention strategies to ensure creative and innovative talent. The findings provide valuable insights for HR practitioners seeking to enhance employee retention and organisational competitiveness.
Development and Experimental Evaluation of Aquillaria Agallocha Filled Epoxy Composites
This study examined the effect of filler loading in Aquillaria Agallocha gum-reinforced epoxy composites made using the hand layup process. By systematically mixing Aquillaria Agallocha gum with an epoxy matrix in 5% increments, from 5% to 25% by volume, composite filaments were produced. The mechanical properties of the bio-composites were carefully analyzed to understand how their structure affects them. Tensile tests revealed that the improved composition has an elastic modulus of 1.7 GPa and a maximum strength of 20.2 MPa. The flexural strength was 34 MPa, with a modulus of 1700 MPa, indicating better volume retention. The Izod test results showed that the material could absorb more energy and had an impact resistance of 1.9 kJ/m². This composite opens the door for manufacturing sustainable engineering materials that could be used in biomedical devices, eco-friendly packaging, and consumer products that break down more efficiently in the environment.
Innovative Teaching Strategies and their Impact on Learning Outcomes in Higher Education
The use of new instructional tactics has changed the face of higher education through fostering student centred learning, better interaction and better performance. The present paper examines the impact of newer teaching and learning strategies on learning outcomes of higher education education, and the research question is what type of instructional strategies (i.e., active learning, blended learning, flipped learning, collaborative learning, project-based learning, gamification, technology enhanced instruction, etc.) can influence learning outcomes. A positivist philosophy and deductive quantitative research methodology was used. The data collected included 200 undergraduate and postgraduate students in institutions of higher learning, using structured questionnaires to aid in the data collection. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis were used to analyse data obtained using SPSS. The findings revealed that the students were positive about the innovative teaching strategies, technology enhanced learning and collaborative learning were rated highest. The statistical results had indicated that there were significant positive relationships between innovative teaching strategies and learning outcomes that comprised: student engagement, academic performance, knowledge retention, critical and communication abilities and problem-solving skills. Another finding of the regression analysis was the fact that technology enhanced learning had been the most effective predictor of improved learning outcomes. The study concludes that the effective application of the innovative teaching practices increase the quality of the acquired education and help to attain the needed graduate competencies. It also presupposes an additional investment in digital technologies, the training of faculty and learner-focused pedagogies to improve the quality of teaching and academic outcomes of post-secondary education.
Socio-Legal Impact of the NALSA Judgment on the Third Gender Community
The recognition of the third gender in India marked a significant milestone in the country’s journey toward equality and human rights. The landmark judgment of the National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India (commonly known as the NALSA judgment) delivered by the Supreme Court of India in 2014 played a transformative role in acknowledging the rights and identity of transgender persons. This decision legally recognized transgender individuals as a “third gender” and affirmed their fundamental rights under the Constitution, particularly the rights to equality, dignity, freedom of expression, and protection from discrimination. This study examines the socio-legal impact of the NALSA judgment on the third gender community in India. It analyses how the judgment has influenced legal recognition, policy reforms, and social awareness regarding transgender rights. The decision directed both the Central and State Governments to take proactive measures for the social and economic upliftment of transgender persons, including reservations in education and employment, access to healthcare, and legal protection against discrimination. Despite this progressive legal recognition, the third gender community continues to face significant challenges such as social stigma, lack of employment opportunities, limited access to education, and inadequate implementation of welfare policies. The study therefore explores the gap between legal recognition and actual social inclusion. It also highlights the role of legal frameworks, public policies, and social attitudes in shaping the lived experiences of transgender individuals. The research concludes that while the NALSA judgment has laid a strong constitutional foundation for the protection of transgender rights, sustained efforts in law, policy implementation, and societal awareness are essential to achieve genuine equality and dignity for the third gender community in India.
Unlocking Employee Engagement through Emotional Intelligence: The Mediating Effect of Knowledge Sharing Behavior
The present study investigated the impact of emotional intelligence on employee engagement through the mediating role of knowledge sharing behaviour. A quantitative research design was employed using a cross-sectional survey employed to the employees in the higher education sector. PLS-SEM was utilized to analyze the measurement and structural model and to examine the mediating effect of knowledge sharing behaviour. The results revealed that emotional intelligence has a positive impact on employee engagement. Furthermore, the results also revealed that emotional intelligence positively influences employee’s willingness to share knowledge, which in turn enhances their level of engagement. The mediation analysis revealed that knowledge sharing mediates the relationship between emotional intelligence and employee engagement, suggesting that emotionally intelligent employees become more engaged not only because of their emotional competencies but also through their active participation in knowledge sharing practices.
Digital Financial Inclusion as A Catalyst for Inclusive Development and Sustainable Development Goals: A Bibliometric Review
Digital financial inclusion (DFI) is quickly becoming a global movement of overwhelming proportions. Reports featuring Bill Gates indicate that mobile-enabled financial services can cover over 2 billion unbanked people worldwide by 2030. DFI offers significant value to community banks, thrifts, lending companies, and insurance agencies by promoting positive financial systems that enable firms to capitalise on opportunities. It also benefits sustainability, as the World Bank has stated it can help achieve 13 of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Studies from 25 African countries between 2011 and 2019 have shown that digital financial inclusion can advance sustainable development. Still, all markets should be regulated to ensure a balanced distribution of benefits. In recent trends, digital transactions are becoming an indispensable part of daily life. The transactions rose from 2,071 crores in the year 2017 - 2018 to 18,737 crores in the year 2023- 2024, making it an indispensable part of the economy in countries like India. The percentage of Indian accounts grew from 35% in 2011 to 80% in 2024 due to the implementation of policies. There are over 37% of adults who are outside the financial system. This highlights the immediate need for more inclusive alternatives. The common challenges include poverty, inequality, low literacy, and poor infrastructure. Consumer protection, data privacy and regulatory strategies are also issues that need to be resolved to properly apply digital payment policies. Even though financial inclusion is better in developed countries, it also faces challenges with people due to economic, psychological or cultural factors such as the indebted, the jobless, the elderly, migrants, and prisoners. This study addresses three key questions using combined data from 87 articles spanning from 2015 to 2024: (1) How can the existing literature establish a relationship between inclusive development, Digital Financial Inclusion, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? (2) What does bibliometric analysis reveal about the patterns of citation, major authorship, and publication sources, and the relationships of author’s works, in addition to the use of common keywords in Digital Financial Inclusion research? From the results of the survey, it can be concluded that digital financial inclusion is effective in promoting economic growth and enhancing the financial inclusion of the poor. However, there is a need for customised policies and continuous efforts for proper implementation. Digital finance is changing the world economy in multiple ways. It empowers people by reducing poverty. To fully maximise the opportunities provided by digital finance, involved parties should ensure that individuals can benefit from the digital finance revolution.
Criminal & Forensic Investigation with Artificial Intelligence & Their Effect on Privacy Rights: A Comparative Study of India and European Union
Humans are living in the era of Technology and Artificial intelligence (AI) and the use of them by law enforcement and Forensic experts is not only able to solve unsolved mysterious cases but also becoming a threat to the individual's privacy. There are already some laws regarding Privacy since years such as Article 21 of Indian Constitution but with the growing global privacy concerns as AI and Technology are not limited to a certain territory, nations got alert and came up with their separate statutes to protect privacy such as DPDP Act of India, GDPR of European Union (EU) act, etc. This paper aims to identify how AI tools and Technology are beneficial for Law enforcement and other investigating agencies ultimately which will benefit the members of the society, thereafter how the privacy right of an individual got infringed due to excessive use of technology and AI by investigators, how legislature of India and European Union (EU) is trying to protect the privacy rights with the help of statutes or regulations, and finally to provide suggestions related to advanced technology and governance which will help to maintain the balance between a rightful investigation and privacy rights.
Debt, Decline and Survival: An Analytical Framework for Identifying and Revitalizing Zombie Firms
This study examines the prevalence, survival and resolution of zombie firms in India over the financial years 2020–2024. A purposive sample of 13 large listed companies from the aviation, telecommunications, infrastructure, textiles, metals, and power sectors was analysed. Zombie firms are defined here as mature companies that have been unable to cover their interest expenses with operating profits for three or more consecutive years, yet continue to operate because of repeated bank credit support. Secondary data of selected firms have been collected from Financial Stability Reports of 2020 to 2024 issued by RBI and IBBI and classified into three categories: Recovery, still zombie and Insolvent/ liquidated. The findings suggests that possible pathways to come out of zombie status as per IBC resolution is to transfer the control or the ownership of the firm or a strategic acquisition with healthier entities. The firms that didn’t follow the resolution of IBC still remained in zombie status and eventually moved to liquidation. These findings provide evidence on the nature of corporate distress in India in the post pandemic era and the need for stronger structural reforms to facilitate timely market-driven escape from the zombie status.
Consumer Behaviour and Brand Loyalty towards Smartphones in Tiruchirappalli Town
The smartphone industry has witnessed remarkable growth over the last decade, transforming communication, information access, entertainment, and commercial activities. Consumer behaviour towards smartphones is influenced by several factors such as product quality, price, brand image, technological features, social influence, and after-sales service. Understanding these factors is essential for smartphone manufacturers and marketers to develop effective strategies for customer retention and brand loyalty. The present study examines consumer behaviour and brand loyalty towards smartphones among consumers in Tiruchirappalli Town. The study employs a descriptive research design and collects primary data through a structured questionnaire from smartphone users. Statistical tools such as percentage analysis, Chi-square test, t-test, one-way ANOVA, and correlation analysis are used to analyse the data. The findings reveal that brand reputation, product performance, and customer satisfaction significantly influence brand loyalty. The study concludes that smartphone companies should focus on innovation, service quality, and customer engagement to enhance long-term loyalty among consumers.
“Relative Strength Index (RSI) as A Predictor of Overbought and Oversold Conditions in Defence Company Stocks”
Technical analysis has gained increasing relevance in financial markets as investors seek systematic approaches to identify profitable trading opportunities. Among momentum-based indicators, the Relative Strength Index (RSI), originally developed by Welles Wilder (1978), is widely employed to detect overbought and oversold market conditions. The present study investigates the effectiveness of RSI in generating trading signals and predicting price movements in selected Indian defence sector stocks, namely Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), and Zen Technologies (ZEN). Building on the theoretical foundations of technical analysis proposed by Murphy (1999) and empirical evidence provided by Brock et al. (1992) and Lo et al. (2000), the study evaluates whether RSI-based signals possess predictive power in a strategically important and rapidly expanding sector of the Indian equity market. The study adopts a descriptive-correlational research design with a quantitative time-series approach based on secondary data covering the period from 2015 to 2025. Daily stock prices, RSI values, and market volatility measures constitute the dataset. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, t-tests, and regression techniques are employed to assess the relationship between RSI signals and subsequent stock returns. The empirical findings reveal that RSI has significant predictive power for defence sector stocks. The average return following RSI-generated signals is 21.66%, which is statistically significant (t = 15.962, p < 0.001; 95% CI: 18.95%–24.37%), indicating that RSI-based strategies are associated with substantial and consistent price movements. However, correlation analysis shows heterogeneous outcomes across firms, with a pooled correlation coefficient of 0.19, suggesting an overall weak association between RSI values and the magnitude of subsequent price changes. While GRSE exhibits a moderate positive relationship, other firms display weak or statistically insignificant correlations. These findings imply that although RSI is effective in identifying directional trading opportunities arising from overbought and oversold conditions, its explanatory power regarding the extent of price movements varies across companies. The study contributes to the growing literature on technical analysis in emerging markets and provides practical implications for traders and investors seeking momentum-based investment strategies in the Indian defence sector. This study contributes to the existing literature by focusing exclusively on the application of the Relative Strength Index within the Indian defence sector, an area that has received limited empirical attention. Unlike prior studies centered on broader indices or IT stocks, this research provides sector-specific insights into RSI performance. The study is limited to selected defence companies and relies solely on technical indicators without incorporating macroeconomic, fundamental, or behavioural factors. Additionally, market anomalies, policy changes, and sector-specific developments may influence price movements beyond RSI signals. The findings suggest that RSI can be effectively used by investors and traders to identify entry and exit points in defence stocks. However, combining RSI with other analytical tools and risk management strategies may enhance decision-making accuracy. This research promotes informed investment decisions by encouraging the use of data-driven technical analysis, thereby reducing speculative trading behaviour in emerging sectors like defence.
Online Grocery Shopping by the Senior Demographic (60+) in North India: Driving Factors behind Adoption vs. Resistance
The transition to digital grocery shopping has instigated a revolution, allowing orders to be made with a single click. Groceries are a fundamental necessity for every individual, and the senior citizens are no exception to it. Plenty of studies have been published on online grocery shopping where the primary focus is on the behavioural patterns of the younger generation. However, insufficient research has been performed on the behaviour of elderly adults aged 60 and above, hence impacting the adoption of online grocery shopping. The study examines the factors and the barriers affecting the preferences and choices when it comes to selecting the mode of buying groceries—online grocery purchases versus visiting local Kirana stores. The study employs the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to assess the responses of 358 participants from North India. The data collected revealed that around 43 percent of the senior citizens have procured groceries online. Ease of getting delivered at home, ease of accessibility, protection from the Covid-19 outbreak and other communicable diseases (due to their weak immune system), and ten-minute delivery were a few of the motivational factors; however, a majority of the people have again opted for the offline route after the descent of the pandemic. As per this study, the tactile effect of freshly picked items, lower prices, and social engagement with the personal touch of the owners/assistants are the primary reasons for visiting the local grocery stores. The study provides insights to address the resistance posed due to the offline Kirana store shopping of the senior citizens, which can further be catered to by the retailers to increase the popularity of online grocery shopping among this overlooked demographic.
Human-Centred Innovation through Design Thinking for Addressing Cyber Threats, Educational Problems, and Poverty Challenges: An Empirical Study
In an increasingly complex and inter-connected world, organizations and societies face multifaceted challenges such as cyber threats, educational inequalities, and persistent poverty. Traditional problem-solving approaches often fail to address human dimensions of these issues, creating a need for innovative and user-centred solutions. This study examines the role of design thinking as a human-centred innovative approach in addressing cybersecurity challenges, improving educational outcomes, and alleviating poverty. Design thinking emphasises empathy, problem definition, ideation, prototyping, and testing, enabling stakeholders to develop solutions that are both innovative and responsive to needs of the users. The findings reveal that empathy-driven problem identification, collaborative ideation, rapid prototyping and continuous user feedback significantly contribute to the development of effective and sustainable solution. 347 participants were surveyed for the study. The factors studying how Human-Centred Innovation Through Design Thinking for Addressing Cyber Threats, Educational Problems, and Poverty Challenges are Empathy-driven understanding, Problem identification and Definition, Prototyping and Experimentation and Collaborative Participation.
Impact of Artificial Intelligence in Human Resource Management: A Comparative Study of Samsung, Xiaomi, Apple and Vivo
Today, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is set to be the most powerful technology factor behind the digital transformation of industries around the world. Artificial Intelligence has changed the traditional aspect of working in Human Resource Management (HRM) by giving automation, prediction-based analyses, smart decision-making, and a better experience for employees. In fact, companies are now increasingly utilizing AI across recruitment, employee engagement, workforce planning, performance management and retention measures and learning & development. AI has been adopted quickly in the smartphone manufacturing industry; not just in product innovation, but also in internal human resource operations. Currently, giant organizations like Samsung, Xiaomi, Apple and Vivo incorporated AI-powered Technologies to improve productivity by ensuring HR efficiency whilst reducing administrative workload which further supports strategic business decisions. The purpose of this research is to compare the implementation and result of AI-based HR practices in these four multinational corporations. This study, through a descriptive and comparative research design based on secondary data takes stock of AI practices among key HR functions such as recruitment, employee development /training, workforce analytics, performance evaluation and engagement. The results show that despite all four organizations actively leverage AI in their HRM, they do so differently depend on strategic focus, technological maturity and corporate culture. Samsung and Apple have made workforce analytics a priority along with employee development, Xiaomi is emphasizing digital learning and HR automation for its employees in addition to excelling at hiring processes for better recruitment return on investment (RoI), while Vivo places a greater focus on recruitment efficiency as well as employee engagement. However, organizations are still facing challenges associated with algorithmic bias, privacy of employees data, Code of ethics and change management among others in spite of the myriad benefits. Thus, it concluding that artificial intelligence is now a strategic asset for HRM and outlining responsible AI governance, regular employee upskilling, decision-making aligned with ethical guidelines for the organization to grow sustainably.
An Administrative Insight into Branding in Management Institutions
The article looks at the viewpoint of the Management Institutions Administrators on the branding of management education institutes in six major districts. As the higher education market becomes more competitive, a good brand image is very important to draw students and faculty, get funding, and be a thought leader. This research details the results of a very detailed 100 administrator survey, including the understanding of branding, preferred strategies, and challenges as perceived by the administrators. The research shows that administrators are very aware of the importance of branding, especially in terms of raising the profile of the institution and getting students, but they mainly lack the funds and resources. The paper shows that there is a heavy dependence on the use of digital and social media as a means of brand promotion and communication. This manuscript develops a detailed picture of the administrators' perspective on the branding issue and thus helps institutional leaders figure out ways to raise their brand identity and competitive position.
Strategic Prioritization of HRM 4.0 Adoption Barriers: An Integrated ISM and MICMAC Approach for Sustainable Digital Transformation
Purpose- The objective of this study is to explore and examine the most significant challenges to the successful HRM 4.0 implementation in the digital transformation era. Organizations, particularly in developing countries, are grappling with a variety of structural, technological, and behavioral challenges due to the increasing adoption of new technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and data analytics (data analysis), that are now part of Industry 4.0. The goal of this study is to systematically explore such barriers and to identify interrelationships between them, in order to facilitate effective decision-making and policy-making. Design/Methodology/Approach- The study is designed by a qualitative design, and exploratory type of research, Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) combined with MICMAC analysis. A comprehensive literature review (2014-2025) was first performed to find important barriers. Ten key barriers were finalised based on expert validation. A Structural Self-Interaction Matrix (SSIM) was created to establish relationships among the barriers and a reachability matrix was developed, along with the partitioning of the barriers into hierarchical levels. The barriers were also categorized using the MICMAC analysis in terms of driving and dependence powers to prioritize and interpret them strategically. Findings- The study reveals ten significant barriers, such as infrastructure, resistance to new technologies, cyber security, investment costs, data management, lack of digital strategy, economic uncertainty, low technological maturity, lack of skills and job disruption. The lack of infrastructure and resistance to technology are the most influential driving barriers, which in turn may lead to several dependent problems as shown by the ISM model. The barriers identified are more economic, skill related and job disruption in nature. The classification of barriers as driving and dependent barriers is supported by the MICMAC analysis which shows that they have a hierarchical impact on each other and are interconnected. Practical Implications- The result indicated that the key factors for successful HRM 4.0 implementation in the organizations are infrastructural development, workforce reskilling and strategic digital planning. Commitment of leadership, an effective change management process, and cybersecurity frameworks are crucial. Further, the government can play a role in enabling digital readiness and capacity building, especially in SMEs and developing economies, by undertaking initiatives such as Skill India and Digital India. Originality/Value- The research proposed in this paper is based on the idea of having a structured framework for the interrelationships of the barriers of HRM 4.0 adoption, which is missing from the literature. This article presents a comprehensive hierarchical model of the barriers that supports the formulation of specific policies for sustainable digital transformation and competitive advantage, as opposed to previous research that investigated barriers individually.
Entrepreneurial Opportunities and Legal Risk in AI-Driven Businesses: Evidence from the Indian Context
Purpose: India’s burgeoning AI ecosystem tells a dual story of high entrepreneurial opportunity and high legal uncertainty. We propose and empirically validate an integrated conceptual model in India that analyzes the relationships among Entrepreneurial Opportunity (EO), Legal Risk Perception (LR), Government Support (GS), Innovation Intensity (II), and Business Performance (BP) for AI-driven businesses. Design/Methodology: The data utilized is mostly a structured questionnaire collected from 360 AI entrepreneurs, startup founders, innovation managers, and legal professionals from the six major Indian technology hubs including Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Pune, and Chennai. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was conducted using IBM AMOS 26.0. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to validate the measurement model, and Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) was used to estimate the structural model. In indirect effects, bootstrapped mediation analysis (5,000 iterations) was conducted. Findings: The results clearly indicate that EO is positively and significantly related to BP (β = 0.312, p < .001) and II (β = 0.389, p < .001). LR has a significant negative effect on BP (β = −0.218, p < .001) and EO (β = −0.143, p < .01). GS is a positive moderator of EO and directly influences BP. II partially mediates the EO–BP relationship. These seven hypotheses are supported. The model performed reasonably well (CFI = 0.953, RMSEA = 0.049, and χ²/df = 2.14). Originality/Value: This is among the first studies to include legal risk perception using an SEM approach for AI entrepreneurship in India, with DPDPA 2023 and the National AI Strategy as references. The results provide practical recommendations for policymakers, legal academics, and entrepreneurs.
Sustainable Enterprise Models in Jharkhand: Balancing Profit and Planet
Jharkhand, situated in eastern India, presents a complex development scenario. Though the state is endowed with rich natural resources, over 30% of its land is under forest cover, and Scheduled Tribes make up nearly 26% of its population, it continues to face serious developmental challenges. Jharkhand ranks low on the Human Development Index (HDI), struggling with poor health outcomes, low literacy levels, and widespread livelihood insecurity. Amid these challenges, a number of grassroots initiatives are trying to create a different path—one that blends income generation with ecological responsibility. This paper examines such sustainable enterprise models, relying exclusively on secondary data drawn from government reports, civil society documentation, and academic literature. It focuses on four key sectors: non-timber forest produce (NTFPs), tribal handicrafts, millet-based agroecology, and decentralized renewable energy systems. Using the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF) as a guiding lens, the study evaluates these enterprises in terms of their profitability, environmental impact, and social inclusion, particularly for tribal women. The findings show that while many of these models have potential, their growth is often held back by fragmented policies, lack of convergence across departments, and inadequate institutional support. With the right ecosystem, these models could help Jharkhand move toward a more inclusive, climate-resilient, and self-reliant rural economy.
Commercial Governance of Football Mega-Events: Destination Branding, Stakeholder Collaboration, and Urban Economic Development
Commercially managed football mega-events are not just sport-based competitions. They have become major platforms for many purposes, including the marketing of destinations, collaboration among stakeholders, and urban economic development. Events like the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League and Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup unite governments, international sports federations, private businesses, investors, tourism organizations, local businesses, and many other participants, creating a commercial ecosystem that will impact the economic future of the host cities. This research study will identify how commercial management of football mega-events facilitates the destination marketing and stakeholder collaboration as well as creates opportunities for entrepreneurial activity, infrastructure investment, and sustained economic development. Using Simon Anholt’s “Competitive Identity” concept, Philip Kotler’s “Place Marketing” theory, R. Edward Freeman’s “Stakeholders Theory” and David Harvey’s “Entrepreneurial Urbanism”, this research will investigate how cooperative governance of public agencies and private enterprises promotes the transformation of urban areas into competitive global commercial destinations. According to this argument, destination branding serves as a strategic governance mechanism via which cities attract investment, compete, stimulate entrepreneurial ecosystems and solidify their place in the global economy. The commercial and institutional relationships that underlie mega football events illustrate that the legacy of these events extends beyond tourism and short-term economic gain; they have the potential to create lasting global competitiveness for cities, innovation within business sectors, and sustainable local economic development. Therefore, this research contributes to current discussions regarding the intersections between commercial governance, destination branding, the collaboration of stakeholders, and urban economic policy by viewing mega football events as the catalysts of inclusive, commercially oriented economic transformation.
A Comparative Analysis among the Constitution of India and Media Laws to Maintain Checks and Balances in the Light of Freedom of Speech and Expression
Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution protects freedom of speech and expression, and in many ways, it is what keeps the idea of a free press alive in India. It allows people to speak, question, and debate openly things that are absolutely necessary in any working democracy. But this freedom does not come without limits. Article 19(2) steps in to put certain restrictions in place, especially when it comes to how media and press operate, making sure that freedom does not slide into irresponsibility. Over the decades, the laws around media regulation in India have changed quite a bit. The courts have played a major role time and again and the judges have stepped in to push back against censorship and stop the government from overstepping its boundaries. That said, the rise of digital media has thrown up a whole new set of problems that the legal system has not quite caught up with yet. This research paper looks at how constitutional values and media laws interact with each other, and whether India's legal setup manages to protect free expression while also keeping misinformation in check. By going through Supreme Court decisions, various laws, and regulatory frameworks, it tries to map out how media regulation has developed over the years and where the courts and parliament have made a difference. While India’s judiciary has preserved the Article 19(1) in its various landmark decisions, ambiguity in statutory provisions and inconsistencies in enforcement continue to pose significant challenges The study underscores the pressing need for a balanced approach that ensures media accountability without undermining constitutional rights. In conclusion, this research emphasizes the necessity of a well-defined and enforceable legal framework that safeguards journalistic integrity while addressing contemporary challenges. The research advocates for targeted reforms in media laws, strengthened judicial oversight, and increased public awareness to foster a media ecosystem that is both free and responsible, while sustaining national security and unity of India.
The Contribution of Emotional Intelligence to Government School Teachers' Increased Teaching Effectiveness
Emotional Intelligence (EI) is more and more diagnosed as a vital aspect in powerful coaching, influencing instructor overall performance, school room management, and pupil engagement. This look at investigates the connection between EI and instructor-student interactions, the usage of empirical records amassed from 100 contributors. The studies employ statistical analysis through SPSS, which include reliability evaluation, descriptive information, correlation, and regression analysis. The outcomes suggest a excessive degree of inner consistency inside the measurement device (Cronbach’s Alpha = 0.969), a robust advantageous correlation between EI and teacher-scholar relationships (r = 0.860, p < 0.01), and a full-size predictive relationship (β = zero.860, p < zero.01), confirming that higher EI enhances teachers’ ability to foster significant interactions with School students. Those findings align with preceding literature, highlighting EI as a key determinant of instructor efficacy and student achievement. The have a look at underscores the need for incorporating EI education into teacher education applications and professional development projects. coverage guidelines emphasize the integration of EI-primarily based interventions to enhance trainer well-being, job satisfaction, and pupil learning outcomes. The have a look at contributes to the developing body of research advocating for EI as an important skill for educators, reinforcing its significance in shaping a superb and productive gaining knowledge of surroundings.
Entrepreneurial Career and Life Design (ECLD): Theoretical Foundations and Conceptual Distinctions in a Transforming World
Entrepreneurial Career and Life Design (ECLD) is an interdisciplinary approach that combines the concepts of entrepreneurial thinking, Self-authored career and life design with the approach of Design Thinking. The ECLD enables individuals to chart the path of a dynamic and opportunistic career. This chapter defines ECLD by throwing light on the theories to form a conceptual framework, define its relevance in the transforming world and distinguishes it from the traditional approaches of career development. The chapter take the cues from the changing professional landscapes with digital transformation and increased focus on sustainable and mindful lives. ECLD unifies the concepts of narrative career and the entrepreneurial venture creation, enabling to design the career trajectories by combining the self-directed career paths aligned with the entrepreneurial venturing. This chapter offers a comprehensive synthesis of theories and concepts to understand the ECLD as a research construct and as well as a curriculum concept for entrepreneurial and career building framework. By combining the educational psychology, career ladder, entrepreneurial mindset with design thinking approach, ECLD contributes as a strong foundation for the new generation curriculum designing and career innovation. ECLD is encouraging the educationists, researchers and the professionals to think and act beyond the traditional architecture of life and work, encouraging a mindset where career development is accepted as an iterative life project.
Emerging Global Regulatory Frameworks on Corporate Environmental Due Diligence: Implications for Forest Protection in India
Corporate Environmental Due Diligence (CEDD) has emerged as a central component of global sustainability governance, reflecting a transition from voluntary corporate social responsibility initiatives to legally binding obligations on businesses to identify, prevent, mitigate, and account for environmental harms across their value chains. Recent regulatory developments, particularly within the European Union (EU), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and United Nations (UN) frameworks, have significantly expanded corporate responsibilities concerning environmental protection, biodiversity conservation, and deforestation-free supply chains. The EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) represent landmark efforts to impose mandatory environmental due diligence requirements on companies operating in global markets, compelling them to address adverse environmental impacts throughout their supply chains. These emerging frameworks have profound implications for developing countries such as India, whose forestry resources, agricultural commodities, and export-oriented industries are increasingly integrated into global value chains. India faces the dual challenge of promoting economic development while conserving forest ecosystems that support biodiversity, climate regulation, and the livelihoods of millions of forest-dependent communities. The growing emphasis on traceability, sustainability reporting, and deforestation-free sourcing creates both opportunities and challenges for Indian businesses and policymakers. While enhanced due diligence standards may strengthen environmental governance and improve market access for sustainable products, compliance costs, technological requirements, and institutional capacity constraints remain significant concerns. This article critically examines the evolution of global environmental due diligence frameworks, analyzes their legal and policy dimensions, and evaluates their implications for forest protection in India. It argues that emerging due diligence regulations can serve as catalysts for strengthening forest governance, promoting sustainable supply chains, and enhancing corporate accountability. However, their effectiveness depends upon coherent domestic legal reforms, robust enforcement mechanisms, technological innovations in traceability systems, and inclusive stakeholder participation. The article concludes that India must proactively adapt its environmental governance framework to align with global due diligence standards while safeguarding developmental priorities and forest-dependent communities.
Human Commodification in Dystopian India: Connecting Tribal Displacement with the Body-Market in Manjula Padmanabhan’s Harvest
This paper examines the unity between commodification of human beings, bio capital, and exploitation of the resources, placing the Harvest of Manjula Padmanabhan in socio-political context of the tribal displacement in the present-day India. The dystopian body-market of the play whereby financially disadvantaged people sell their organs and physical services to the wealthy Western beneficiaries is interpreted as the allegorical expansion of the materiality of how the marginalized tribal communities are dispossessed of land, labour and possession of their bodies in the pretext of development and globalization. The paper uses postcolonial, feminist and biopolitical theories that Padmanabhan futuristic narrative exaggerates the power imbalances that exist in the current India neoliberal development plan in which the land is commodified as are human bodies being sold in the bloc markets. The analysis also shows how Harvest reveals the turn of body to be a venue of transaction, surveillance, and discipline, which reflects the lived experiences of displaced tribal populations whose daily experiences are mediated by forced migration, extractive industries and collusion between the states and corporations. The donor receiver machine of the play is a metaphor of the hierarchical order wherein the population of the tribal ends up deprived of control over the physical space and bodily bodies to serve as fungible commodities of a bigger economic engine. Showing the correlations of the dystopian commodification of body integrity with the manifestations in the real world, where people are deprived of their human dignity due to the development paradigm that places global capital in the first place, the paper shows the resonance between the moral and ethical collapse that Padmanabhan criticizes the development paradigm in its entirety. The paper posits that Harvest is not merely the movie that questions the commodification of human body, but it also prefigures the more general socio-political processes of turning the subjugated communities into exploitable assets. In the paper, his work by Padmanabhan is staged as a strong culture text, which cautions the situalization of the commodification of bodies and territories in modern day developmental arena in India.
Professionalisation of Non-Teaching Staff for Institutional Readiness in Indian HEIs - Strategic Enabler of NEP 2020 Implementation
India's mission of Viksit Bharat @2047 has education at its centre stage for national development. In this context, the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, brings the much-expected transformational shift in the Indian Higher Education system - the blueprint to modernize the Indian education system in a systemic and holistic manner. The transformation focuses on a wide spectrum of reforms to be brought in governance, curriculum, institutional autonomy, etc however its successful implementation rests fundamentally on the strength and preparedness of its human capital – academic leaders, and non-teaching personnel across the entire education system. While most of the focus articulates structural, pedagogical, and regulatory reforms, placing teachers at the centre of the educational reform as highly qualified professionals. In this initiative, the policy includes, mandatory Continuous Professional Development (CPD), Merit-based recruitment, career progression opportunities, increased autonomy to foster an experiential learning and inculcating research environment. Often, the role of Non-Teaching (NT) staff in HEIs is overlooked. There are limitations at policy-level to conceptualize NT staff as the strategic partners in this holistic exercise and connect to the long-term national development goals which are envisaged through NEP 2020 and towards the goal of Viksit Bharat @2047. With this context, the study aims to analyse the administrative capabilities in Indian HEIs i.e, whether the NT staff are being evolved to meet new challenges, professionalising key functions like, academic administration, student support, placements, alumni relations, accreditations, etc., which are essential for an institution to get aligned with NEP 2020 requirements. The study is based on analysis of documents like, NEP 2020, AISHE reports, and NIRF data, academic research papers, etc. The NEP 2020 has still not prioritised HR policies for NT staff. While administration is merely seen a support function to manage academic workforce, it is important to address these gaps to develop a comprehensive framework of policies and strategic practices to acknowledge the knowledge, skill and contributions of the NT staff to be treated as professionals. From the research, it is evident that HEIs can succeed only through the synergetic efforts of both faculty and NT staff. A well-structured support system can enhance institutional efficiency; improve student outcomes, and create more experiential learning centres. The leadership positions, such as Registrar, Dean-Administration, Finance Officer etc require professional and strategic skills for the governance of HEIs. However, at times even these senior positions as well most of the lower-level administrative staff are employed on contractual basis. For good governance and to traverse long-term goals, to foster responsibility and efficiency, HEIs need to promote NT staff as new-age professionals specialising in various domains of academic administration such as, Library information system, Information Technology, Research project management, strategic Human Resource management, Regulatory Compliances, Accreditations and rankings, etc. The non-teaching function is not merely to be seen as a supporting variable but as Strategic Enabler for NEP 2020 implementation, calling for professionalising administrative function for Institutional Readiness in Indian HEIs. The paper contributes a conceptual peek that links NEP 2020 reforms to achieve excellence in Indian HEIs offering critical implications for policy design, institutional strategy, and research in the context of the imperative need for Professionalisation of Non-Teaching staff.
Business Law and Agribusiness Perspectives on Functional Crop Commercialization: A Systematic Review
The biochemically enhanced functional crops have tremendous potential to increase the nutritional security, generate value added agriculture and boost the rural economy in India through commercialization. Notwithstanding these developments, the legal and regulatory framework for agribusiness entrepreneurship is still fragmented among several laws and institutional frameworks, such as food safety law, agricultural marketing law, intellectual property law, environmental governance, consumer protection law and contract farming law. This fragmentation can make it difficult for entrepreneurs, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), agribusiness startups, and others interested in the commercialization of innovative agricultural products to comply. In this study, a systematic review of the literature is conducted, based on both a doctrinal and policy-analysis perspective, of existing legal and regulatory mechanisms with regard to the commercialisation of functional crops. The review is a synthesis of evidence on food safety governance, biofortification policies, value chain management, entrepreneurial ecosystems, digital traceability, and institutional support to highlight the key obstacles in food safety laws and governance to support sustainable agribusiness development. The results show that despite the various policy measures already taken to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship in agriculture, Indian agriculture is not having an integrated regulatory environment that is restricting market access, compliance complexity, and functional crop enterprises' commercial scalability. Given these results, a Legal–Agribusiness Commercialization Framework is proposed, which integrates all components of regulatory compliance, governance of food safety, coordination of the value chain, support for entrepreneurs and management of innovation in a single policy perspective. This review connects business law to agribusiness development and sustainable commercialization and offers practical insights for policy makers, legal professionals, entrepreneurs and researchers aiming to create resilient, competitive and innovation rich agribusiness ecosystems.
Prioritizing Critical Barriers and Success Enablers of Women-Led MSMEs: An Integrative Review using a Hybrid Fuzzy AHP–Text Mining Framework
The rise of women-led Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) marks a transformative shift in the global entrepreneurial ecosystem. However, these ventures often grapple with persistent challenges that impede their growth and long-term sustainability. This integrative review aims to systematically examine the key barriers and enablers influencing the success of women entrepreneurs in the MSME sector. Adopting a hybrid methodological approach, the study combines Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (Fuzzy AHP) and Term Occurrence Analysis to synthesize insights from existing literature and prioritize critical factors. The review draws on diverse scholarly articles, reports, and empirical studies to identify recurring themes such as limited access to finance, socio-cultural restrictions, inadequate policy support, and digital skill gaps. Simultaneously, it highlights success enablers like government initiatives, capacity-building programs, and supportive networks. The Fuzzy AHP model facilitates a structured ranking of these factors based on expert evaluations, offering a nuanced understanding of their relative impact. The findings provide valuable directions for policymakers, support institutions, and researchers to develop inclusive strategies that empower women entrepreneurs and drive equitable growth in the MSME sector.
Performance Evaluation of Selected Indian Public Sector Banks: An Extended Balanced Scorecard Approach
This study used the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) concept developed by Kaplan and Norton (1992). The empirical study evaluated the performance of three selected public sector banks in India, namely Canara Bank (CB), Union Bank of India (UBI), and UCO Bank, using an extended Balanced Scorecard framework comprising Financial, Customer, Internal Business Process, Learning and Growth, and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) perspectives. Further, profitability of these banks during the period from 2016–2025 was measured in terms of Return on Assets (RoA) and Return on Equity (RoE). In addition, this paper examined the relationship between profitability and variables of the BSC framework using correlation and multiple regression analysis. The results revealed variations in the performance of the selected banks across the different perspectives of the BSC framework. Correlation analysis disclosed statistically significant relationships of GP, GII, TANB and GNMT with RoA, while CIR, GII, TANB, ITAR, GNMT and RPSATA exhibited significant relationships with RoE. The results of multiple regression analysis revealed that GP and TANB had a significant positive influence on RoA, whereas GNMT exhibited a negative influence. The model explained 65.1 per cent of the variation in RoA. For RoE, the selected BSC variables jointly explained 63.7 per cent of the variation, although none of the individual variables emerged as statistically significant predictors at the 5 per cent level. The findings indicate that profitability of public sector banks is influenced not only by financial measures but also by customer, internal business process, learning and growth, and ESG dimensions. Therefore, the adoption of an extended BSC framework provides a comprehensive approach for evaluating bank performance and identifying the key drivers of profitability.
Employee Resilience and Organizational Citizenship Behaviour: The Mediating Role of Employee Engagement in the Banking Sector
As organizations in the Indian banking sector struggle to enhance employee commitment and promote voluntary workplace behaviours, employee resilience has appeared as an important factor. This research investigates the impacts of employee resilience on Organizational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB). And examines the mediating role of Employee Engagement (EE) in associate between Employee Resilience (R) and Organizational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB). Data were collected from 216 banking employees across Chennai, Trichy, Madurai, Coimbatore, and Bangalore using a well-structured questionnaire. PLS-SEM (Partial Least Squares-based Structural Equation Modeling) was utilized for the analysis. The results show that Employee Resilience (R) significantly and positively influences both Employee Engagement (EE) and Organizational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB). And Employee Engagement partially mediates between Employee Resilience and Organizational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB). The study findings have managerial implications; banking sector managers can implement resilience building programs and engagement enhancing strategies to cultivate a citizenship oriented, committed, and adaptable workforce, ultimately improving organizational performance and work culture.
AI-Driven Digital Marketing and Sustainable Entrepreneurship: A Multi-Dimensional Entrepreneurial Learning Framework
Purpose: Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly transforming digital marketing practices and creating new opportunities for entrepreneurial ventures to engage customers and generate market insights. At the same time, entrepreneurs face growing pressure to balance economic performance with social and environmental sustainability. Despite these developments, existing research remains fragmented, with limited integration between AI-driven marketing capabilities, entrepreneurial opportunity recognition, customer engagement, and sustainable value creation. This study aims to develop a conceptual framework explaining how AI-driven digital marketing capabilities contribute to sustainable entrepreneurial growth through a dynamic entrepreneurial learning process. Design/methodology/approach: This study adopts a conceptual research design that integrates insights from digital marketing, entrepreneurship, and sustainability literature. Building on theories of customer engagement, opportunity recognition, resource-based view, and dynamic capabilities, the study develops a multi-dimensional conceptual framework. The framework conceptualizes entrepreneurship as a dynamic learning system in which AI-driven digital marketing capabilities generate data-driven marketing intelligence, support entrepreneurial opportunity recognition, enhance customer engagement, and contribute to entrepreneurial competitive advantage and sustainable value creation. Findings: The study proposes a multi-stage entrepreneurial learning framework linking AI-driven digital marketing capability, data-driven marketing intelligence, entrepreneurial opportunity recognition, customer engagement, competitive advantage, and sustainable value creation. The model suggests that AI-enabled marketing technologies enhance entrepreneurs’ ability to interpret market signals and identify opportunities. These opportunities facilitate stronger customer engagement, which generates relational and informational assets such as brand trust, customer knowledge advantages, switching costs, and network effects. These mechanisms contribute to entrepreneurial competitive advantage, which in turn enables ventures to pursue sustainability-oriented strategies that generate economic, social, and environmental value. The framework also incorporates dynamic feedback loops that reinforce capability development and market learning over time. Practical implications: The proposed framework provides guidance for entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) seeking to leverage AI-driven marketing technologies for sustainable growth. Entrepreneurs can enhance competitive positioning by investing in AI-enabled marketing analytics, strengthening customer engagement strategies, and using digital data to identify emerging opportunities. Policymakers may also support entrepreneurial ecosystems by promoting AI adoption, digital infrastructure development, and data-driven capabilities among SMEs. Originality/value: This study contributes to the literature by integrating AI-driven digital marketing, entrepreneurial opportunity recognition, customer engagement, and sustainable entrepreneurship within a unified conceptual framework. By conceptualizing entrepreneurship as a multi-dimensional entrepreneurial learning system and introducing a capability–engagement–value perspective, the study provides a novel theoretical lens for understanding how AI-enabled marketing technologies can support sustainable entrepreneurial development in digital markets.
Educational Environment and Entrepreneurial Intention among Arts and Science Students in Kerala: An Empirical Structural Equation Modelling Analysis
Scholarly focus has progressively shifted towards Entrepreneurial Intention (EI) to elucidate how Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) cultivate commercial acumen and innovative thinking among students. This study aims to assess the influence of the Educational Ecosystem (EE)—characterized as the academic integration of coursework and the strategic alignment of institutional objectives to facilitate commercial inquiry—on the entrepreneurial ambitions of college students in Kerala, India. Based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and Entrepreneurship Education Theory (EET), this study utilizes an explanatory-confirmatory approach, collecting data from a structured questionnaire distributed to 540 participants from both government and non-government colleges. The study utilized a pre-designed set of questions. The data analysis was conducted using SPSS 26 and AMOS 24 software, employing Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The data obtained from CFA showed that the construct validity was strong (CFI = 0.977, TLI = 0.952, and RMSEA = 0.037), while the data obtained from the SEM showed that factors that influenced entrepreneurial intention include integrating the curriculum (β = 0.920, p <0.001), support infrastructure for entrepreneurs (β = 0.382, p <0.001), and leadership and visions (β =0.903, p <0.001). The overall Educational Environment construct achieved satisfactory convergent validity (AVE = 0.708), high composite reliability (CR = 0.877), and acceptable discriminant validity (0.841), indicating strong construct adequacy. In conclusion, the findings emphasize the critical role that supporting educational environments inculcate in cultivating innovation-driven entrepreneurial spirit in the youth within the emerging economy.
The Structural Evolution and Strategic Determinants of Medical Value Travel (MVT) in Emerging Economies: Evidence from India
Purpose: This study examines the structural evolution of Medical Value Travel (MVT) in India and identifies the strategic factors that strengthen the country's competitiveness in the global healthcare market. The research focuses on the role of policy reforms, digital health infrastructure, institutional pluralism, and regional healthcare decentralization in shaping India's MVT ecosystem. Methodology: The study adopts a qualitative research design based on secondary data analysis. Information was collected from government reports, policy documents, healthcare databases, international medical tourism reports, and published academic literature. The analysis is guided by the Resource-Based View (RBV) and Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) frameworks to evaluate the institutional and strategic determinants influencing medical value travel. Findings: The study finds that India's competitive advantage extends beyond affordable treatment costs to include integrated healthcare services, digital transformation, supportive government policies, and the emergence of Tier-2 healthcare clusters. The convergence of modern tertiary care with AYUSH systems further enhances patient value by promoting comprehensive and preventive healthcare services. Originality/Value: The paper presents a holistic framework for understanding India's evolving MVT ecosystem and offers policy insights to improve global competitiveness and ensure sustainable growth in international healthcare services.
Regulatory Promoter Lock-in Reforms and IPO Underpricing: Evidence from the Indian Primary Market
This study examines the impact of promoter lock-in reforms on IPO underpricing in the Indian primary market, focusing on information asymmetry and ownership structure. Using a cross-sectional sample of 364 IPOs following the 2021 SEBI reform, the study applies OLS regression with interaction effects. The findings reveal that lock-in reforms do not have a statistically significant effect on IPO underpricing, and their impact does not vary with information asymmetry or promoter holding. In contrast, firm size emerges as a significant determinant, with larger firms experiencing lower underpricing, supporting the information asymmetry perspective. The results suggest that IPO pricing in India is driven more by firm-specific fundamentals and market dynamics than by regulatory lock-in provisions. This study contributes to the literature by offering early empirical evidence on regulatory lock-in reforms in an emerging market context.
Artificial Intelligence and Its Role in Building Sustainable Business Models
This study delves into the importance of artificial intelligence (AI) in helping Indian businesses move towards greener and more sustainable practices. It aims at understanding the role of AI in the development and implementation of green business strategies in India, analyzing specific case studies from India where AI has helped in optimizing the usage of resources and reducing the environmental impact, identifying key performance indicators (KPIs) for monitoring sustainability outcome from AI, and identifying challenges in the adoption of AI and giving responsible solution to such challenges and providing practical guidelines to policy makers and business leaders in India interested in implementing sustainable development through the use of artificial intelligence.The study was a combination of both quantitative and qualitative and comprised of market information, deep interviews with key experts in the Indian industries (manufacturing, energy, logistics and agriculture), and a structured questionnaire that was given to 50 key experts. More than 60% of the companies surveyed are already using AI to help achieve their sustainability goals, with AI tools for the circular economy, predictive maintenance and logistics optimization being among the most common uses. Research has shown that implementing AI tools can not only boost efficiency and reduce carbon emissions, but it can be directly associated with a positive change in these areas. In addition to revenue opportunities from circular business models, businesses with more advanced AI projects also say they have seen a decrease in their carbon footprint with reductions ranging from 26% to 40%, and an average of 48% increase in resource efficiency. But the research also identifies business challenges such as lack of expertise, ethical and governance issues and data infrastructure gaps in many businesses. The study recommends the need for specific incentives for the responsible use of AI, strengthening governance processes, investing in AI-related digital infrastructure, and capacity building for AI skills in the industry. The result's findings provide a valuable guide for Indian companies and government initiatives to leverage the power of AI in environmental management and sustainable development.
From Consumption to Experience: A Bibliometric Study of Minimalism in Shaping Tourist Behaviour
The growing importance of sustainability and environmental awareness positioned the minimalism paradigm in the tourism industry. Nowadays, travelers seek a clutter-free, peaceful journey, away from materialistic, fast tourism and its façade. This makes it essential to understand the intellectual theory and structure of minimalism. This study examines how the ideology of minimalism influences tourist behaviour and shapes the itineraries of tourism research. A bibliometric analysis of scholarly publications on minimalism and tourism from the Scopus database (2006 to mid-2026) was conducted on 10 June (N=392 articles). This study identifies themes, the most influential authors, the most impactful journals, and the leading countries using performance analysis and science mapping techniques. The finding reveals the interrelated patterns among sustainable consumption, slow tourism, mindful travel, well-being, happiness, and tourist behaviour. This study further explores the emergence of new themes, such as ecotourism, voluntary simplicity, detox tourism, well-being, happiness, and responsible tourist behaviour. Existing study themes related to destination sustainability, tourist satisfaction, and values have evolved within the minimalist framework over time. This study also illustrates how minimalist values encourage tourists to experience nature rather than material possessions and to engage with local culture and destinations. By applying the ideology of minimalism to tourism, this research provided insight into how it shapes tourists' behaviour and guides their decisions. As people shift from a consumer-centric to an experience-centric approach, minimalism offers a valuable framework for promoting responsible, slow tourism.
Influence of Social Media Micro-Influencers on Gen-Z Purchase Decisions: A Cross-Sectional Empirical Analysis
This study investigates the structural impact of social media micro-influencers (10,000–100,000 followers) on the purchase decisions of Generation Z (Gen-Z) consumers. Grounded in Source Credibility Theory and Parasocial Interaction (PSI) Theory, this paper develops a conceptual framework that explores how micro-influencer attributes—specifically perceived authenticity, homophily (perceived similarity), and niche expertise—affect downstream purchase intentions, mediated by the strength of parasocial relationships and consumer trust. Employing a cross-sectional empirical research design, primary data was gathered via a structured survey from a targeted sample of Gen-Z digital natives (N = 412) who actively engage with micro-influencer content across platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was applied to validate the measurement scales and test the proposed hypotheses. The empirical results demonstrate that perceived authenticity and homophily exert a powerful, statistically significant indirect effect on purchase decisions, strongly mediated by parasocial interaction and trust. Interestingly, while niche expertise directly impacts trust, its standalone direct effect on purchase decisions is heavily diluted compared to the overwhelming influence of relational authenticity. The paper concludes with an actionable strategic framework for modern digital marketers seeking to optimize influencer spend, noting that for the value-driven Gen-Z cohort, peer-like relational proximity consistently outperforms overt corporate advertising.
Enhancing Organizational Success through Employee Training and Development: An Evaluation of their Contribution to the Achievement of Organizational Objectives
Successful companies understand the importance of training and developing their employees. Manufacturing environments that are increasingly competitive and volatile forces companies to use training and development to continually improve their employees’ productivity and skills in order to remain competitive and improve the effectiveness of their organization. The relationship between employee training, employee development, and the accomplishment of organizational goals will be the focus of this study. This study used a quantitative cross-sectional analysis. Primary data were collected from both public and private sector employees using an online survey. From the online survey, 189 usable surveys were collected using the convenience sampling methodology. The data collected were analysed using SPSS. The analysis included descriptive analysis, reliability analysis, correlation analysis, and regression analysis. The analysis of the data collected indicated that there was a positive correlation between organizational success and employee training and development. Additionally, employee training and development plays a significant role in the accomplishment of the goals of an organization. This indicates that the companies that invest in the development of their employees are more likely to achieve their performance goals and their strategic goals. The study also offers both the human resource and organizational behaviour database knowledge with the empirical data supporting the strategic role of employee training and development in the improvement of an organization. Practically speaking, the findings suggest incorporating training and development initiatives into strategic management, undertaking periodic training needs assessments, and encouraging ongoing learning and assessment of training within a framework oriented towards the maximization of performance at the organizational level and the successful attainment of the objectives of the organization.
Power Dynamics in Professional Communication: An English Studies Perspective on Corporate and Legal Discourse
Professional communication in corporate and legal settings is not a neutral exchange of information but a site in which institutional power is continuously enacted, negotiated, and contested through language choice. Drawing on Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), politeness theory, and genre analysis, this paper examines how power asymmetries between organizational actors, managers and subordinates, lawyers and clients, institutions and lay participants, are constructed and sustained through specific linguistic resources including modality, directive speech acts, hedging, turn-taking control, and lexical formality. The study synthesizes findings from corpus-based workplace discourse research, courtroom interaction analysis, and organizational communication studies to compare how power is linguistically indexed across corporate meeting talk, corporate email correspondence, and legal-institutional discourse (courtroom examination and legal documentation). A comparative methodology is described using discourse-analytic coding of directive strength, politeness strategy selection following Brown and Levinson's face-management framework, and genre-based structural analysis following Bhatia's move-structure approach, applied to workplace discourse corpora and courtroom transcript studies. Reported findings indicate that corporate power is more frequently encoded through indirectness, mitigated directives, and collaborative pronoun use that preserves an appearance of consensus, whereas legal-institutional power is more frequently encoded through direct control of turn allocation, restrictive questioning formats, and specialized register that limits lay participants' interpretive agency. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of these findings for professional communication training, plain-language legal reform, and the broader theoretical understanding of how institutional power operates through, rather than merely alongside, language.
Consumer Trust in AI-Generated Advertising in the Digitally Driven World: An Empirical Study
The rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has transformed the digital advertisement landscape by enabling businesses to create highly personalized, automated and data-driven advertisements. AI-generate advertising utilizes machine learning, natural language processing, predictive analytics, and generative AI-tools to develop content that aligns with consumer preferences and behaviors. While these technologies improve advertising efficiency and customer engagement, they also raise important concerns regarding transparency, authenticity, privacy and ethical use of consumer data, all of which significantly influence customer trust in AI-generated advertising within the digitally driven world. The study investigates the impact of perceived transparency, personalization, credibility, privacy protection, perceived usefulness, and ethical AI practices on customer’s trust and their intention to engage with AI-generated advertisements. A sample of 363 was collected to find the result. The factors impacting “Consumer Trust in AI-Generated Advertising in The Digitally Driven World” are Transparency, Personalization, Credibility and Privacy and Data security.
GST: An Unraveling Force towards India’s Ex-Im
Goods and Services Tax (GST) establishes in India with a soft corner on exports by treating export supply as zero rated supply. On the other hand, imports are treated as inter-state supply under GST regime. The total exports in India have grown by 76.5 percent in seven years of GST. The revenue collection under this tax system on imports has multiplied by 2.5 times in the past seven years. The government also refunded the Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) collected on exports to the sum of ₹1.06 lakh crore between July 2023 and June 2024. This research article examines tax on intra & inter-state supply and tax on domestic & import supply to understand the trend of imports under GST regime. The refund of IGST & Input Tax Credit (ITC) on exported goods are analyzed to examine the trend of export in India. Later, this research article examines the overall imports and exports of India under Pre and Post GST. This new tax system acts as a catalyst for the development of cross border transactions and resilience to the climate changes happening in the globe. It can also evident that the fluctuation in exports and imports are occurs due to COVID – 19 pandemic, geo-political issues, global depression, heavy inflation etc.,. This research article also laid down few difficulties faced by importers and exporters whilst complying with GST law.
An Empirical Study on the Impact of Health Micro-Insurance on Healthcare Access and Financial Risk among BPL Households
Health micro-insurance has become a crucial tool for enhancing health care access and financial protection for poor-income families. The effect of health micro-insurance on the access to health care and financial risk on Below Poverty Line (BPL) households in Bangalore Rural District has been investigated through an empirical study. A descriptive and analytical research design was employed with primary data being gathered from the BPL households of 400 respondents, which were distributed on a structured questionnaire. The results indicate that health micro-insurance (HMI) substantially improves access to health care services, lowers medical debts, and boosts financial protection against health risks. Awareness was also cited as an important determinant of enrolment and utilization of insurance schemes. The results can help direct policy recommendations for the strengthening of HMI programmes in this population group to achieve greater effectiveness, accessibility and outreach.
Consumer Purchase Behaviour for Fashion Products through E-Tailing: An Empirical Study in Bangalore City
The rapid growth of electronic retailing (e-tailing) has significantly transformed the fashion industry by changing the way consumers search, evaluate, and purchase fashion products. Bangalore City, known for its technologically advanced population and high internet penetration, has emerged as one of India's leading markets for online fashion retail. This study examines consumer purchase behaviour towards fashion products through e-tailing platforms in Bangalore City. It investigates the influence of factors such as product quality, price competitiveness, brand reputation, website usability, promotional offers, customer reviews, secure payment options, and delivery services on consumers' online purchasing decisions. The study also explores the impact of demographic characteristics and digital shopping preferences on purchase behaviour. A quantitative research approach using a structured questionnaire is proposed to collect primary data from consumers who regularly purchase fashion products online. Statistical techniques such as percentage analysis, chi-square test, correlation, and regression analysis can be employed to examine the relationships among the variables. The findings are expected to provide valuable insights for online fashion retailers in enhancing customer satisfaction, improving shopping experiences, and strengthening consumer loyalty. Furthermore, the study contributes to the existing literature on e-commerce and consumer behaviour by offering practical recommendations for developing effective marketing strategies in the highly competitive online fashion industry.
From Debate to Law in Gendered Workspaces: Evaluating the Imperative for Menstrual Leave Legislation in India
Author John Gray in his famous book uses the metaphor “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus” to highlight how fundamentally different men and women are in terms of biology, communication styles, emotional needs, and ways of thinking. It is important to acknowledge the beautiful distinction between the two binaries. One such distinction that requires acknowledgment in our society's socio legal framework is mensuration. Particularly in the workplace, gender equality is a crucial issue and a crucial component of fundamental human rights. The unique difficulties that women encounter, such as menstruation and menopause, are frequently ignored by the legal framework. As legislators, businesses, and civil society struggle to incorporate gender-responsive workplace practices within the current legislative framework, the conversation on menstrual leave in India has received fresh attention. The lack of a continuous statutory obligation has led to fragmented access and uneven protections for menstruation individuals in the workforce, notwithstanding intermittent policy measures and organizational-level practices. This research paper critically assesses the current menstrual leave policy debate and looks at how it relates to public health concerns, socio legal framework and constitutional safeguards. The paper contends that in order to advance employment fairness, protect reproductive health, and guarantee real gender justice, policy-level discussions must give way to legally binding statutes. The paper also tracks the development of menstruation leave on a global scale, from early legislative efforts in nations like South Korea, Japan, and Indonesia to more recent changes in Europe and corporate-driven policies across the globe. The paper further provides an analysis of how India has been trying to give recognition to Menstrual Leaves in the form of state level recognition as well as some Indian companies providing Menstrual Leaves to their employees. The paper concludes with a view that legislative intervention is needed that strikes a balance between organizational viability and employee wellbeing, paving the way for an inclusive, rights-based approach to menstruation leave in India.
Awareness and Adoption of Green Banking Services among Consumers: Evidence from Selected Commercial Banks in Tiruchirappalli District
Green banking has emerged as a sustainable approach adopted by financial institutions to minimize environmental degradation while promoting digital and paperless banking services. Commercial banks have introduced various green banking initiatives, including internet banking, mobile banking, e-statements, digital payments, green loans, energy-efficient branches, and environmentally responsible banking operations. Despite these initiatives, the level of consumer awareness and adoption varies due to differences in digital literacy, environmental consciousness, trust, accessibility, and perceived usefulness. This study examines the awareness and adoption of green banking services among consumers in selected commercial banks in Tiruchirappalli District. The study aims to assess consumers' knowledge of green banking initiatives, identify the factors influencing their adoption, and evaluate the relationship between awareness and usage behaviour. A structured questionnaire was administered to customers of selected commercial banks, and quantitative analysis was employed to interpret the collected data. The findings are expected to provide valuable insights into customer perceptions, adoption patterns, and barriers to the effective utilization of green banking services. The study contributes to the growing body of literature on sustainable banking by offering practical recommendations for banks to enhance customer awareness, improve digital service delivery, and encourage environmentally responsible financial behaviour. Ultimately, the research supports the advancement of sustainable banking practices and India's transition toward a greener financial ecosystem.
AI-Driven Personalization and Customer Purchase intentions of Health Insurance in Delhi NCR region
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a technology that has significantly changed the insurance industry by allowing personalized customer experiences, predictive analytics, and automated decision-making processes. Personalization in the Health Insurance industry by use of AI enables insurance companies to provide customised policy offers, dynamic pricing models, and automated claims services, depending on the profile and behavioural information of their customers. This paper focuses on the importance of AI-based personalization in influencing customers purchasing behaviours towards Health Insurance in the Delhi National Capital Region (Delhi NCR). Based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the various theories of trust, the article discusses the correlation between AI personalization and perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, customer trust, privacy issues, and intention to purchase Health Insurance. The proposed research design is based on a quantitative study based on survey data that was collected with Health Insurance consumers in the Delhi NCR, and the data is to be analysed with Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The findings indicate that the positive effect of AI-based personalization enhances consumer purchasing intentions through the improvement of perceived utility, development of trust in digital insurance providers, and simplified policy selection processes. But these relationships may be moderated by privacy issues and perceived risks of using the personal data. The paper contributes on the application of AI in the insurance services and provides strategic guidance to insurance companies who want to use AI technologies to enhance customer interaction at the time of Underwriting and Claims. The adoption of AI will ultimately increase insurance penetration in Indian market by providing seamless and integrated insurance offerings enabled with technologies.
The Mediating Role of GHRM Practices in the Relationship between Employee Engagement and Company’s Culture in Energy Sector in India
The current research investigates whether Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) practices are able to mediate between employee engagement and corporate culture in the Indian energy sector. The purpose of this study is to understand how environmentally friendly human resource practices support employees' commitment and help in the creation of a positive corporate culture. A structured survey was used to collect primary data from 385 employees from both public and private energy companies. Descriptive statistics, correlation, regression analysis, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were all used to analyse the data using both SPSS and AMOS. The findings indicate that GHRM practices have a strong positive effect on both employee engagement and corporate culture. Results from the correlation and regression analyses reveal very strong relationships among variables, while the SEM analysis suggests that employee engagement only partially mediates the association of GHRM practices with corporate culture. Furthermore, the model fit statistics indicate that the proposed model fits the data well enough to be useful as a tool for analysis. This study suggests that GHRM practices can enhance employee commitment, improve the work culture and further support sustainability goals in the Indian energy sector; therefore, this research represents a significant contribution towards the development of higher standards in sustainable human resource Management among HR managers, policy makers, and business leaders looking to make sustainability part of their human resource management practices.
Ticking the Right Strategy: Effects of High-Pressure Vs. Consultative Advertising on Consumer Trust and Purchase Intention in the Indian Watch Market
Purpose: Digital marketing has made advertising loud and aggressive especially with tactics that create a sense of urgency like limited time deals and discounts. When it comes to luxury items this approach does not always work well. This study looks at a way of doing things: do people respond better to pressure or to stories and history when it comes to luxury watches like the Seiko Presage. This study presents an empirical within-subjects experimental investigation into how these two contrasting advertising styles influence consumer purchase intention, brand trust, and perceived luxury value in the Indian watch market context. Design/Methodology/Approach- Two professionally designed digital advertisement mockups for the Seiko Presage — Ad A (high-pressure, discount-led) and Ad B (consultative, heritage-led) — were systematically exposed to a sample of N = 180 Indian respondents. Data were collected via a structured Likert-scale survey instrument administered through Google Forms. Findings- Statistical analyses comprising paired-samples t-tests and Cohen's d effect size calculations revealed that consultative advertising (Ad B) significantly outperformed high-pressure advertising (Ad A) across all three dependent variables: purchase intention (t(179) = 4.37, p < .001, d = 1.03), brand trust (t(179) = 3.90, p = .001, d = 0.92), and perceived luxury value (t(179) = 5.33, p < .001, d = 1.26).These results align with Psychological Reactance Theory (Brehm, 1966) and the theoretical framework of Relationship Marketing, suggesting that coercive advertising triggers resistance and brand dilution in high-involvement luxury purchase contexts. The findings offer actionable strategic implications for luxury brand managers navigating the digital advertising landscape in emerging markets such as India. Originality/Value- This study contributes to the luxury marketing literature by providing empirical evidence on the effectiveness of contrasting digital advertising strategies in an emerging market context. Drawing on Psychological Reactance Theory and Relationship Marketing perspectives, the research demonstrates that coercive advertising may undermine trust and perceived exclusivity in luxury consumption settings. The findings offer practical guidance for luxury brand managers seeking to optimize digital communication strategies and strengthen consumer-brand relationships in India’s growing luxury watch market.
The ‘Make in India’ Initiative: A Mediation Analysis of Training Quality, Youth Readiness, and self-reliant Enterprise Potential Rationale
This study examines how government led skill development programs, central to India’s Make in India initiative, foster entrepreneurial potential among youth. Moving beyond prior research that emphasized employability outcomes, this paper investigates the mediating role of Skills & Readiness—a construct encompassing technical competence and self efficacy—in linking training quality to self reliant enterprise potential. Using a quantitative, cross sectional survey of 188 program participants, training quality was conceptualized as a higher order formative construct comprising relevance, delivery quality, support infrastructure, and post training support. The results, derived from Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS SEM), confirm that training quality exerts both a direct effect on enterprise potential and an indirect effect through Skills & Readiness, establishing a partial mediation mechanism. Among the formative indicators, relevance of training content emerged as the strongest contributor, underscoring the importance of aligning curricula with industry needs. These findings provide empirical support for Social Cognitive Theory and the Theory of Planned Behavior by demonstrating that entrepreneurial outcomes are shaped not only by technical inputs but also by psychological readiness and perceived behavioral control. The study contributes to entrepreneurship and policy literature by evidencing the dual pathway—direct and mediated—through which training influences enterprise potential in a policy driven context. Practically, the results suggest that national skill initiatives should prioritize curriculum industry alignment, trainer competence, infrastructure investment, and structured post training support. By adopting a holistic approach that integrates both capability building and mindset development, policymakers can better transform India’s youth from job seekers into job creators.
Modelling the Determinants of Employee Engagement in Technical Institutions: An Empirical Study from Karnataka
Employee engagement has emerged as a critical determinant of organizational performance, particularly within knowledge-driven institutions such as technical education organizations. Engaged faculty members demonstrate higher productivity, innovation, and commitment to institutional objectives. This study investigates the key determinants of employee engagement in technical institutions across Karnataka. Primary data were collected from 250 faculty members working in engineering and polytechnic institutions. The study employs advanced statistical techniques including Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), and multiple regression analysis to identify significant predictors of engagement. The findings reveal that leadership support, work environment, professional development opportunities, and organizational recognition significantly influence employee engagement levels. Among these, leadership style and professional development emerge as the strongest predictors. The results highlight the need for institutional policies that foster supportive leadership, continuous skill development, and recognition mechanisms to enhance employee engagement in technical institutions.
Consumer Adoption Dynamics and E-Retail Growth in Tier-2 India: Evidence from an Empirical Study
The rapid expansion of digital infrastructure and mobile connectivity has significantly transformed the retail landscape in emerging economies. In India, the growth of e-commerce has gradually shifted beyond metropolitan markets toward Tier-2 cities, which represent a substantial share of the country’s consumer base. Understanding consumer adoption behavior in these emerging markets is therefore critical for evaluating the future trajectory of online retail growth. This study investigates the determinants of consumer adoption of e-retail platforms in Tier-2 Indian cities and examines how consumer perceptions influence online purchasing behavior. Primary data were collected from consumers across selected Tier-2 cities using a structured survey instrument. The study employs a combination of statistical techniques including logistic regression analysis, exploratory factor analysis, cluster analysis, and principal component analysis to examine adoption patterns and consumer segmentation. The results indicate that perceived convenience, platform trust, and price advantages are the most significant drivers of online retail adoption, while delivery reliability and digital literacy also contribute positively to consumer engagement with digital retail platforms. Cluster analysis reveals heterogeneous consumer groups characterized by varying levels of digital readiness and purchasing intensity. The findings highlight that while a segment of consumers actively participates in online retail markets, another segment remains cautious due to trust and infrastructure-related concerns. Overall, the study demonstrates that Tier-2 cities represent an important growth frontier for India’s e-commerce industry. Strengthening digital payment security, improving logistics infrastructure, and enhancing consumer awareness can significantly accelerate e-retail adoption in emerging urban markets. The insights derived from this research provide valuable implications for e-commerce platforms, retail strategists, and policymakers seeking to expand digital retail ecosystems in developing economies.
The Influence of Digital Financial Literacy on Electronic Financial Behaviour: Mediating Role of Financial Self-Efficacy and Comparison between STEM and Non-STEM Students
Digital financial services have become the primary channel through which young adults manage money, yet the psychological mechanism that converts digital financial knowledge into actual digital financial behaviour remains underspecified, and it is unclear whether this mechanism operates uniformly across academic disciplines. This study examines whether financial self-efficacy (FSE) mediates the relationship between digital financial literacy (DFL) and electronic financial behaviour (EFB) among university students, and whether the structural relationships differ between STEM and Non-STEM students. Using a stratified sample N = 380; STEM n = 205, Non-STEM n = 175) and structural equation modeling (SEM) with a confirmatory measurement model for DFL, FSE, and EFB, the study tests a mediation model grounded in Social Cognitive Theory. Consistent with the hypothesized model, DFL significantly predicted FSE (β = .584, p < .001), and FSE significantly predicted EFB (β = .323, p < .001), with a significant partial mediation effect (indirect effect = .148, 95% bootstrap CI [.093, .208], accounting for 39.1% of the total effect). Structural comparison across discipline groups indicated a stronger DFL→FSE path and a fully mediated pathway (non-significant direct effect) among STEM students, contrasted with a significant residual direct effect among Non-STEM students, suggesting discipline-conditioned mediation. These findings, indicate that digital-financial confidence-building, not literacy content alone is the more proximal lever for behaviour change, with STEM students' pathway running almost entirely through self-efficacy while Non-STEM students appear to convert literacy into behaviour through additional, non-FSE-mediated routes.
From Digital Engagement to Sustainable Consumption: Examining the Role of Digital Literacy among Rural and Urban Consumers
Digital platforms have become a pervasive part of everyday consumer life, extending far beyond marketing exposure into how people research, discuss, share, and ultimately act on information relevant to sustainable living. This study examines the relationship between digital engagement the frequency, depth, and interactivity of consumers' use of digital platforms and sustainable consumption behaviour among rural and urban consumers in Tiruchirappalli district, Tamil Nadu, India, and tests digital literacy as a moderator of this relationship, alongside a direct rural-urban comparison on all study constructs. Primary data were collected from 342 usable responses (178 urban, 164 rural, from 365 originally collected) using a structured questionnaire administered across one urban and one rural zone of the district. Measurement reliability and validity were confirmed via Cronbach's alpha, composite reliability, and average variance extracted, all exceeding recommended thresholds. Independent-samples t-tests showed urban consumers reported significantly higher digital engagement (t = 5.96, p < .001, d = 0.64), digital literacy (t = 5.76, p < .001, d = 0.62), and sustainable consumption (t = 2.72, p = .007, d = 0.29) than rural consumers. Hierarchical regression showed digital engagement (β = .382, p < .001) and digital literacy (β = .270, p < .001) together explained 28.1% of additional variance in sustainable consumption beyond demographic controls. Contrary to expectation, digital literacy did not significantly moderate the digital engagement–sustainable consumption relationship (β = .012, p = .841), and this null moderation pattern held consistently across both urban and rural subgroups (three-way interaction p = .801). The findings indicate that digital engagement and digital literacy each independently and substantially predict sustainable consumption, but do not interact as hypothesised, suggesting the two operate as parallel rather than conditional drivers of sustainable behaviour in this setting, with clear implications for digital-inclusion and sustainability policy in rural and urban India.
Relationship between Demographic and Psychographic Factors on Preference for Minimalist Travel Practices: An Empirical Study
People are becoming more aware of how important it's to be sustainable and to travel in a responsible way. This is making more people want to travel in an eco- way. They want to do things like use stuff buy fewer things and have experiences that are better for the earth. The goal of this study is to see how different kinds of people feel about tourism. We are looking at people from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. We want to know how things like how old someone is, how money they make, what kind of education they have and what kind of life they lead affect their thoughts, on sustainable tourism. We also want to know if people who care about the environment are more likely to make choices when they travel. We are studying tourism practices and experiences to understand this better. The design of this study was based on numbers. Involved 200 tourists and people who work in the tourism industry such as hotel managers, tour operators and homestay owners. To collect data, a questionnaire with a rating system was used. The results were found using methods like checking how reliable the results are looking at the main factors seeing how things are related and using a special kind of analysis in a program called SPSS, which made the results trustworthy and correct. The questionnaire was very consistent with a score of 0.957 which means it was a good tool. The study also looked at how different factors like demographics, psychographics and minimalist travel practicesre related and it was found that they are connected in a meaningful way. When the data was analyzed it was found that demographics and psychographics are related and that psychographics have a connection. This was confirmed by another analysis, which showed that both demographics and psychographics are important and together they explain about 63.7% of why people prefer travel. From this study it can be said that a person’s psychographic characteristics, like their interests and values are more important than their characteristics like their age and income when it comes to preferring minimalist travel. The results of this study are useful for making plans and policies, for the tourism industry to respond to the changing interests of travelers and to develop tourism plans.
Building Consumer Trust in the Era of Generative Artificial Intelligence: Examining the Impact of AI-Generated Marketing Content on Purchase Intentions
The rapid advancement of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) has transformed the marketing landscape by enabling organizations to create personalized, scalable, and cost-effective content. Businesses increasingly employ AI-generated advertisements, product descriptions, social media posts, and customer interactions to engage consumers. Despite its advantages, concerns regarding authenticity, transparency, credibility, and ethical implications have raised questions about consumer trust in AI-generated marketing content. The article examines the relationship between AI-generated marketing content and consumer purchase intentions, emphasizing the critical role of consumer trust. Drawing upon theories of technology acceptance, trust formation, and consumer behavior, the study explores how perceived quality, transparency, personalization, and ethical considerations influence consumer responses to AI-generated content. The adoption of AI-generated marketing content has significantly increased across industries. Companies utilize generative AI to develop personalized advertisements, automate customer service interactions, create social media campaigns, and produce product recommendations tailored to individual consumer preferences. Such applications offer businesses opportunities to deliver relevant and timely content at unprecedented scales. The article concludes that while AI-generated marketing content can positively affect purchase intentions, its effectiveness largely depends on establishing and maintaining consumer trust.
Metaverse Marketing and Consumer Engagement: An Empirical Investigation of Virtual Brand Experiences and Customer Loyalty
The rapid evolution of digital technologies has transformed the way organizations interact with consumers, leading to the emergence of metaverse marketing as an innovative approach to creating immersive and interactive brand experiences. The metaverse integrates technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), artificial intelligence (AI), and three-dimensional virtual environments to enhance customer engagement and strengthen brand relationships. The study, examines the influence of immersive experience, personalization, social interaction, and brand trust and authenticity on consumer engagement and customer loyalty. The study is based on primary data collected from 150 respondents using a convenience sampling technique through a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and one-sample t-tests were employed to analyze the data. The findings indicate that immersive technologies, website and platform quality, entertainment value, and emotional experiences significantly contribute to positive virtual brand experiences, while immersive experience, personalization, social interaction, and brand trust have a statistically significant influence on consumer engagement. The study concludes that organizations adopting metaverse marketing strategies can strengthen customer engagement, improve brand loyalty, and create meaningful digital experiences that enhance long-term customer relationships. The findings provide valuable insights for marketers, businesses, and researchers seeking to understand consumer behaviour in virtual environments.
Transformational Leadership and Employee Commitment in Social Entrepreneurial Organizations
Transformational leadership is undoubtedly one of the key aspects of employee attitude and organizational efficiency, particularly in non-profit organizations with social entrepreneurial missions that seek to achieve a social impact and financial sustainability. These groups are very much reliant on individuals who have a common mission, a common purpose. This study seeks to examine the effect of transformational leadership on employee commitment in social entrepreneurial organizations, specifically the influence of the leadership behaviours on the emotional bond with the organization, on employee organizational commitment, and on willingness to put in more effort than required in a role. This study is of a quantitative nature with data gathered from employees in social enterprises from a range of sectors through a survey. The statistical analysis used to analyze the relationship between the dimensions of transformational leadership and employee commitment was descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, regression analysis. The findings indicate significant positive effects of the transformational leadership on employee commitment via trust, vision, professional development and participative decision making. The more employees feel supported by their leaders, feel ethical, and have a vision, the more loyal they will be to the organization, feel job satisfaction, and want to remain in the organization. The study also demonstrates that an inclusive organizational culture has a positive impact on the relationship between employee commitment and transformational leadership. The research contributes to the existing literature on leadership in mission-driven organizations by bringing empirical evidence to the topic regarding how transformational leadership helps to sustain employees' engagement and organizational performance. The findings have implications for social entrepreneurs, managers and policy makers who want to create leadership practices that can enhance work force commitment and organization sustainability. Recommendations: based on the study, the authors conclude that Transformational Leadership can be a strategic instrument in a dynamic and competitive environment to increase employees' commitment and to advance the social agenda of entrepreneurial organisations.
Bridging the Healthcare Protection Gap: Evaluating Awareness and Accessibility of Health Micro-Insurance among BPL Card Holders
Health micro-insurance can make a major contribution to enhance access to health care and provide financial protection to the economically disadvantaged. The assessment of awareness and access to health micro-insurance products from the BPL card holders and their impact on utilisation and financial protection is detailed in this study. The research method used was quantitative, descriptive and cross sectional conducted using 400 respondents. The results show moderate levels of awareness and accessibility, which both have a moderate impact on enrolment, healthcare utilization, and financial protection (FP). The study suggests that strengthening up community-level awareness programmes, making the enrolment process easier and creating more institutional support could help increase the insurance coverage and have greater equity in accessing health services by disadvantaged households.
Building Lasting Customer Relationships: Determinants of Brand Loyalty in Contemporary Markets
In today's highly competitive marketplace, developing and maintaining brand loyalty has become one of the most important strategic objectives for businesses. Loyal customers not only contribute to repeat purchases but also generate positive word-of-mouth and enhance long-term profitability. This study investigates the determinants of brand loyalty by examining the influence of brand trust, customer satisfaction, perceived quality, brand image, and customer engagement on brand loyalty. A quantitative research design was adopted, and primary data were collected from 350 consumers using a structured questionnaire. Multiple regression analysis was employed to examine the influence of the independent variables on brand loyalty. The findings reveal that all five determinants significantly influence brand loyalty, with brand trust emerging as the strongest predictor, followed by customer satisfaction, customer engagement, perceived quality, and brand image. The study offers valuable implications for marketers seeking to strengthen customer relationships and enhance long-term competitive advantage.
Examining the Role of Financial Literacy and Digital Finance in Enhancing Entrepreneurial Success: A Study of Start-Ups and MSMES in Bengaluru
The increasing integration of digital financial services has transformed the entrepreneurial ecosystem, particularly for start-ups and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). However, the effective utilisation of these financial innovations largely depends on entrepreneurs' financial literacy. This study examines the role of financial literacy and digital finance in enhancing entrepreneurial success among start-ups and MSMEs in Bengaluru, India's leading innovation hub. The research investigates how financial knowledge influences the adoption of digital financial tools, including digital payments, online banking, fintech lending, and financial management applications, and how these factors contribute to business performance. A quantitative research design was employed using structured questionnaires administered to entrepreneurs operating across diverse sectors. The collected data were analysed using descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, correlation, multiple regression, and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to evaluate the direct and indirect relationships among the study variables. The findings are expected to demonstrate that higher levels of financial literacy significantly improve digital finance adoption, leading to enhanced business growth, operational efficiency, financial sustainability, and entrepreneurial success. Furthermore, digital finance is anticipated to mediate the relationship between financial literacy and entrepreneurial performance. The study contributes to the existing literature by providing empirical evidence from Bengaluru and offers practical implications for policymakers, financial institutions, fintech providers, and entrepreneurship development agencies in strengthening financial capability and fostering sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems.
Determinants of Consumer Purchase Decisions in E-Commerce: Examining the Roles of Influencers, Online Reviews, Trust, and Price Promotions
The rapid growth of e-commerce has transformed consumer buying behaviour by providing easy access to digital marketplaces, online reviews, influencer recommendations, and promotional campaigns. Understanding the determinants of purchase decisions has become increasingly important for online retailers seeking to enhance customer engagement and sales performance. The present study investigates the influence of influencer marketing, online reviews, consumer trust, and price promotions on consumer purchase decisions in e-commerce. A structured questionnaire was administered to online shoppers using a convenience sampling technique. The collected data were analysed using descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, exploratory factor analysis, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis. The findings reveal that all four determinants significantly influence consumer purchase decisions, with consumer trust emerging as the strongest predictor, followed by online reviews, influencer marketing, and price promotions. The study contributes to digital marketing literature by providing empirical evidence regarding the key behavioural factors affecting online purchase decisions. The findings offer practical implications for e-commerce companies, digital marketers, and online retailers in designing effective marketing strategies that strengthen consumer trust, improve review management, collaborate with credible influencers, and implement attractive promotional campaigns.
The Algorithm in the Interview Room: Candidate Experience and Perceived Fairness in AI-Led Recruitment Interviews
In a recent blog post, the American Psychological Association (APA) raises related questions about candidate experiences and perceptions of fairness of AI-driven job interviews, as AI (Artificial Intelligence) becomes a much more prominent presence in the process of hiring.Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming a more dominant player in the hiring process and the American Psychological Association (APA) asks related questions about candidate experiences and candidate perceptions of the fairness of AI-driven job interviews in a recent blog post. This article books-ends the presentations and summarizes the recent empirical research on how applicants feel when their resumes are used to conduct job selection in the era of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and how they feel about it, referring to the three-part framework for Applicant reactions to selection systems developed by Gilliland. The review provides evidence that on average, candidates experienced an decrease in their perception of Procedural and Interactional Justice, Twoway Communication, and Behavioural Control to that of a human-driven interviewing experience. Concurrently, recent studies have shown that these negative responses can be variable and influenced by context and design characteristics, such as transparency and explanations of AI decisions, social and telepresence conveyed by the AI interview interface, characteristics of AI literacy among candidates, as well as intentional positioning and sensitisation of candidates before the interview. The article then delves into new regulatory initiatives such as the EU AI Act, which requires transparency about the use of AI in hiring, and Illinois' AI Video Interview Act, which seeks to limit the perceived unfairness while maintaining AI-based efficiency. HR-in-the-loop approaches that aim to maintain AI benefits but regain perceived fairness are also explored. The article brings the concept of candidate experience in the context of the AI driven recruitment process to the spotlight and suggests future research for the development of efficient, fair, and candidate-friendly AI interview systems, characterized as a multidimensional assessment, incorporating two components: candidate experience with the recruitment process and how they perceive the experience mediated by AI.
Examining the Moderating Role of Digital Knowledge-Sharing Capability on the Relationship between Transformational Leadership and Organisational Performance among Hybrid-Working Employees in the Delhi-NCR IT Sector
The objective of present study is to investigate the moderating role of digital knowledge sharing capability on the relationship between transformational leadership and organisational performance of employees working in hybrid mode. Transformational leadership is generally accepted to be a significant predictor of organisational performance. However, the intervening role of knowledge sharing capability has been explored limitedly in the extant literature, with no specific attention to the context of hybrid working arrangements in India’s information technology (IT) industry. The theories used to support the study are Transformational Leadership Theory, Social Exchange Theory, and Dynamic Capabilities Theory. It develops a moderation model where digital knowledge sharing capability reinforces the influence of transformational leadership on organisational performance. To generate insights into the relationships specified in the model, this study employs PLS-SEM analysis of quantitative data collected from a conveniently sampled group of 220 hybrid-schedule employees of Delhi-NCR’s IT organisations. A five-point Likert-scaled questionnaire is used to collect the data. The results confirm that there is a strong, statistically significant, positive direct effect of Transformational Leadership on organisational performance, and that digital knowledge-sharing capability significantly moderates this relationship, such that the effect of transformational leadership on organisational performance strengthens as digital knowledge-sharing capability increases. Both hypothesised relationships were supported. The study contributes to leadership and knowledge management theory by repositioning digital knowledge-sharing capability as a boundary condition rather than a transmission mechanism. It offers practical guidance for IT organisations seeking to sustain performance through complementary investment in leadership development and digital knowledge infrastructure under hybrid work arrangements.
Exploring the Role of Indian Knowledge System on Frugal Innovation among Indian Startups
Purpose: It is rightly said that perception and innovation go hand-in-hand. How stakeholders such as customers, investors, and even the founder view the company, its product, and services, and their relation to the company forms perception which is critical to innovation in startups. The Indian knowledge system is pertinent in India and somewhere it plays a critical role in integrating traditional knowledge with innovation. Research Gap: As "frugal innovation" and "Indian Knowledge System" are being mentioned, there is a lack of well-defined conceptual framework specifically connecting them, especially regarding the role of indigenous knowledge fields. Methodology: The study will adopt a quantitative methodology by gathering primary data from over 400 plus Indian startup founders across a range of industries. Variables measuring the Indian knowledge system like traditional knowledge, Indian values, simplicity etc. and those measuring frugal innovations like cost effectiveness, accessibility, social impact etc. would be used to evaluate the connections and correlations, while observing other statistics. Annova will also be used to study the customer trust among various regions. Exploratory factor analysis and Regression analysis would be used to study the relation of Indian knowledge variables on brand reputation and market penetration.
A Review on the Impact of Online Food Delivery Services on Health, Lifestyle, and Eating Habits
The rapid advancement of digital technologies has transformed the global food service industry, leading to the widespread adoption of Online Food Delivery (OFD) services. The proliferation of smartphones, internet connectivity, digital payment systems, and platform-based business models has accelerated the growth of OFD platforms such as Uber Eats, DoorDash, Deliveroo, Swiggy, and Zomato. These platforms have reshaped food consumption patterns by offering consumers greater convenience, accessibility, and variety. However, alongside these benefits, concerns have emerged regarding their impact on health, lifestyle, and eating behaviours. This review synthesizes existing literature on the influence of OFD services on dietary habits, health outcomes, and lifestyle changes. Drawing from studies in public health, nutrition, consumer behaviour, digital marketing, and food service management, the review reveals that frequent use of OFD platforms is associated with increased consumption of energy-dense and nutrient-poor foods, higher caloric intake, unhealthy snacking, irregular meal schedules, and reduced dependence on home-cooked meals. The literature also indicates potential links between OFD usage and obesity, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic disorders, and sedentary lifestyles, particularly among young adults, university students, and working professionals. Nevertheless, OFD services contribute positively by improving food accessibility, expanding dietary choices, and enhancing convenience in increasingly time-constrained environments. The review identifies several research gaps, including limited longitudinal evidence, insufficient studies from developing countries, inadequate attention to mental health outcomes, and a lack of research on healthy food nudging strategies within digital food environments. Future research should adopt interdisciplinary approaches to examine the long-term consequences of OFD usage and develop interventions that encourage healthier and more sustainable food choices. This review contributes to the growing literature on digital food ecosystems and offers valuable insights for researchers, policymakers, public health professionals, and food delivery platform operators.
The Best Interest of the Child in Indian Adoption Law: A Socio-Legal Study of the Juvenile Justice Act and International Standards
The doctrine of the best interest of the child occupies the normative core of adoption law worldwide, yet its translation into enforceable legal standards remains uneven across jurisdictions. This paper undertakes a socio-legal examination of how the best interest principle operates within India's adoption framework, anchored in the “Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015”, the “Adoption Regulations, 2022”, and the jurisprudence of Indian courts, read against international benchmarks set by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989 and the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, 1993. Tracing the doctrinal journey from “Lakshmi Kant Pandey v. Union of India” to recent Supreme Court and High Court pronouncements between 2024 and 2026; including the Court's invocation of Article 142 in “Dasari Anil Kumar v. The Child Welfare Project Director” and the Bombay High Court's validation of the 2021 shift of adoptive authority from courts to District Magistrates; the paper argues that Indian adoption law has moved decisively toward procedural centralization without a commensurate strengthening of the institutional capacity needed to give the best interest standard substantive content. Drawing on comparative insights from the Hague framework and Anglo-American welfare checklists, the paper identifies persistent gaps: uneven functioning of Child Welfare Committees and Specialized Adoption Agencies, restrictive eligibility norms that constrain family diversity, a gendered pattern in relinquishment and adoption, and a rise in informal adoptions that circumvent statutory safeguards. It concludes with recommendations for aligning India's adoption architecture more closely with the substantive, individualized, and accountable application of the best interest principle that international standards contemplate.
Customer Experience Quality and Loyalty in Complex Banking Ecosystems: Asymmetric Roles of Satisfaction and Trust
Purpose Retail banks in India invest heavily in customer experience quality (CEQ), yet loyalty outcomes remain modest, creating a strategic "conversion puzzle" in a competitive, digitally evolving market. This study examines why CEQ fails to convert efficiently into loyalty by comparing the roles of customer satisfaction and customer trust as transmission mechanisms in Indian retail banking. Design/methodology/approach Survey data from 550 retail banking customers in Delhi NCR were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS–SEM). CEQ was specified as a reflective–reflective higher-order construct capturing cognitive clarity, emotional reassurance, relational warmth, digital–physical interface quality and process–touchpoint integration. A disjoint two-stage approach was used, and bootstrapped mediation assessed differential pathway efficiency. Findings CEQ strongly activates both satisfaction and trust, but in an asymmetric pattern: CEQ’s effect on trust is larger than on satisfaction, yet satisfaction converts into loyalty more efficiently than trust. CEQ also retains a substantial direct effect on loyalty, suggesting the presence of autonomous experiential capital beyond satisfaction and trust. Practical implications Indian banks should adopt dual-horizon customer experience strategies: fast-yield investments that enhance satisfaction (friction reduction, clarity, process coherence) and long-horizon programs that build trust (transparent communication, reliable recovery, benevolent conduct), rather than treating all experience initiatives as equivalent loyalty drivers. Originality/value The study reconceptualises CEQ as an integrated customer experience system, introduces the evaluative–relational paradox and conversion friction as mechanism-level contributions, and offers an India-specific framework for allocating customer experience investments based on pathway efficiency.
Healthcare Ecosystem Innovation in Emerging Smart Cities: Co-Opetition and Public-Private Partnerships in Ranchi District
Transforming urban healthcare is now central to building smart cities, especially in emerging economies where rapid urbanization puts real pressure on health infrastructure and service delivery. Ranchi District chosen under India’s Smart Cities Mission offers a striking case to explore how innovation in the healthcare ecosystem emerges when public institutions, private hospitals, tech companies, academic groups, and civil society work together through collaborative governance. This study looks closely at the influence of co-opetition which blends cooperation and competition among healthcare players and at Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in driving innovation, improving access, boosting operational efficiency, and shaping patient-centered healthcare in Ranchi’s evolving smart city landscape. Using concepts from ecosystem innovation, collaborative governance, co-opetition, stakeholder theory, and smart city development, the study puts forward a conceptual framework that connects co-opetition strategies and PPP effectiveness with outcomes in healthcare ecosystem innovation. The research lays out a quantitative, explanatory design using a structured questionnaire. This survey goes to representatives from government hospitals, private clinics, diagnostic labs, healthcare startups, insurance companies, technology firms, and public health agencies operating across Ranchi District. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is used to map the links between institutional collaboration, sharing knowledge, integrating digital health tools, aligning resources, supporting policy, healthcare innovation capacity, and overall service performance. The study asserts that true co-opetition pushes organizations to build digital health systems, telemedicine, healthcare analytics, emergency response networks, and launch medical research projects together while also keeping market competition that spurs new ideas and better quality. Alongside this, strong PPPs fund infrastructure, enable technology adoption, mobilize resources, and make governance more efficient, which in turn boosts healthcare resilience and supports sustainable urban growth. The study expects to show that collaborative healthcare structures lead to measurable gains in access, efficiency, innovation, patient satisfaction, and resilience for new smart cities. This research makes a distinct contribution to studies on healthcare ecosystem innovation by bringing together the lenses of co-opetition and PPPs within the context of smart cities in a fast-changing Indian district. It also gives solid, practical recommendations for policymakers, healthcare managers, urban planners, and private healthcare operators aiming to create resilient, tech-driven, and inclusive health systems that line up with India’s Smart Cities Mission and the Sustainable Development Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being.
Institutional Foundations of Economic Growth: Evidence from the Capitalist–Communist Divergence during the Cold War Era
Drawing on evidence from the capitalist-communist divergence of the Cold War era the research paper extensively examines the institutional factors that shaped long-run economic growth, income inequality, and social welfare outcomes in post-communist nations. The research investigates three interconnected propositions: whether stronger pre-transition democratic institutions predict superior long-run economic performance; whether Soviet-era institutional persistence generates an “institutional path dependency trap" diminishing convergence with Western capitalist economies and lastly, whether hybrid configurations combining market capitalism with authoritarian state control produce systematically distinct growth-inequality trade-offs. The study adopts a mixed – methods approach combining quantitative comparative analysis of nine post-communist states using Polity IV scores and World Governance Indicators with theory-driven case studies grounded in institutional path dependency and institutional economics. The results indicate that the strength of democratic institutions at the time of transition play a crucial role in shaping long-term growth, inequality reduction, and human development outcomes. At the same time, persistent Soviet-era institutional features, including patronal networks and weak property rights, continue to limit effective market reforms. Hybrid regimes, which can achieve growth, tend to do so alongside higher levels of inequality compared to more fully liberalised systems.
Effectiveness of Badal Sircar’s Third Theatre Workshop Method in Improving Intrinsic Motivation and Reducing Communication Barriers: An Empirical Analysis
This paper analyzes the effectiveness of Badal Sircar’s Third Theatre workshop method in improving the internal motivation and overcoming communication barriers among the participants of the workshops surveyed for this study. I have used here the feedback of postgraduate students of two organizations – Rishi Bankim Chandra College, and West Bengal State University situated at North 24 Parganas, West Bengal. Third Theatre and its workshop model have a lot of impact on social and political conscience of human life. There has been very little empirical work on its pedagogic potential that is beneficial in the teaching-learning process. It has a broader influence in understanding human values of cooperation building of a society. This study analyzes the impact of a Third Theatre workshop method that was conducted with eighty-three postgraduate students of these institutes. This workshop is being conducted by the Satabdi Third Theatre group for the last seventeen years in these institutes, following the core principle ‘No Shame No Blame; No Competition, Only Cooperation’.I have conducted an empirical study to collect and study the data regarding the before and after impact of the workshop. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and paired-sample z-tests to examine differences between pre-workshop and post-workshop responses. After the workshop, all measured variables showed improvement that was statistically significant. The results suggest that the Third Theatre workshop method can reduce psychological communication barriers as well as has the potentiality to improve intrinsic motivation among the participants. This study has been done with the help of critical concepts of technical communication barriers, intrinsic motivation, and the theory of Multiple Intelligences by Howard Gardner. This paper provides an empirical evidence for the educational use of the Third Theatre workshop, and also suggests that there can be relevance for language teaching and communication skills through an interdisciplinary curriculum approach.
Evaluating Consumer Creditworthiness in Nepal: Mechanisms, Gaps, and Reforms
This paper explores how consumer creditworthiness is measured in Nepal, what are the current gaps, and how the policy can be reformed to promote financial stability and inclusion. Although there is an improvement in opening up access to finance, credit worthiness in Nepal is more of a collateral and income-based assessment with little regard on borrowers' repayment history. The increasing non-performing loan (NPL) ratio 1.3 per cent in June 2022 to 3.9 per cent in FY 2023/24 is an indication of the increasing credit risk under the current practice. The study sampled 150 loan officers in 20 A-grade commercial banks in Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Chitwan and Pokhara using a mixed-method design, where primary data was collected. The secondary data were recorded using structured questionnaires and interviews and also through Nepal Rastra Bank reports and bank publications. The analysis was done through thematic interpretation and further through the data analysis using MS Excel and SPSS. The findings indicated that although 95 percent of banks will check credit history before issuing approval, 19 percent do not have standard systems. The key obstacles are the verifying informal income (34%), poor documentation (28%), and the high cost of field verification (15%). As well, uneven income, poor misappropriation of funds, and poor monitoring were stated as the major causes of defaulting small loans. The article concludes with the necessity of an obligatory credit rating system, default reporting, and digital KYC. The effect of such reforms will be the reduction of default risks, encouragement of responsible lending, and the establishment of trust in the banking sector in Nepal. Enhancing credit governance is thus crucial towards sustainable economic growth and inclusive growth.
The Role of Green Finance in Enhancing Customer Loyalty in Nepalese Banks: The Mediating Effect of Environmental Awareness
The article entitled The Role of Green Finance in Enhancing Customer Loyalty in Nepalese Banks: The Mediating Effect of Environmental Awareness explores the role of green finance programs in improving customer loyalty towards their banks with environmental awareness acting as the mediating variable. Green finance, where capital is directed to environmentally friendly initiatives has become prominent in the world and Nepal where banks are now promoting products like electric vehicle (EV) loans, green home loans and financing hydropower initiatives. This paper is a quantitative research design, where the main target group will be banks within the major urban center of Nepal, Kathmandu, where the most apparent use of green finance is seen. The 5 Point Likert scale was used as the data instrumentation measure, and the analysis performed with the help of SEM with SmartPLS. The results indicate that the positive direct impact of green finance (or green banking) practices on the customer loyalty is quite substantial: the banks which provide and promote the environmentally friendly products and services are more likely to intensify the repurchase intentions and long-term commitment. Besides, the environmental awareness can be considered a partial mediator: more environmentally conscious customers tend to perceive the green finance efforts in a positive way, which enhances the loyalty effect, yet some share of the effect still can be regarded as direct. The existing banking and financial services studies show the effect size estimates to indicate a moderate to high range (around 0.30-0.60) of the standardized path coefficients of the green finance to loyalty link; the mediated (indirect) effect is often approximately 20-40% of the full effect. The conclusion can be made that the more environmentally conscious customers are, the more they would feel that banks offering green finance products are socially responsible, and would be more inclined to stay loyal to them. Especially EV loans have helped banks to gain a more positive reputation as the advocates of sustainable transportation, whereas green home loans promote the use of energy-saving construction methods. Hydropower projects are being funded even with regulatory and environmental challenges, which reinforces the idea of banks as providers of renewable energy objectives in Nepal.
Generative Artificial Intelligence in Academic Research: Opportunities, Ethical Dilemmas, and Governance Pathways
Generative artificial intelligence has moved into the academic world faster than academic norms, and so far the institutional reaction has been split into two moves: first, stating that such systems cannot be authors; and second, trying to detect the presence of such systems. This paper suggests that both responses are symptomatic responses and do not tackle the underlying structural problem. In scientific practice, authorship includes four elements which, historically, have gone together: intellectual contribution, accountability for correctness, credit, and provenance of warrant. Generative systems separate them, and the ban on machine authorship only addresses the accountability aspect, not the other parts of the problem, such as contribution, credit and provenance. We formalise this as the attribution decoupling problem and place it in the context of the warrant chain, a series of traceable human judgements that make a scientific claim answerable. We then argue that a system's governance should be calibrated for its use, on top of its use, and present two dimensions of a task-risk gradient: verifiability of the task's output by the researcher and closeness of the task to the scientific claim. The current uniform disclosure rules are seen as being both too broad for low risk uses and too narrow for high risk ones. We also claim that the use of detection-based enforcement is a dead end as it is impossible to have reliable detection equipment, and its errors are systematically distributed among researchers who write in a second language, making it an instrument of discrimination. Another approach is a governance based on process, declaration, provenance and verification, which takes place at four institutional levels. There are no invented statistics reported, seven propositions are provided and an analytical protocol.
Beyond Borders: Investigating the Role of Global Competence Education in Fostering Empathy and Intercultural Understanding
The expectations that have been set on today's education systems have been completely changed due to the speed of globalisation, transnational mobility and cultural interconnectedness. School and university no longer only have the responsibility of conveying information, but also teaching students how to engage in an ethical and empathetic manner with others from different cultures and countries. Global competence education has become a critical educational approach to foster a set of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that enable students to deal with cultural diversity and global interdependence (OECD, 2018; Boix Mansilla & Jackson, 2011). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the importance of Global competence education in developing students' understanding and empathy for intercultures. The research draws on interdisciplinary research from international studies, psychology and education to bring together theory and empirical findings to investigate the impact of global competence programmes on socio-emotional learning outcomes. The paper presents the results of a structured qualitative literature review, supported by illustrative case studies from the secondary and higher education settings, to analyse pedagogical strategies including experiential learning, intercultural dialogue, curriculum internationalisation and reflective practice. The results indicate that most effective global competence education can be achieved if it combines cognitive, behavioural and affective aspects of learning, rather than treating intercultural exposure as a separate experience from learning (Deardorff, 2006; Boix Mansilla & Wilson, 2020). However, difficulties with curricular constraints, teacher readiness, measuring empathy, and inequities in access to global learning opportunities hinder its transformative potential. The paper ends with recommendations for educators and policymakers to use evidence-based approaches, focusing on curriculum coherence, professional learning and institutional support. In general, the study suggests that global competence education is one of the most important avenues to foster empathy and intercultural understanding in an interdependent yet fragmented world.
Cross-Border Startups and Regulatory Arbitrage: Navigating Legal Complexity in the Global Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
The expression "regulatory arbitrage" is commonly used to refer to cross-border startups, but it can refer to three different approaches that have three distinct mechanisms, legal risks, and normative status. In this paper, arbitrage (which involves the transfer of the activity away from the rule's jurisdiction), structural layering (which involves the separation of legal situs from economic situs, but does not involve the relocation of the activity), and regulatory entrepreneurship (which involves operating in legal ambivalence and engaging in activism that attempts to alter the rule rather than to avoid it) are distinguished. Two variables of the structure of the regulated activity, its mobility, and the reach of the rule, are shown to determine which strategy is available, and the arbitrage feasibility space is developed accordingly. The main thesis of the paper is that this area is shrinking. It is being closed by four forces: the large market influence of regulation, international tax coordination, automatic information exchange, and moving from entity-based to activity-based and data-based regulatory design. Meanwhile, the law becomes more intricate. As a result, the complexity paradox is that the compliance costs of operating across jurisdictions rise as the arbitrage benefits decrease; that is, complexity becomes more of a fixed cost, and fixed costs are regressive in firm size. We introduce the concept of ‘jurisdictional debt’ to describe the arrangements that are established at an early stage for reasons of capital access, with the cost of unwinding those arrangements piling up and materializing at a later stage, and we theorize about a legitimacy triage between arbitrage that takes advantage of the real competition among policies and arbitrage that takes advantage of an enforcement gap or externalizes harm. There are seven propositions and an analytical protocol provided, but no invented statistics are reported.
Regulating Innovation: Legal Challenges and Governance Frameworks for AI-Driven Startups
New models of artificial intelligence distribute responsibility on the provider of an AI system, differentiate the responsibilities based on the risk of the intended use, and impose the responsibilities through documentary conformity requirements that are evaluated prior to deployment. Each of these three design decisions plays a game-changing role and creates its own distinct set of issues with the structural nature of AI startups, and the poor outcomes are not the result of transitional friction, but rather foreseeable consequences of the way the regulated object has been designed. We make three assertions. The first is that there are obligations (that are part of the system provider) in the middle of the algorithmic value chain, where the firm does not have access to the information held by the customer and the control over the behaviour of the model is not what the model provider has, since the customer is the one who has the information. Second, "whatever a statute allocates a contract reallocates," by which I mean that the upstream provider, by the terms of service, and the downstream enterprise customer, by the terms of procurement, disclaim, thereby reallocating the incidence down through bargaining power—rather than the intent of the legislature—because startups are squeezed between. Third, the risk-tier classification assumes a fixed intended use, but early-stage companies change their use, which means a firm's risk-tier is not stable in the population that might not be able to handle re-classification. We also differentiate between compliance cost, which can be paid, and compliance capability (which requires organisational structures that are not available in young firms), and propose that this differentiation is why funding-based support instruments are not as effective. Six governance instruments are evaluated for these problems, and seven propositions with an analytical protocol are provided. No artifical statistics are stated.
Data as Capital: Legal Ownership, Privacy, and Competitive Advantage in Digital Entrepreneurship
Data is often called capital, an asset and even one of a firm's possessions. This paper proposes that all three explanations are wrong in relevant respects that impact the creation, funding and regulation of digital ventures. The four defining attributes of a capital asset non-rival, excludable, separable, transferable are missing from data: it is not excludable, it is not separably valuable, it is not transferable, it is not owned, but held as a set of adjacent and revocable entitlements. It also has no conventional asset has – that is, it has liability proportional to its size and sensitivity. Derived from this we create two constructs. The first is the returns of “contingent control rents” which occur not in the act of ownership but rather in the act of control, which exists only as long as consent, access and regulatory permission exist, all of which are subject to cancellation by those other than the owner. The second is the data holding problem where optimal holdings are interior to maximal holdings due to the saturation of the marginal predictive value and the increase of the marginal liability, which provides a self-interested, even if not only the ethical argument for data minimisation. We then go on to distinguish four types of data advantage and make the case that there are only two types that are defensible for entrants, and explore the now extensive evidence that the presence of consent-based privacy regimes has a salience effect which is more likely to favor incumbents than to be driven by compliance costs. There are seven propositions also provided, and an analytical protocol. No "made up" numbers are presented.
Leadership for Hybrid Organizations: How Structure and Belonging Drive Engagement and Performance
The introduction of hybrid working has also reshaped organizational leadership in the post-pandemic world, going against the grain of what we believed about engagement, coordination and visibility. This study examines the impact of employee engagement and performance on hybrid teams of employees due to the nature of the leadership behaviours involved, namely identity leadership, rhythm-setting and communication clarity. Based on the Job Demands–Resources (JD–R) Model and the theory of e-leadership and psychological safety, the study follows a mixed methods approach, which includes survey data (N = 318 hybrid employees) and 18 semi-structured interviews with leaders from five knowledge intensive organizations. Results of quantitative analyses show that identity leadership and rhythm-setting are significant predictors of engagement and perceived performance (β = .34, p < .001 and β = .21, p < .01 respectively). Psychological safety partially mediates the above effects and trust partially moderates the relationship between remote days and perceived fairness (β = .18, p < .01). The qualitative analyses show three mechanisms of leadership that keep the hybrid teams cohesive and psychologically safe: predictable rhythms, deliberate identity work, and explicit practices of fairness. The study contributes to theory by bringing together concepts of identity leadership and rhythm-setting within the JD–R framework, and by further understanding the contextual moderating role of trust within hybrid work. On a practical level, the results highlight the need for intentional design of the hybrid leadership, which includes structured rhythms, identity practices that make sure everyone is included, and transparent evaluation. Leaders who create a psychologically safe space can turn the flexibility of hybrid working into an engagement and performance edge that can last for the long haul.
From Commitment to Change: Exploring the Behavioural Triggers of Policyholder Switching in Life Insurance Services with Reference to Rajkot City
In the present study, the behaviouristic factors affecting the behaviour of switching customers from life insurance services cost perspective in Rajkot city is studied. The retailing of insurance particularly customer retention – has turned into a significant challenge for you with the rising level of competition, digital transformation, and evolving customer expectations. The aim of the study is to analyse the relationship between Behavioural triggers, Customer Commitment and Policy holder switching behaviour. The data were obtained from 112 life insured individuals by using a structured questionnaire and the collected data were analysed using Pearson's correlation and simple linear regression. The results show that there is a significant positive relationship between behavioural triggers and switching behaviour (r = 0.894, p < 0.001). The attachment to customers also had a significant effect (R² = 0.599) and the behavioural triggers account for 79.8% of the variance in switching behaviors. The study findings indicate that behavioral triggers play the highest influence on policyholder switching, which suggests the need to reinforce the bond, boost service quality, build trust and carry out effective customer retention strategies.
The Ethics of Scale: Legal Boundaries of Hypergrowth in Venture-Backed Startups
This growth is generally talked about as a strategy that some businesses undertake at the wrong level and the associated failures are blamed on the nature of specific founders. In this paper, I propose that the pathologies of scale are not dispositional but structural, and are the result of three mechanisms that are neither intentional nor a matter of will. The first is the variance mandate – the optimal level of firm risk from a venture fund perspective is higher than under a founder perspective, and higher still than if a third-party had to decide, because the outcomes for the firm are concentrated at both extremes of the range, and it doesn't have to accept the risk. The second is control dilution; if the number of employees grows exponentially, then the percentage of staff with any significant tenure is a mathematical function of the rate of growth and under that growth regime, a firm with an annual growth rate of 2 is in constant transition, with a majority of workers in it being there for less than a year, and the informal norms that replaced process no longer pass through it. The third is harm scaling: an error rate that is ethically unremarkable when it is made on a thousand users is not the same when it is made on a hundred million when the users do not choose to be there. We then discuss the poor nature of the legal boundary as a constraint on hypergrowth, in that the legal instruments it embodies are ex post and enforced on a case-by-case basis, while growth is exponential, which means the accountability gap expands mechanically. Seven propositions are provided, along with an analytical protocol. No artificial statistics are given.
Understanding Consumers' Perception Towards Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) Services: Evidence from Ahmedabad, India
The rapid advancement of financial technology (FinTech) has fundamentally transformed payment ecosystems across the world, giving rise to innovative credit solutions such as Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL). By allowing consumers to purchase products immediately while deferring payments through short-term instalments, BNPL has emerged as a popular alternative to traditional credit cards, particularly among digitally active consumers. Although the adoption of BNPL services has accelerated significantly in India following the COVID-19 pandemic, empirical evidence examining consumers' perception of BNPL in emerging markets remains limited. This study investigates consumers' awareness, adoption behaviour, influencing factors, and perceptions towards BNPL services in Ahmedabad, India. A descriptive research design was employed using primary data collected from 197 BNPL users through a structured questionnaire. Convenience sampling was adopted for data collection, while Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and Microsoft Excel were used for descriptive statistics, cross-tabulation, chi-square analysis, and one-sample t-tests. The findings reveal that payment flexibility, interest-free instalments, and short-term financial convenience are the principal motivations influencing BNPL adoption. Social media, financial technology companies, and word-of-mouth communication emerged as the dominant awareness channels. The study further indicates that consumers demonstrate strong confidence in BNPL services as an effective financial management tool while expressing concerns regarding data security and repayment obligations. Hypothesis testing confirms that age does not significantly influence preferences regarding financial flexibility features offered by BNPL services. The study contributes to the growing literature on FinTech adoption by providing empirical evidence from an Indian metropolitan market and offers practical implications for fintech companies, retailers, financial institutions, and policymakers. The findings suggest that improving transparency, strengthening cybersecurity measures, and enhancing consumer financial literacy are essential for sustaining responsible BNPL adoption in emerging economies.
Advancing Sustainable Governance through Artificial Intelligence-Driven Strategic Decision-Making: A Theoretical Framework
The increasing adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in global governance systems has the potential to transform how governments and organizations formulate and implement sustainable strategies. However, challenges related to accountability, ethical alignment, transparency, and inclusivity continue to limit the effective use of AI's analytical and predictive capabilities. This study examines how AI can be systematically integrated into strategic decision-making processes to enhance transparency, adaptability, and long-term sustainability. To address this objective, the study develops a theoretical framework that links AI-driven analytical capabilities with ethical and institutional governance structures to support sustainable governance. The framework is developed through a conceptual analysis and synthesis of multidisciplinary literature drawn from artificial intelligence, strategic management, sustainability, and governance studies. The findings suggest that effective AI-enabled governance requires well-defined accountability mechanisms, transparent data ecosystems, and the integration of sustainability metrics into decision-making algorithms. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that, when implemented within appropriate governance frameworks, AI can shift decision-making from routine administrative functions toward strategic, evidence-based governance, enabling institutions to foster innovation while maintaining a balance between equity and long-term societal value.
Digital Parenting in the AI Era: Managing children's technology use through Smart AI devices
The rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and wide-spread adoption of smart AI-enabled devices have transformed the way children learn, communicate, and engage with digital environments. While these technologies offer significant educational, cognitive, and social benefits, they also present challenges related to excessive screen time, privacy concerns, exposure to inappropriate content, cyber risks and reduced face-to-face interactions. Digital parenting has appeared as a critical approach for guiding children’s responsible and safe use of technology in the AI era. This study explores the role of parents in managing children’s technology use through smart AI devices such as smartphones, tablets, smart speakers, virtual assistants, educational application, and AI-powered learning platform. This study examines parental awareness, digital literacy, monitoring practices, communication strategies, and establishment of healthy technology boundaries. It further investigates how AI-based parental control tools, content filtering systems, and usage-monitoring applications can support effective digital parenting. Findings suggests that proactive parental involvement, digital literacy enhancement, and the ethical use of AI technology contribute significantly to fostering responsible digital behaviour among children. A sample of 339 was collected to identify the result of the study. The factor influencing Digital Parenting in the AI Era are AI-based Parental monitoring, Digital Literacy of Parents, Parent & Child digital communication and AI-assisted learning and education benefits.
Emotional Manipulation in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
The increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in consumer-machine interaction has raised critical questions about the influence of AI on consumer emotions. While AI has the potential to enhance consumer experiences and improve emotional well-being, it also poses significant risks of emotional manipulation and exploitation. The present study is an attempt to provide a critical examination of the influence of AI on consumer emotions, focusing on how AI-powered technologies can influence emotional states, manipulate emotional responses, and exploit emotional vulnerabilities. Using a mixed-methods approach combining survey research, interviews, and content analysis, this study investigates the emotional consequences of AI-driven consumer interactions, including the effects of AI-powered advertising, social media, and customer service on consumer emotional experiences. The findings of this study highlight the need for greater awareness and regulation of AI-powered emotional manipulation and provide insights for consumers, marketers, and policymakers seeking to promote more ethical and responsible uses of AI in consumer-facing contexts. It is essential to have transparency over systems and algorithms, rules and public awareness to know the ill effects of AI. Overall, the study will contribute to the overall work of the research on the manipulation of AI and its impact on human beings.
Sustainable Economic Development of India Through Ecological and Green Festive Marketing
Festivals are celebrated with great enthusiasm in India. They are lives and souls not only for Indians, but also for the economic development of nation. Festivals have a significant influence on the Indian market. Festive marketing is the process by which businesses step up their efforts to draw in customers with the goal to increase profit by giving them worthwhile offers. Companies touch the emotional reminiscence of consumers and boost their sales. They use many innovative strategies to attract the customers during festivals, one of them is by ‘Going Green.’ Green marketing in association with the festive marketing not only helps the companies in increasing sales but also ensures to reach the target customers through sustainable approach. Many companies have now opted the eco-friendly methods in promoting their products which not only focuses on the use of such products but also their proper disposal. However, various wrong tactics are also being followed by the companies in the name of ‘green’ during festivals like green spinning, green selling, and green washing. This is not only breaking the consumers’ trust but such acts have also been considered as the ‘Dark Patters’ of sales, which is a punishable offence in India. The purpose of the present research is to educate the customers about the dark patterns and to inform the companies about the green need and choices of the consumers. This will help the companies to follow a healthy marketing tool at the time of festivals which can be innovative and sustainable. This will boost the sales of companies in a greener way, working towards sustainable economic development of nation.
“Sustainability Reporting of KVIC-supported Khadi Societies: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis”
Purpose This study examines the influence of sustainability reporting by KVIC- supported khadi societies on their financial performance, creditworthiness, and institutional quality. Although khadi societies play a vital role in rural employment and inclusive development in India, the impact of sustainability reporting within this sector remains underexplored. This study address this gap by analysing the evolution, structure, and implications of sustainability reporting in khadi institutions. Design/Methodology/Approach The research adopts a combined bibliometric review and meta-analysis approach. A total of 1489 journal articles published between 1977 and 2025 were analysed using VOSviewer and the Rstudio meta package. The meta-analysis evaluates the impact of sustainability reporting on financial transparency, operational efficiency, access to funding, and creditworthiness. Findings Khadi societies score only 1.31 out of 5 on a sustainability reporting scale, reflecting limited disclosure practices (MCRajeshwari & Pandey, 2026). Most reports focuses on social aspects, with less attention to environmental and governance dimensions. The results suggest that structured sustainability reporting improves financial performance by enhancing transparency, stakeholder trust, and institutional credibility. Practical Implications Improved sustainability reporting can support better credit assessment, reduce lending risks and NPA’s and strengthen financial stability and long-term sustainability of rural enterprises. Originality/Value. This study is among the first to apply bibliometric and meta-analysis methods to examine sustainability reporting and its financial implications in the Khadi Sector.
Digital Empowerment for Financial Resilience: Budgeting Practices and Planning Behavior of Women in Small-Scale Jobs
Financial planning is important for working women in small-scale jobs in urban India, given irregularities of incomes, her share of household responsibilities, and given rising living costs. Though financial literacy is widely recognized as a key factor of financial behaviour of individuals, the behavioural mechanisms translating knowledge into action in their day to day life remain underexplored in this context. This research study seeks to explore the influence of education, financial literacy and income stability on household financial planning behaviour, with budgeting practices as a mediating variable. As a part of this study, data was collected from 108 women employed in small-scale jobs in Hyderabad region using a structured questionnaire. Data analysis includes statistical tools like: descriptive statistics, correlation, and mediation testing for understanding the hidden patterns. Upon observation of results, it indicate that budgeting practices significantly enhance the financial planning behaviour and partially mediate the relationship between education, financial literacy, and financial planning. Income stability is the key identified as key element and also shows a direct positive effect on promoting financial discipline and planning skills. The study contributes to behavioural finance literature and emphasize the need for targeted financial education and policy interventions for women in informal employment.
Antecedents of Investment App Adoption Among Generation Z: An Extended UTAUT Perspective on Financial Literacy, Digital Financial Skills, and Financial Well-Being
While the rise of the digital investment platforms in India is explosive, the financial behavior of the first generation that has grown up entirely in the digital era (Generation Z) is still not well understood in the academic literature, especially in the case of the hill-state of Uttarakhand. In the current cross-sectional study, the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) with Financial Capability Theory is used to explain why Gen Z students would be interested in investing in an application. The proposed model situates Financial Literacy (FL), Budgeting Behaviour (BB), and Digital Financial Skills (DFS) as antecedents of Financial Well-being (FWB), which in turn drives Investment App Adoption (IAA) intention. Primary data were gathered from 404 undergraduate and postgraduate students enrolled in Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) in Uttarakhand using a structured questionnaire. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was performed in AMOS v21 following Anderson and Gerbing's (1988) two-stage approach. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) established sound measurement properties (CFI = 0.992; RMSEA = 0.024). All four structural paths were significant, and Financial Well-being fully mediated every antecedent–adoption relationship. The findings extend UTAUT into the financial technology domain and carry actionable implications for FinTech developers, HEI administrators, and policymakers seeking to foster responsible investment behaviour among India's younger population.
Influence Of Anomaly on Attitudinal Changes and Investment Behaviour of Salaried Employees
Several factors, including rational considerations and economic disruptions, influence investment behaviour among salaried employees. Economic disruptions are anomalies that often influence attitudes and, in turn, affect investment decisions. This study examines the influence of anomalies on attitudinal changes and their subsequent impact on the investment behaviour of salaried employees. The Anomaly disrupts normality, leading to interruptions such as fear of loss, reduced investor confidence, increased risk aversion, and, in turn, changes in investment patterns. The study follows a quantitative research design, collecting primary data from salaried employees using a structured questionnaire to measure attitudinal changes, anomalies, and investment behaviour. Various statistical tools, such as correlation, regression, and paired t-test, have been employed to examine the direct and indirect relation among the variables. The findings reveal that the Anomaly significantly influences attitudinal factors, which in turn affect investment decision-making. The study also clearly establishes that Anomaly is a critical determinant of investors' psychological responses. Thus, the study contributes to the behavioural finance literature by moving beyond isolated analyses of anomalies or investment behaviour and offering an integrated framework that captures the psychological pathways linking uncertainty and investment decisions.
Influence of Talent Acquisition Towards Employee Retention In Relation to Organisational Citizenship Behaviour in it Companies, Tamil Nadu
In the advent rise of Information Technology (IT) companies starting from early 2000’s, the organisational structure, workforce planning, and workplace management exhibits significant changes in many companies. It is essential to create and implement strong talent acquisition practices viz., recruitment, selection, and onboarding to ensure employee competitiveness by adopting digital tools for employee retention. The present research paper enlightens how recruiting the right talent for the right job will improve the employee retention through the mediating role of organisational citizenship practices within IT companies. Employee structures and responsibilities are closely tied to strategic workforce planning and aligned selection processes. Effective onboarding fosters engagement and integration, which in turn strengthens employee retention during IT job transitions, where high attrition is common. The research suggests that organization should follow a well-structured human resources strategy is important to sustaining company viability over time.
Examining the Impact of Occupational Health and Employee Well-Being on Sustainable Organisational Growth: An Empirical Study of the Tiruppur Textile Industry
The current study found a relationship between occupational health in India and the long-term development prospects of textile facilities in Tiruppur. The goal of the study is to provide an understanding on how occupational health and safety laws affect workers' well-being and promote the continued existence of organizations. The present investigation found a relationship between occupational health in India and the long-term development prospects of textile facilities in Tiruppur. The goal of the study is to provide understanding on how occupational health and safety laws affect workers' well-being and promote the continued existence of organizations. A standardised questionnaire filled out by 550 employees served as the main basis for the descriptive and analytical investigation. To identify the relationships among key variables, the analysis uses statistical methods. These findings highlight the significant impact occupational health has on employees’ long-term development and well-being. The importance of employees’ well-being improves the effects of occupational health on sustainability objectives. The study found that, organisations that maintain the greatest emphasis on healthy workplaces, employee well-being, and supportive environments are better positioned to attain sustained success. By offering specific information from the textile industry and practical suggestions for enhancing workplace procedures and ensuring long-term organisational performance, this strengthens the repository of contemporary studies.
Influence Of Motivation on Employees Job Satisfaction – An Empirical Study with Reference to Private Sector Banks in India
Every human being is motivated on an interior level. People's conscious actions are always the result of their motivation. People's enthusiasm in many sectors of effort has led to the present level of improvement in every corner of the world. People are driven to live in this world by their motivations. Motivation is a fundamental psychological mechanism that gives human behaviour energy, direction, and sustainability. The Latin word "movere," which meaning "to move," is where the word motivation originates. "The process that accounts for an individual's intensity, direction, and persistence of effort towards attaining a goal" is Mitchell's definition of motivation. "The psychological process that gives behaviour purpose and direction" is how Kreitner defined motivation.
“FinTech Adoption and Its Impact on Financial Inclusion: Evidence from Low- and Middle-Income Households in India”
Financial inclusion is still a priority development issue in India, and recent progress in financial technology (FinTech) has the potential to reduce longstanding gaps in access and usage among low- and middle-income households (LMIH). This research explores the effect of FinTech adoption on financial inclusion and tests how digital financial literacy and perceived trust mediate this relationship. A cross-sectional quantitative survey was employed to collect data from LMICHs from five Indian regions that were analysed by means of Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The results of the study show that FinTech adoption has a strong positive impact on financial inclusion, thus supporting a novel approach to understanding access to finance, namely digital financial services emerging as an enabling tool for inclusive finance. This direct effect is, however, strengthened by means of dual mediation: digital financial literacy improves users’ ability to use FinTech services effectively, and perceived trust increases the confidence that the users place in the security and safety of internet transactions. Overall, these pathways also partially mediate the FinTech–financial inclusion pathway, indicating that lack of access is not the only barrier preventing financial empowerment and usage depth. The research contributes to the theoretical debate by connecting technology adoption and inclusion frameworks; it brings forth that financial inclusion is meaningful not just in technological access, but also in the user’s capacity and trust. Implications: The findings have policy and practical implications, characterising the importance of user education, cyber-safety protections, and inclusive digital financial solutions to promote a more equitable involvement of disadvantaged households in the Indian digital finance system.
FRom Classrooms to Cubicles: Transforming Engineering Education in Karnataka Through Strategic Academia-Industry Partnerships.
The persistent disconnect between academic curricula and industry requirements in Karnataka’s engineering education system have emerged as a critical challenge affecting graduate employability and regional economic development. This comprehensive study examines the multifaceted nature of this gap through mixed-method research involving 2,847 engineering students, 156 faculty members, and 89 industry professionals across Karnataka's major engineering institutions and technology companies. Our findings reveal that while 78% of engineering graduates possess strong theoretical foundations, only 32% demonstrate industry-ready practical skills upon graduation. The research identifies five key dimensions of the academia-industry divide: curriculum relevance, skill development, industry exposure, research collaboration, and assessment methodologies. Through statistical analysis and qualitative insights, we propose the Karnataka Engineering Education Integration (KEEI) framework - a comprehensive model for sustainable academia-industry collaboration. Implementation of pilot programs based on this framework showed remarkable results, with participating institutions reporting a 64% improvement in graduate employability and 47% increase in industry satisfaction ratings. This study contributes to the broader discourse on engineering education reform and provides actionable recommendations for policymakers, academic administrators, and industry leaders in Karnataka's rapidly evolving technological landscape.
Unlocking Mobile Banking Loyalty: The Role of Customer Satisfaction in Digital Finance: A Conceptual Framework for Dakshina Kannada and Udupi Districts
The rapid advancement of digital technologies has transformed the global banking industry by making mobile banking one of the most preferred channels for financial transactions. In India, increasing smartphone penetration, improved internet connectivity, and government initiatives promoting digital payments have accelerated the adoption of mobile banking services. While banks have successfully attracted a large number of users to digital platforms, sustaining customer loyalty remains a major challenge due to increasing competition, changing customer expectations, and continuous technological innovations. Customer satisfaction has emerged as a critical determinant of long-term customer loyalty in digital finance. This conceptual paper examines the role of customer satisfaction in developing mobile banking loyalty by integrating major theoretical perspectives and recent literature on digital banking. The paper synthesizes concepts from the Technology Acceptance Model, Expectation–Confirmation Theory, Commitment–Trust Theory, Relationship Marketing Theory, and SERVQUAL to develop the Digital Banking Loyalty Enhancement Framework (DBLEF). The framework proposes that digital service quality, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, trust, security, convenience, and customer engagement collectively strengthen customer satisfaction, which subsequently enhances mobile banking loyalty. The paper presents six theoretical postulates to guide future empirical research and discusses their relevance in the context of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts, where digital banking adoption has increased substantially. The study contributes to digital finance literature by providing an integrated conceptual model that can assist researchers, banking professionals, and policymakers in designing customer-centric digital banking strategies for sustainable customer retention. This study adopts a conceptual research design based on literature synthesis
Leveraging ODA for Climate and Infrastructure Finance: A Systematic Literature Review of Sub -National Studies using TCCM and ADO Framework
Official Development Assistance (ODA) or Foreign Aid has remained one of the significant sources of development finance for economic growth and infrastructure development in developing economies. While a substantial part of literature has studied the relationship between ODA and economic growth at the national level, significantly less attention has been given to understanding the influence of ODA on development outcomes at the sub-national level. Given the rising flows of assistance at state level and increasing decentralisation of planning and implementation of development projects, understanding the impact of such flows at the sub national has become essential for designing more effective development interventions. This study conducts a systematic review of literature of state or sub-national studies on ODA flows published between 2000 till 2025. This review applies the Theory Context Characteristics and Methodology (TCCM) and Antecedents Decisions Outcomes (ADO) framework to examine the theoretical foundations, key methodologies adopted ad implementation mechanism and development outcomes of ODA financed infrastructure. Findings suggest that there has been a growing shift from aggregate studies too localised analysis of ODA effectiveness. Evidence establishes that ODA contributes positively to economic development when it is associated with effective institutions, governance, and absorptive capacity. The findings of the review suggest significant gaps in state or sub national level research in developing countries and proposes future research focusing on localised development outcomes due to ODA flows.
Canons of Taxation and Goods and Services Tax (GST): An Empirical Assessment of Taxpayer Perception and Compliance
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is one of the most important indirect tax reforms in India with the aim of introducing one single tax system and improving transparency, efficiency and ease of doing business. But the success of GST is largely dependent upon its adherence to the three principles of taxation namely equity, certainty and convenience and economy which were laid out by Adam Smith. This study examines taxpayers' perceptions of GST using these classical taxation principles. The primary data was gathered by applying a structured questionnaire among 250 registered taxpayers of Coimbatore district of Tamilnadu comprising retailers, manufacturers, service providers, professionals and small business owners. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square analysis, multiple regression, PESTLE analysis and qualitative content analysis are used to analyze the factors that affect the satisfaction and compliance of taxpayers. The results showed that simplicity, digital accessibility and awareness of the importance of and perceived fairness have a positive effect on taxpayer satisfaction and voluntary compliance. The study ends with the policy recommendations for the enhancement of GST administration and boost of the tax payers' confidence.
The Legal Meltdown of Prada and Kolhapuri: GI Loopholes, IP Vulnerabilities, Cultural Appropriation and a Strategic Transition from Foreign Extraction to Local Sneaker Production
Following the 2025 Kolhapuri Chappal Controversy by Prada, this paper explores how international luxury brands engage in the couture theft of Indian artisanal products into premium high-end products. Perceived through GI loopholes, IP vulnerabilities, and cultural appropriation; this practice of couture brands are a neo-colonial tactic expressing how Western markets fetishize and glorify these products, while local artisans who create them remain marginalized and sidelined, creating a cultural/economic vulnerability. This research traverses the physical and epistemic circuits through which Kolhapuri Chappals and likened artisanal artifacts are de-colonized and repackaged across luxury and fast-fashion trajectories. Archival knowledge, visual and marketing critiques, interviews of craftsmen/craftswomen and brand founders, governmental protections via GI tags and IPs, are taken under consideration following the examination of commodification, appropriation and identity struggle of Indian artisanship and fashion. The research counteracts with the emergent tides of homegrown brands, prominently Gully Labs and Comet that attempt to capture due representation in a global marketplace, eventually concluding with a meaningful discussion on the ills of cultural appropriation and GI tag policies, widening the prospects of all-around innovation across the sectors concerned.
An Empirical Study on Factors Affecting the Adoption of Digital Marketing Techniques on MSME Performance
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are a significant contributor to the national economic growth, employment and innovation. Digital marketing methods have become essential elements in the fast changing electronic business world for improving customer engagement, reaching areas and improving organization performance. The levels of adoption of digital marketing among MSMEs differ, however, owing to differences in their technological capabilities, organizational readiness, managerial commitment as well as market pressures. This study explores some of the factors affecting the adoption of digital marketing and assesses the effects of digital marketing on MSME performance. The study builds on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Technology–Organization–Environment (TOE), Resource-Based View (RBV), and Dynamic Capability Theory, to examine digital marketing adoption’s influence of technological competence, perceived usefulness, organizational readiness, management support, competitive pressure, and customer orientation. The study used a quantitative research design and the researcher gathered the data from 350 MSME owners/managers using a structured questionnaire. To test the proposed relationships, appropriate statistical techniques were used for the analysis of the data. The findings show that all six factors that were tested are significant and positively correlated with digital marketing adoption, with the highest correlation being with technological competence. Moreover, digital marketing adoption has clearly proven its positive effects on MSME performance in increasing customer acquisition, business growth, operational efficiency, market expansion, and competitive advantage. The study adds to the literature of entrepreneurship and digital transformation by providing a holistic perspective on digital marketing adoption by MSMEs and the strategic importance of digital marketing in enhancing enterprise performance. The results offer lessons for entrepreneurs, policies, and business development agencies to enhance digital skills and future competitiveness of MSMEs.
Impact of Financial technology Services on User Perception and Behavioral Intention: with special reference to public sector Banks in Bangaluru Rural District
This research looks at public sector banks in the Bengaluru Rural Districts of Karnataka to see how customer satisfaction with FinTech services affects their behavioral intention to keep using these services. Performance, effort, social influence, hedonic incentive, perceived risk, and perceived cost are the six critical aspects that the research uses to construct the quality of FinTech services. Here, we look at trust as a moderator of the link between customer happiness and behavioral intention, and we claim the role of FinTech service quality and behavioral purpose by consumers satisfaction. Primary data for the study came from clients of public sector banks that make use these services. The study used a quantitative research approach. Customers are more likely to be satisfied when they have high expectations for performance, effort, social impact, and hedonic drive, but they are less satisfied when they have high expectations for perceived risk and expense. Customer satisfaction and behavioral intention have a strong positive link, and this correlation is strengthened in the presence of trust. The report contributes to the expanding corpus of research on FinTech adoption by rural banks by establishing a framework that combines technological, behavioral, and trust factors that affect customer satisfaction and future usage intentions. The results offer notable managerial insights for public sector banks to enhance the standard of FinTech services, increase client confidence in the financial system, and promote the long-term use of digital banking services in rural regions.
Chatbots in customer service: Analyzing their impact on consumer Satisfaction and brand loyalty
This study proposes to examine the influence of chatbots in increasing brand loyalty and client satisfaction. Customer service chatbots can help in automating tasks that would be executed through customer service agents. Chatbots properly affect customer satisfaction and brand loyalty by offering reliable, immediate, and accessible support. The researcher has concentrated on conducting primary quantitative and secondary qualitative data analysis methods. In this research, a survey session was conducted by taking 251 participants from the retail, hospitality, and fashion industries. The analysis section highlights that the availability of chatbots 24*7 helps in solving conflicts of clients and provides fast service which enhances customer satisfaction. Moreover, the discussion section showcases that chatbots are considered an effective tool for providing better customer service. In the thematic analysis, three themes have been created to provide better knowledge about the influence of chatbots on brand loyalty and customer satisfaction. The usage of chatbots is emerging in the e-commerce and retail industry and customers have better faith in those brands which utilise chatbots.
An Analytical Study of the Key Customer Retention Strategies Persuading Customers in Banking Sector
Customers are living in a time of rapid technological advancement in regard to the recent significant changes to the banking industry. In the language of banking, customer loyalty and retention are similar aspects of bank marketing that are vital in today's cutting- edge corporate environment. Customer withholding commences with the initial link a bank makes with a client and lasts as long as the client maintains a relationship with the bank. Therefore, banks must concentrate on key customer retention methods. A survey of 714 bank workers is undertaken to gather feedback on the customer retention strategies that have been implemented. The tabulated data was analysed using factor analysis to determine the predominant factors influencing the variables selected. The results indicate that on the basis of nine variables, the primary two aspects were extracted and termed mandatory and crucial. As a result, the purpose of this article is to learn about the primary customer retention methods that banks should focus on in today's competitive economy.
Impact of Employee Training Practices on Employee Engagement in Information Technology sector – Moderating role of Organization Culture
Purpose: This study aims to test how training practices in employees can influence employee engagement in the Information Technology (IT) industry and explore whether the organizational culture can be used to improve on the relationship. The research aims at knowing whether organizational culture contributes to the effectiveness of training programs in promoting employee engagement or not. Methods: The research design that was used is a quantitative, cross-sectional design. The primary data were gathered through a structured questionnaire based on the parameters of training practices (training session, training content, training expertise, and learning transfer), employee engagement, and organizational culture (n=134 IT employees). Direct and moderating relationships were tested using descriptive statistics, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), and hierarchical regression analysis. To evaluate the moderation effect, an interaction term was used (Training × Organizational Culture). Findings: The findings are that training practices are significantly positive in terms of employee engagement. Training sessions and expertise of the trainers portrayed the most significant effects among the training dimensions. Organizational culture was found to have a direct positive effect on employee engagement and also moderately affected the training engagement relationship. The positive interaction effect proves the fact that the effect of training on engagement is more evident in the organizations with supportive and development-oriented cultures. Implications: The results indicate that training programs should be correlated with an effective organizational culture in organizations especially in IT sector to achieve the highest degree of engagement success. In order to increase HR development practices, the managers should strive not only to enhance the training quality but also to create a collaborative, supportive and learning-focused work environment. Novelty: The given study makes a contribution to the current body of literature since the researcher empirically verifies the mediating effect of organizational culture on the training-engagement relationship in the IT sphere, which has never been addressed extensively in the literature. It builds up on precedent by proving that organizational culture enhances the positive impact of training on employee engagement.
The Impact of Digital Health Literacy on Consumer Adoption of Women's Digital Health Services
The rapid expansion of India's Femtech sector has transformed women's access to digital healthcare through mobile applications for menstrual health, fertility, pregnancy, and reproductive wellness. Despite this growth, unequal digital literacy, language barriers, and socio-cultural constraints continue to limit adoption among rural and low-income women, creating a persistent "literacy paradox" in which those who need digital health services the most are least able to benefit from them. This study investigates how digital health literacy influences consumer adoption of women's digital health services in India and identifies the interface-related factors that shape user trust and sustained engagement. A descriptive and exploratory research design was employed using secondary data analysis. Data were triangulated from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) reports, and approximately 1,200 Google Play Store reviews of the five leading Femtech applications in India. Cross-tabulation, qualitative thematic content analysis, and socio-technical comparative analysis were used to examine relationships between digital readiness, usability challenges, and healthcare technology adoption. The findings reveal that digital literacy, smartphone ownership, language accessibility, interface complexity, and privacy concerns significantly influence consumer acceptance of Femtech platforms. English-centric interfaces, complex navigation, technical terminology, and limited privacy on shared devices reduce user confidence and increase application abandonment. The study concludes that technological innovation alone cannot ensure equitable digital healthcare. Sustainable adoption requires multilingual, voice-enabled, low-cognitive-load interfaces supported by transparent privacy features and community-based digital literacy initiatives. The research contributes to technology adoption literature by demonstrating that consumer behavior in women's digital health is shaped by the interaction of digital capability, socio-cultural realities, and inclusive design, offering practical recommendations for developers and policymakers to promote equitable Femtech adoption in India.
Artificial Intelligence, Employee Experience and Retention: A Study on IT Professionals in Chennai
The Indian IT industry is undergoing a transformative shift with the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI), which is significantly improving operational efficiency, productivity, and decision-making processes. There are many technological benefits to these changes, but they also have organizational implications and impact employees' experiences and perceptions of job security. The study aims to explore the effect of working with AI integration on employee experience and retention for IT employees in Chennai. The main data collection was carried out with 95 staff from IT service, product companies and Global Capability Centres (GCCs) working in software development, software testing, infrastructure and project management. The analysis of the data collected used the statistical methods, descriptive statistics, correlation, regression and ANOVA. The findings indicate that AI can have a positive impact on the employee experience if employees are adequately trained and managed. But, the top driver of turnover intention is the feeling of becoming job insecure due to AI, especially for employees who are less tenured with the organization. The study suggests that improving employee retention and organisational performance through reskilling, communication and AI from the employees' point of view.
“Strategic Human Resource Management Practices and Organizational Commitment: An Empirical Investigation”
Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) has emerged as a critical organizational function that aligns human resource practices with strategic business objectives to enhance employee performance and achieve sustainable competitive advantage. In the contemporary business environment, characterized by rapid technological advancements, globalization, and evolving workforce expectations, organizations increasingly recognize the importance of fostering organizational commitment through effective human resource practices. The present study examines the influence of Strategic Human Resource Management practices on organizational commitment among employees. The study adopts a quantitative research approach using a descriptive and explanatory research design. Primary data were collected through a structured questionnaire from 400 employees selected using stratified random sampling, while secondary data were obtained from books, peer-reviewed journals, reports, and credible online sources. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS with descriptive statistics, Cronbach's Alpha, Pearson's correlation, multiple regression, independent sample t-test, and one-way ANOVA. The findings reveal that employees perceive SHRM practices positively, particularly in the areas of training and development, career development, and strategic recruitment. The results further indicate a significant positive relationship between SHRM practices and organizational commitment, with training and development emerging as the strongest predictor of employee commitment. The study also finds that demographic variables such as age significantly influence organizational commitment, whereas gender does not exhibit a significant difference. The research concludes that organizations implementing effective SHRM practices are more likely to develop a committed workforce, improve employee retention, and enhance organizational performance. The study contributes to the existing literature on Strategic Human Resource Management and provides practical implications for HR professionals and organizational leaders in designing strategic HR initiatives that strengthen employee commitment and support long-term organizational success.
Effect of Employee Productivity and Performance on Occupational Health and Safety Among Nurses.
Purpose: Employee productivity and performance affect OHS for nurses in private hospitals in Tamil Nadu, India. The mediating role of employee happiness suggests ways healthcare institutions might improve workplace safety and staff well-being. Design/Methodology/Approach: A cross-sectional survey was used for descriptive, quantitative research. Using proportionate and selective sampling, 495 nurses from tier 1 and 2 Tamil Nadu cities provided data. SEM using Smart-PLS 4.0 was employed to analyze staff productivity, performance, satisfaction, and OHS. Findings: OHS and employee productivity correlated positively. Happy nurses work better and make the workplace safer because employee satisfaction partially mediates these links. With strong reliability, validity, and fit, the model confirmed theorized pathways. Practical Implications: Hospital administration must strike a balance between productivity and workplace safety. Providing fair pay, health benefits, and good working conditions enhances nurse performance and safety. Originality: This study uniquely integrates Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) Theory and Social Exchange Theory (SET) to explain how productivity and performance affect occupational safety outcomes in healthcare settings, specifically among Indian private hospital nurses, an understudied group in OHS research.
Intellectual Property Strategies for Digital Entrepreneurs: Balancing Innovation Protection and Market Expansion
Digital entrepreneurs building software, platform, and data-driven ventures face an intellectual property landscape structurally different from that confronting traditional manufacturing or product-based businesses, one in which the legal boundaries of patent eligibility for software have narrowed considerably, trade secret protection has been strengthened and federalized, and open licensing and platform-network strategies frequently create more durable competitive advantage than exclusionary IP rights alone. This paper examines the legal instruments available to digital entrepreneurs, patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret protection, and analyzes the strategic trade-offs each presents between securing exclusionary innovation protection and pursuing the rapid, often open or interoperable, market expansion that digital and platform business models typically require. The review traces the doctrinal narrowing of software patent eligibility following the U.S. Supreme Court's 2014 decision in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International, which held that implementing an abstract idea on a generic computer does not, without more, satisfy patent-eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101, a ruling that has substantially reshaped software patenting strategy and elevated the relative importance of trade secret and copyright protection for digital ventures. The study further examines the 2016 federal Defend Trade Secrets Act, which created the first uniform federal civil cause of action for trade secret misappropriation in the United States, and evaluates its particular relevance to digital entrepreneurs whose core value, proprietary algorithms, training data, and technical processes, is often better suited to confidentiality-based protection than to public patent disclosure. A comparative legal-strategic framework is applied across four illustrative digital business models, software-as-a-service, data-and-AI-driven platforms, open-source-adjacent ventures, and consumer marketplace platforms, evaluating which protection strategy, or combination of strategies, best serves each model's particular balance of innovation protection and market expansion needs. The paper concludes by discussing the growing strategic role of trademark and network-effect-based protection relative to patents in digital markets, and the persistent legal uncertainty facing AI-related and data-driven innovations under current doctrine.
Regulating FinTech Innovation for Gender-Inclusive Financial Systems: Legal Perspectives on Digital Payments, Consumer Protection, and Socioeconomic Barriers to Financial Inclusion
Digital financial services have driven the most significant expansion of global financial inclusion in a generation, yet the legal and regulatory frameworks governing this expansion, anti-money laundering and customer due diligence rules, consumer protection regimes, and digital identity requirements, were designed principally around integrity and stability objectives rather than gender-equity objectives, producing a persistent gender gap in account ownership and account usage that regulation has only unevenly addressed. This paper examines the legal and regulatory dimensions of FinTech-enabled financial inclusion through a gender lens, drawing on the World Bank's Global Findex Database, Financial Action Task Force (FATF) guidance on anti-money laundering and financial inclusion, and comparative national case evidence, most notably India's shift to electronic know-your-customer (e-KYC) verification and its documented effect on closing the domestic gender gap in account ownership. The review examines three legal and regulatory dimensions of the gender-inclusion challenge: identity-verification requirements under the FATF's risk-based customer due diligence framework, which have been shown to disproportionately exclude women lacking formal identification documents; consumer protection and digital payment regulation governing the trust and safety of mobile money and digital wallet products through which the majority of newly included women access financial services; and the socioeconomic and legal barriers, including unequal property and inheritance rights, mobile phone ownership gaps, and digital literacy disparities, that regulation alone cannot resolve but that regulatory design can either mitigate or reinforce. A comparative methodology is applied using Global Findex account-ownership and gender-gap data across multiple reporting cycles (2017, 2021, 2024), FATF risk-based approach and tiered customer due diligence guidance, and national regulatory case studies. Reported findings indicate that the global gender gap in financial account ownership narrowed from 9 percentage points in 2017 to 6 points in 2021 before rising to 73% account ownership for women in low- and middle-income economies by 2024, a 7-point increase since 2021, but that roughly 700 million women worldwide remain unbanked, and that regulatory reforms enabling simplified or tiered due diligence, rather than digital payment innovation alone, are the specific legal mechanism most directly and causally linked to documented gender-gap closure in jurisdictions such as India. The paper concludes by discussing the continuing legal tension between financial-integrity regulation and inclusion objectives, and the socioeconomic barriers, mobile phone and smartphone ownership gaps, unequal identification access, and account usage gaps, that persist even where account-ownership gaps have substantially closed.
The Impact of Influencer Authenticity on Consumer Engagement and Brand Loyalty in Social Commerce
Social commerce has elevated influencer marketing from a supplementary brand-awareness tactic to a primary transaction-driving channel, yet its effectiveness depends substantially on a psychological variable that resists straightforward measurement: perceived authenticity. This paper examines how influencer authenticity shapes consumer engagement and brand loyalty within social commerce environments, synthesizing empirical research grounded in source credibility theory and parasocial interaction theory. The review traces the mechanism by which perceived authenticity, encompassing consistency, transparency, and relatability, operates through influencer trustworthiness and message credibility to build consumer trust in branded content, drawing on Lou and Yuan's social media influencer value model, which found that trustworthiness and informative content value jointly predict consumer trust and subsequent purchase intention. The study further examines the documented tension between influencer popularity and authenticity, drawing on De Veirman, Cauberghe, and Hudders' experimental findings that higher follower counts increase perceived likeability and popularity but only inconsistently translate into perceived opinion leadership, and situates this tension within the broader micro-influencer literature suggesting that smaller, niche-focused influencers are frequently perceived as more authentic and relationally credible than macro-influencers or celebrities despite their smaller reach. The review also examines sponsorship disclosure research demonstrating that transparent disclosure of paid partnerships can strengthen, rather than undermine, the relationship between authenticity and trust when consumers perceive the disclosed content as genuinely congruent with the influencer's established persona. A comparative methodology is applied using source-credibility-based survey instruments, parasocial interaction scales, and platform engagement metrics reported across the reviewed studies. Findings indicate that authenticity operates as a mediating psychological mechanism rather than a direct driver of purchase behavior, with trust and perceived credibility consistently emerging as the proximate variables through which authenticity translates into engagement and, over repeated exposure, brand loyalty. The paper concludes by discussing the practical tension brands face between engaging high-reach influencers for awareness and high-authenticity micro-influencers for loyalty-building, and identifies persistent measurement and disclosure-related challenges in this rapidly evolving field.
A Qualitative Study of Women Leaders in Indian IT Sector
The Indian IT sector has developed into a global technology and innovation hub but women are underrepresented at senior levels. Progress in women representation among senior leaders is still lagging, even as number of women at entry-level and mid-level positions are increasing. The main aim of this study was to explore the dynamics of women’s leadership in the Indian IT industry while bringing out for particular attention how ambition of individuals, culture within an organization, and social support are deciding women leaders' career advancement. The research is based on a qualitative exploratory design, which involved the use of semi-structured interviews conducted with 15 women leaders working at leading IT companies. Thematic analysis was used to extract key themes on leadership identity, gender challenges and bias, mentorship and sponsorship, work-life integration, and organizational support and culture. The findings indicated that women’s leadership development was influenced by ambition, mentorship and sponsorship, organization support and culture, and social norms, while structural bias concerned career advancement. Organizations built stronger leadership pipelines through providing mentorship and sponsorship support, flexible working policies, and transparent systems with gender equity in all aspects for women leaders. The research developed a context-specific model of women’s leadership development and added to the global gender equity research in providing practical guidelines for inclusive leadership in the Indian IT sector.
Impact of Omnichannel Innovation on Stock Market Performance: A Study of Digital Transformation in Indian FMCG Companies
In the rapidly evolving landscape of the Indian economy, the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector has emerged as one of the most adaptive and resilient industries. This research explores the performance of FMCG companies in India through the lens of digital transformation, with a specific focus on the adoption of omnichannel strategies. The primary objective of the study is to understand how the integration of digital and physical sales channels influences the stock market performance of these companies. This descriptive and qualitative research is based on an in-depth analysis of secondary data collected from company reports, industry publications, market databases, and stock exchange archives. The study examines the strategic shift of FMCG companies toward omnichannel models—where e-commerce platforms, mobile applications, retail stores, and direct-to-consumer interfaces are harmonized to meet changing consumer expectations. It analyzes how these digital strategies impact investor sentiment, market positioning, and share price trends. The findings reveal that companies with well-structured omnichannel frameworks—such as HUL, ITC, and Dabur—demonstrate improved customer engagement, wider market reach, and enhanced financial performance, which in turn reflect positively on their stock valuation. Moreover, digital transformation in logistics, marketing, and customer service has played a significant role in strengthening market resilience, particularly during economic disruptions like the COVID-19 pandemic. This study contributes to the understanding of how innovation in business operations not only improves consumer satisfaction but also drives financial market performance. It offers valuable insights for policymakers, investors, and business leaders aiming to foster sustainable growth in the FMCG sector.
A Systematic Literature Review on User Adoption and Satisfaction of Online Grocery Applications: An Empirical Investigation
Online grocery services applications have evolved from a niche retail channel to a mainstream form of household provisioning, a transition significantly accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and enabled by the subsequent surge in quick-commerce platforms. Although a growing empirical literature exists, the understanding as to why consumers choose these apps and what influences their satisfaction is still dispersed across disciplines, theoretical perspectives and countries. This review follows the PRISMA statement and is structured in the form of an SLR between 2015 and 2026 focusing on 58 empirical articles to consolidate the factors of adoption and satisfaction, as well as assess the application of theoretical models in this domain. Based on sample sizes from n = 297 to n = 18,598 in 11 exemplar studies, the review reveals that the most consistent determinants of adoption are perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, convenience, and trust (with cited path coefficients up to r = .528 between usefulness and behavioural intention and explained variance of up to R² = 53 in integrated TAM–TPB models), relying predominantly on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and use of Technology (UTAUT/UTAUT2). Satisfaction is mainly influenced by e-service quality, delivery and fulfilment quality and perceived value (structural model fit indices of CFI = .906 and RMSEA = .073 in one representative study), mostly explained by Expectation-Confirmation Model (ECM) and e-ServQual models. There are huge differences in post-pandemic continuance intention among people, ranging from 45% to 89% in three national surveys. The paper further contrasts these results with real market data (among other the Indian online grocery market, worth USD 8.82 billion in 2024, with a CAGR of 44.9% through 2030), as a case in point illustrating fast real-world acceptance. An integrated conceptual framework is presented, and gaps in the literature regarding post-adoption behaviour, cross-cultural investigation and quick-commerce-specific constructs are highlighted as future research priorities.
Innovative Pathways: Evaluating the Contributions of AI-Blockchain Integration to Sustainable Development Goals
This paper examines the scientific research on Innovation, financial technology (fin-tech), and Blockchain in relation to achieving sustainable development goals, published over the past two decades using the Scopus database. The research aims to uncover prevailing and emerging themes associated with technology and sustainability. This study employs a bibliometric approach to evaluate the progression of scholarly work in the field. It utilizes various techniques such as Bradford's Law, bibliographic coupling, thematic mapping, conceptual structural mapping, and co-word analysis. The results, highlighted through Bradford's Law, reveal that the journal "Sustainability (Switzerland)" ranks first, followed by "Technological Forecasting and Social Change" in second place. Out of seven identified clusters, two major clusters focus on technology (including Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Digitalization, and Technological Innovation) and the environment (such as Climate Change, Environmental Policy, Green Innovation, and Sustainable Development Goals). The co-word analysis highlights a gradual integration of digital technologies, like artificial intelligence and Blockchain, into sustainable development initiatives, particularly climate change, environmental policy, and green innovation. The study uses citation data to identify the most influential authors, articles, journals, institutions, and countries based on citation impact. Additionally, it explores existing gaps in the research and proposes potential future research directions.
Green Entrepreneurship Research: A Comprehensive Bibliometric Analysis and Knowledge Mapping
Green entrepreneurship has emerged as a vital research domain that integrates entrepreneurial innovation with environmental sustainability and sustainable economic development. This study aims to systematically map the global research landscape of green entrepreneurship using bibliometric techniques based on 589 publications retrieved from the Scopus database covering the period 2002–2026. The dataset was analyzed using Biblioshiny and VOSviewer to examine publication trends, influential authors, leading publication sources, international collaboration networks, thematic evolution, and keyword co-occurrence patterns. The findings reveal a remarkable annual growth rate of 20.09%, with a substantial increase in publications after 2020, indicating rapidly expanding scholarly interest in the field. China and India emerged as the most productive countries, while Sustainability (Switzerland) was identified as the leading publication source. The thematic and keyword analyses demonstrate that sustainable development, green economy, green innovation, entrepreneurial orientation, and environmental performance constitute the principal knowledge domains, whereas green entrepreneurial intention and entrepreneurship education represent emerging research themes with considerable future potential. The study also highlights extensive international collaboration and the increasingly multidisciplinary nature of green entrepreneurship research, spanning entrepreneurship, sustainability, innovation, environmental management, and policy studies. The findings provide valuable insights into the intellectual structure, research trends, and future directions of green entrepreneurship, offering practical implications for researchers, policymakers, educators, and practitioners seeking to promote sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems.
Enhancing Career Readiness through Digital Literacy: Challenges, Strategies, and Best Practices
Digital literacy has become a fundamental competency for career readiness in the contemporary digital economy. However, women, particularly those from rural and marginalized communities, continue to face significant barriers in acquiring digital skills and accessing employment opportunities. This study examines the impact of digital literacy on women's career readiness, evaluates the inclusiveness of existing educational and training programmes, and identifies challenges and best practices for fostering women's career development. A qualitative research approach was adopted using secondary data from peer-reviewed literature, government reports, policy documents, and industry publications. Additionally, a case study of Sudha Murty's Village Adoption Mission was analysed to provide insights into digital skill development and workforce preparedness among rural women. The findings reveal that digital literacy is a critical determinant of employability and career readiness; however, a substantial gap exists between the digital competencies imparted through education and those demanded by the labour market. Women face additional challenges, including inadequate digital infrastructure, limited internet connectivity, shortage of skilled trainers, and socio-cultural constraints that restrict access to digital learning. The study highlights the need for gender-responsive digital training programmes, improved digital infrastructure, and inclusive policy interventions to bridge the digital skills gap and promote equitable career opportunities for women.
Value Creation through Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions: Evidence from Selected Indian Companies
Cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) have become one of the key options for Indian firms to expand abroad, gain access to technology and markets. The purpose of this research paper is to investigate the evidence of value creation in cross-border M&As by the Indian firms, both in the short-term and in the long-term in terms of shareholder value. After an exhaustive literature search of empirical studies of the period 2000-2026, the paper is able to synthesize the results of various methods of measurement such as event studies and accounting based performance measures. The evidence is mixed: some studies show that the cross-border acquisitions by Indian firms generate substantial shareholder value, especially in technology-intensive industries and acquisitions in the developed markets, while others studies failed to report any statistically significant value creation. Some factors affecting the value creation are: cultural distance, size of the deal, the nature of the target industry and the acquirer's strategic goals. Pharmaceuticals and information technology are clear examples of sectors where the cross-border M&As have helped to expand R&D capabilities and to gain market share globally. The paper suggests that value creation by cross-border M&As of Indian firms depends on the deal-specific factors and strategic orientation of the deal and not automatically and has implications for managers and policymakers.
Emotional Intelligence and Quality of Work Life in Digital Workplaces: A Conceptual Framework Integrating Digital Work Stress and Digital Resilience
Digital transformation has fundamentally changed organizational work systems by integrating artificial intelligence, cloud computing, digital collaboration platforms, automation, and advanced communication technologies into everyday business operations. While these developments have improved organizational efficiency and flexibility, they have simultaneously introduced new psychological demands that challenge employee well-being. Continuous digital connectivity, information overload, virtual collaboration, and rapidly evolving technological systems have contributed to increasing levels of digital work stress, making the maintenance of employees' Quality of Work Life (QWL) a significant organizational concern. Existing studies have examined emotional intelligence, digital work stress, digital resilience, and Quality of Work Life largely as independent constructs, resulting in fragmented theoretical explanations of employee adaptation within digitally transformed workplaces. This paper develops an integrated conceptual framework that synthesizes these constructs using the Job Demands–Resources (JD–R) Theory and the Conservation of Resources (COR) Theory. The framework proposes that emotional intelligence functions as a critical personal resource that enables employees to regulate emotional responses and cope effectively with digital work demands, while digital resilience strengthens employees' capacity to recover from technological disruptions and sustain workplace well-being. Four conceptual postulates are advanced to guide future empirical investigations and theoretical refinement. The paper contributes to organizational behaviour and digital workplace literature by offering a multidisciplinary perspective that links psychological resources with digital work demands. It also discusses theoretical contributions, managerial implications, and future research directions for promoting sustainable employee well-being during organizational digital transformation.
“Dollar Dominance and Rupee Resilience: Assessing the Impact of Geopolitical Shocks on India’s Currency and Stock Markets”
The world is seeing more problems between countries and this is changing the way money moves around the world. Things like the financial problem in 2008 the trade issues between the US and China the COVID-19 pandemic, the war between Russia and Ukraine and the troubles in the Middle East have shown that when countries are not getting along it can affect how much money is worth in different countries how much money is moving around what things cost and how well the stock market is doing. India is a country that is still growing and it is very connected to the rest of the world when it comes to trade and money. The Indian financial markets are very sensitive to these kinds of problems. The US dollar is still the currency in the world so when the value of the US dollar compared to the Indian rupee changes it can have a big impact on Indias financial markets. This study is about how problems between countries affect the value of money the stock market and Indias economy. The study uses the Geopolitical Risk Index to measure tension between countries. It looks at how the value of the US dollar compared to the rupee is changing. It also looks at how the main stock market indexes in India like the Sensex, Nifty 50 and Bank Nifty doing. The study wants to understand how problems between countries affect the stock market and make it more unpredictable. Problems between countries can affect the stock market directly. They can also affect the stock market through changes in the value of money like the US dollar and the Indian rupee. It shows that the currency market is an important way that global problems can affect the stock market in countries that are still growing like India.
Digital Transformation in Human Resource Management through HR Analytics: Evidence from Manufacturing Organisations in Dakshina Kannada
Human Resource Management has transformed from an administrative function into a strategic business partner due to the increasing adoption of digital Technologies. HR Analytics has emerged as a key driving force of this digital transformation by enabling organisations to leverage employee data for informed decision-making, enhanced operational efficiency and enhanced employee outcomes. Workforce productivity and organisational agility are critical in the manufacturing sector for integrating HR analytics into HR practices, which can significantly strengthen talent management and support sustainable organisational productivity and performance. This study examines the role of HR analytics in facilitating digital transformation in Human Resource management and its impact on employee performance in manufacturing organisations in Dakshina Kannada. The study uses a quantitative, descriptive research design and collects primary data from HR Managers and employees in certain organisations in the public and private sectors. A structured questionnaire has been designed with a five-point Likert scale to gather information for the study. To explore the relationship between HR analytics and digital transformation and employee performance, the study suggests using statistical methods such as descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, correlation, regression and comparison analysis. The results will indicate improvement in hiring decisions, performance management, Human Resource Planning, employee engagement, learning and development and strategic HR decision-making, which shows how effective use of analytics greatly supports digital transformation in HRM. The survey also highlights technical readiness, resistance to change and digital skills as obstacles to digital HR transformation. The paper provides empirical data from manufacturing organisations in Dakshina Kannada, adding to the growing knowledge on digital HR transformation. It also offers practical advice for managers looking for the adoption and implementation of HR Analytics to enhance employee performance and productivity to achieve a lasting competitive advantage.
The Impact of Socio-Economic Factors in Promoting Adventure Tourism Across South Asian Countries
Adventure tourism is a type of tourism that involves travel to explore and enjoy outdoor activities and interactions with natural environments. The region of South Asia is home to a range of geographical features including the Himalayan Mountains, coastlines along the Indian Ocean, dense forests and extensive deserts. Many adventure tourism opportunities exist within this region due to its varied geography. This research paper examines the socioeconomic factors that have impacted the development of adventure tourism in South Asian countries like India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The research used a qualitative research methodology to analyze socioeconomic factors such as economic development, income levels, infrastructure, education, social norms, governance and community participation. The research suggests that while higher disposable incomes and a rising middle class are driving demand for adventure tourism both locally and globally, success isn't automatic. It really depends on having the right infrastructure, solid policies, and fair involvement from local communities. We still face significant hurdles, including poverty, environmental damage, bureaucratic red tape, and safety issues. Ultimately, the study argues that a collaborative approach is essential. By balancing economic goals with cultural preservation and environmental care, the region can truly unlock the benefits of adventure tourism and improve the lives of local people.
Why We Scroll, Why We Buy: Applying S-O-R and Uses-and-Gratifications Theory to Examine Social Media–Induced Purchase Decisions of Gen Z
Increasing social media use by Generation Z has rendered this channel as the primary source of discovering new products. Thus, this study examine the role social media platforms play in influencing the actual purchase behaviour of GenZ consumers, by integrating the Stimulus-Organism-Response framework with the Uses and Gratification Theory. Based on the quantitative approach, the study analyses the behaviour based on the primary data collected using five point Likert scale. Out of the 412 samples collected throughout India, after cleaning and processing, final study was done on 387 samples. Structural Equation Modelling was used to analyse the impact of informativeness, entertainment, interactivity, and credibility on customer gratification, studied under hedonic, informational, and social gratification, and finally on the actual purchase behaviour as the outcome. All the social media variables were found to have a significant impact on the customer gratification experiences, and this gratification in turn collectively had a positive impact on the actual purchase behaviour. Informational gratification was identified as the major predictor. Further, the results also established the mediating role of gratification dimensions, highlighting the role of cognitive, social and affective pathways on digital persuasion. The study shifts the focus from purchase intention to actual purchase decision, offering a mechanism based explanation for social media engagements being translated into consumption outcomes.
Global Tax Compliance Challenges in the Digital Economy: Legal and Regulatory Perspectives
The digitalization of economic activity has fundamentally destabilized the century-old international tax framework built on the concepts of physical presence and permanent establishment, enabling multinational digital enterprises to generate substantial revenue within a jurisdiction while maintaining little or no taxable nexus there under traditional rules. This paper examines the legal and regulatory response to this challenge, tracing its evolution from the OECD's 2015 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Action 1 report through the 2021 Two-Pillar Solution negotiated within the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework, comprising Pillar One's reallocation of taxing rights over a portion of large multinationals' profits to market jurisdictions and Pillar Two's 15% global minimum corporate tax implemented through the Global Anti-Base Erosion (GloBE) Model Rules. The review further examines the European Union's unilateral Digital Services Tax proposals, the fragmented landscape of unilateral digital services taxes subsequently adopted by individual states, and the parallel domestic doctrinal shift illustrated by the United States Supreme Court's 2018 decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., which replaced the physical-presence nexus standard with an economic-nexus standard for state sales tax purposes. A comparative legal methodology is employed, analyzing primary regulatory instruments, judicial doctrine, and comparative national implementation alongside compliance-cost and revenue-impact evidence reported by international bodies and professional services literature. Reported findings indicate that while the Two-Pillar framework has achieved unprecedented multilateral consensus, with over 135 jurisdictions party to the 2021 agreement and Pillar Two rules now in force in more than 50 jurisdictions as of early 2025, its implementation remains materially destabilized by the United States' January 2025 withdrawal from the Pillar One negotiations and the EU's consequent consideration of reviving its unilateral Digital Services Tax, illustrating that the underlying jurisdictional conflict BEPS Action 1 first identified in 2015 remains legally and politically unresolved a decade later. The paper concludes by discussing compliance-cost implications for multinational enterprises, unresolved double-taxation risk from overlapping unilateral and multilateral regimes, and the prospects for durable international tax coordination in the digital economy.
Marketing Performance of Micro Enterprises in the Ready-To-Cook Segment of the Food Processing Industry
The Ready-to-Cook (RTC) food segment has emerged as one of the fastest-growing sectors within the food processing industry, driven by rapid urbanization, changing consumer lifestyles, increasing workforce participation, and growing demand for convenient yet nutritious food products. In India, micro enterprises play a pivotal role in the RTC segment by promoting value addition to agricultural produce, generating employment, and supporting rural economic development. However, despite their significant contribution, these enterprises face persistent marketing challenges, including limited branding capabilities, inadequate digital marketing adoption, fragmented distribution networks, financial constraints, and intense competition from organized food manufacturers. Against this backdrop, the present study examines the marketing performance of micro enterprises operating in the Ready-to-Cook segment of the food processing industry through a comprehensive analysis of authentic secondary data. The study adopts a descriptive and analytical research design, utilizing data collected from government reports, international organizations, industry publications, and peer-reviewed Scopus-indexed literature published between 2016 and 2025. The conceptual framework is developed by integrating the Resource-Based View (RBV) and Market Orientation Theory to explain how internal organizational capabilities and external market conditions influence marketing performance. The findings indicate that digital marketing adoption, branding capability, efficient distribution systems, changing consumer preferences, and institutional support are the primary drivers of marketing performance among RTC micro enterprises. Furthermore, government initiatives such as the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme, the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme, and the One District One Product (ODOP) initiative have significantly strengthened the operational ecosystem for micro enterprises, although greater emphasis on marketing capability development and digital transformation remains necessary. The study contributes to the existing literature by synthesizing evidence from diverse secondary sources and providing an integrated understanding of marketing performance within the RTC food processing sector. The findings offer valuable implications for entrepreneurs, policymakers, industry stakeholders, and researchers by identifying strategic interventions that can enhance market competitiveness, enterprise sustainability, and long-term growth. The study also establishes a foundation for future empirical investigations into marketing performance within India's rapidly expanding Ready-to-Cook food industry.
A Study on Navigating the AI Revolution: Impacts and Challenges in Indian Educational Institutes
This research examines how much integration of artificial intelligence (AI) is possible in Indian educational institutions by looking at awareness levels, perceived relevance, preparedness, and adoption hurdles. Primary data were collected from 40 respondents—administrators, students, and faculty—using a structured Google Form survey. Statistical studies revealed moderate awareness and readiness, and accessibility and readiness correlated significantly (p < 0.05). Faculty, however, did more understand compared to administrators and students, suggesting that there is a knowledge gap among their roles. The results, based on the research, found important obstacles that are consistent globally, including high prices, lack of technical know-how, and privacy concerns. But a number of socioeconomic problems make the adoption of AI more difficult in India—there is unequal resource distribution. Regression analysis (R2 = 0.62) demonstrated that awareness and training availability were dominant predictors of preparedness, with the requirement for focused interventions highlighted. By bringing together the insights from my interviews, their mapping, and previous research that focus on developing countries, I fill a significant knowledge vacuum on AI adoption in underdeveloped countries and hence provide practical suggestions such as legislative frameworks, infrastructure development, and AI literacy initiatives. The potential of these can be gained by AI’s revolutionary potential in tackling these issues; making use of it in Indian educational institutions can improve teaching, learning, and also administrative effectiveness.
Artificial Intelligence Literacy and Graduate Employability: A Cross-Disciplinary Study
Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the skills that employers expect from university graduates, prompting renewed attention to AI literacy as a determinant of employability. This paper synthesizes recent theoretical and empirical literature to examine how AI literacy relates to graduate employability across disciplinary contexts, including business and management, STEM fields, and the humanities and social sciences. Drawing on established AI literacy frameworks and graduate employability models, the paper argues that AI literacy functions less as a standalone technical competency than as a meta-skill that interacts with self-efficacy, career adaptability, and discipline-specific practice to shape labour-market readiness. Evidence reviewed indicates that AI-literate students report greater career adaptability and confidence navigating AI-mediated work, but that the strength and nature of this relationship varies markedly by discipline, institutional support, and access to applied learning opportunities. The paper also identifies a persistent gap between employer expectations of AI-related competence and graduates' self-assessed readiness, alongside equity concerns tied to uneven access to AI education across fields of study. The paper concludes with recommendations for embedding cross-disciplinary AI literacy instruction, applied assessment, and employer-linked learning pathways into higher education curricula to strengthen graduate employability in an AI-mediated labour market.
Digital Technology Adoption and Economic Decision-Making in Urban Agriculture Enterprises: A Systematic Review
Urban agriculture enterprises (UAEs) have been increasingly encouraged as a commercial response to urbanization, the scarcity of peri-urban land and the growing demand for fresh, high value produce. The sustainability of UAEs' economy is always a worry. The literature has been very positive about the potential of technological innovation, controlled-environment agriculture, hydroponics, and the use of IoT and digital platforms for monitoring and controlling operations to address the structural cost and land limitations of urban enterprises, but there is a lack of comprehensive synthesis of the relationship between technology adoption and enterprise-level economic sustainability. This review fills this gap by providing a structured thematic literature review based on the principles of PRISMA 2020. Nine core academic sources were identified using a transparent keyword-based search and screening process and analyzed using deductive thematic coding. Based on the literature reviewed to date, the methodology has been disjointed: the general reviews of urban agriculture have not focused on the economic sustainability of urban agriculture; the economic reviews have been limited to OECD countries; and the technology reviews or agri-SME reviews have not distinguished urban commercial enterprises as a separate population. We combine four technology domains on three mediating economic mechanisms, and conclude that capital cost and digital literacy are the most significant barriers to adoption, and that there is a clear evidence gap on developing-economy contexts, particularly the exotic fruit and vegetable urban enterprise sub-sector in India. A conceptual framework and future research agenda are presented.
Educational Privatization and Girl’s Education Outcomes: A Study of Nuh District
Education is an indispensable part of every individual’s life. Only an educated individual makes up an educated society. It can be said that girl’s education is not only a necessity for them but a means by which they can contribute towards the betterment and development of their society. Educational privatization can be defined as the involvement of private bodies in education. This global trend is driven by various factors including increasing demand for education, evolving educational needs and government policies that encourage private sector participation. This research paper is based on feasibility study conducted on 133 respondents includes parents, teachers and students in Nuh district. The data are used to explore educational privatization and its impact on girl’s education while also accessing the suitability of the research instrument for a large study. A five-point Likert scale structured questionnaire was distributed to respondents. Cronbach’s Alpha is used for reliability analysis while Kmo and Bartlett’s test is used to examine validity along with Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). The Kmo shows 0.755 value and significant Bartlett’s test confirm data suitability for factor analysis. Cronbach’s alpha value is above 0.70 that is reliable and acceptable. The study includes 10 questions and observes three main factors – access and availability, quality of education and privatization in education that affects girl’s education.
Consumer Insight on Electric Vehicles for Sustainable and Green Mobility
The increasing population has resulted in the demand of sustainable transportation and there is increasing interest in electric vehicles (EVs) as an environment-friendly alternative to conventional automobiles. The study analyses consumers’ awareness and perceptions of electric cars (EVs) and their contribution to sustainable and green mobility. This study has been conducted in the form of descriptive research design and primary data has been obtained from 150 respondents through structured questionnaire. The data acquired were examined using correlation, regression, ANOVA and one sample t-test. Results showed that consumer awareness was positively related to consumer perception and that consumer perception had a strong beneficial effect on green mobility. The study finalised the substantial positive link between consumer awareness and also consumer perception (r = 0.609, p < 0.05), where increased awareness is associated with increased perception of electric vehicles. Regression analysis indicates that consumer perception is significant on green mobility (R2= 0.428, P value=0.001), which gives the result of 42.8% dependent variable varies from the independent variable. The F table also shows that the regression model is fit. The one sample t-test indicates the respondents’ high level of awareness, positive perception and high recognition of the role of electric vehicles in attaining sustainable and green mobility. The results also demonstrate that the respondents have high level of awareness, positive opinions and good recognition of the necessity of electric vehicles for sustainable mobility. The study indicates that increased consumer awareness, improvement in charging infrastructure and continued government assistance may help enhance the adoption of electric vehicles and promote sustainable and green mobility. The research urges awareness efforts, an expansion of charging infrastructure and ongoing government incentives to speed up the shift to sustainable mobility.
Language, Discourse, and Professional Communication: An English Studies Approach to Contemporary Contexts
Professional communication has traditionally been studied through the applied, skills-oriented lens of business communication pedagogy, yet the linguistic and rhetorical structures underlying workplace writing, speech, and digital interaction are equally amenable to the theoretical tools English studies has developed for literary and everyday discourse analysis: genre theory, register theory, and rhetorical-situation analysis. This paper reviews how an English studies approach, drawing on genre theory, systemic functional linguistics, and workplace discourse analysis, illuminates the language practices of contemporary professional environments, from traditional memos and reports through email, instant messaging, and LinkedIn profiles. The review synthesizes foundational genre theory, the rhetorical genre studies tradition, corpus-based business discourse research, and the growing literature on digitally mediated workplace communication, with particular attention to how genre conventions stabilize, hybridize, and fracture as communication migrates from paper-based to platform-based channels. The paper also considers the plain language movement as a case study in applied English studies intervention into professional genres historically resistant to reader-centered revision. A glossary table defines the field's core theoretical terms, a second table contrasts the formal features of traditional and digitally mediated professional genres, and a third maps English-studies theory onto concrete pedagogical applications for professional and technical communication instruction. The paper concludes that genre, rather than medium or channel, remains the most stable analytical unit for understanding professional communication as it continues to migrate across new technological platforms, and identifies hybrid-genre and multimodal professional literacy as the central future research prospect.
Transfer Pricing Regulations and Cross-Border Tax Risk Management in Multinational Enterprises
Transfer pricing, the pricing of transactions between related entities of a multinational enterprise (MNE) operating across different tax jurisdictions, sits at the center of contemporary international corporate tax policy, since the allocation of profit among a group's affiliates directly determines how much tax each jurisdiction ultimately collects. This paper reviews the regulatory architecture and empirical evidence base surrounding transfer pricing, tracing the development of the OECD's arm's-length principle and Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) framework alongside the substantial empirical literature quantifying the scale of tax-motivated profit shifting by multinational enterprises. The review synthesizes foundational profit-shifting studies using U.S. and cross-country data, more recent large-sample estimates of global missing profits, and the applied literature on cross-border tax risk management, including documentation requirements, advance pricing agreements, and dispute resolution mechanisms. Particular attention is given to the transition from the OECD's original arm's-length, transaction-based framework toward the Pillar One and Pillar Two reforms that partially depart from that framework in response to documented profit-shifting magnitudes. Distinct comparative tables trace the regulatory timeline against its stated objectives, summarize empirical profit-shifting magnitude estimates across studies, and map specific tax-risk categories onto corresponding risk-management instruments available to multinational enterprises. The paper concludes that transfer pricing regulation has evolved reactively, in response to empirically documented profit-shifting magnitudes that consistently exceeded what the arm's-length framework was designed to prevent, and identifies the implementation and enforcement consistency of the Pillar Two global minimum tax as the central future research prospect.
A Study of Effective Talent Management Strategies for Attracting and Retaining Right Talent in the Healthcare Sector
Healthcare organizations worldwide face a persistent and intensifying gap between the demand for skilled clinical and administrative personnel and the available supply, a gap that directly threatens patient safety, service quality, and institutional sustainability. This research paper examines the strategies healthcare organizations use to attract and retain the "right talent" individuals whose competencies, values, and career expectations align with the clinical and organizational demands of the sector. Drawing on a review of academic and industry literature together with a structured analysis of practice across public and private healthcare providers, the study identifies eight core talent management functions workforce planning, employer branding and recruitment, on boarding, learning and development, compensation and benefits, performance management, career pathing and succession, and employee well-being and evaluates their relative influence on attraction and retention outcomes. The findings indicate that retention in healthcare is driven less by compensation alone than by a combination of professional development opportunity, manager quality, scheduling flexibility, and protection against burnout, while attraction is increasingly shaped by employer brand and the perceived alignment between an organization's stated values and its day-to-day practice. The paper concludes with a set of practical recommendations for healthcare human resource leaders and proposes directions for future research, including longitudinal study of retention interventions and comparative analysis across healthcare systems of different sizes and ownership structures.
Public Awareness and Perception of Guerrilla Marketing: Implications for Small Businesses in Chennai
Guerrilla marketing has attracted growing interest from academics and practitioners as a cost-effective alternative to traditional advertising, especially among SMEs operating in resource-constrained environments. This study examines public awareness and consumer perception of guerrilla marketing strategies and investigates their impact on purchase behaviour among 110 consumers in Chennai. A quantitative descriptive design was used, with primary data collected via a structured Likert-scale questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, one-way ANOVA with Tukey HSD post-hoc comparisons, and multiple regression analysis were employed. Results indicate that both awareness and perception are positively and significantly correlated with purchase intention (r = .558 and r = .466, respectively; p < .001), while the intercorrelation between awareness and perception was negligible and non-significant (r = .050, p = .606). Multiple regression identified both predictors as independently significant: awareness (β = .536, p < .001) was the stronger predictor and perception (β = .439, p < .001) was the secondary predictor. The final two-predictor model accounted for 50.3% of variance in purchase intention (R² = .503, F[2, 107] = 54.218, p < .001). ANOVA tests revealed no significant group differences across age, educational qualification, internet usage, or residential area. Gender produced a significant difference in perception only (F[1, 108] = 4.407, p = .038). Findings indicate that both campaign recognition and perceptual evaluation independently drive purchase intention, with practical implications for guerrilla marketing strategy design.
Prioritizing Key Success Factors for the Integration of Digital Financial Literacy among Rural Women Entrepreneurs: An AHP Approach
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify and prioritize the key success factors influencing the integration of digital financial literacy among rural women entrepreneurs. The research aims to develop a structured framework that supports effective adoption and sustained use of digital financial services, thereby enhancing entrepreneurial participation and financial inclusion. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study employs a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) approach using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to systematically evaluate and prioritize the identified success factors. Expert judgments were collected through structured pairwise comparisons from academicians, financial inclusion professionals, and practitioners involved in rural entrepreneurship and digital finance. Findings: The results reveal that Access to Digital Infrastructure, Digital Financial Literacy Training, and Access to Financial Products are the most influential factors driving effective integration of digital financial literacy among rural women entrepreneurs. Factors such as Awareness campaigns and Local Community Support play a moderate role, while Government Policy Support, Institutional Support, and Social Support exert a comparatively indirect influence. Implications: The findings provide practical insights for policymakers, financial institutions, and development agencies to design targeted and resource-efficient digital financial literacy interventions focused on high-impact drivers. Originality: This study offers a novel prioritization-based framework for digital financial literacy integration among rural women entrepreneurs using AHP, contributing actionable insights beyond descriptive analyses.
Strategic Talent Management and Business Sustainability: Examining Organisational Success in Competitive Markets
In an increasingly dynamic and competitive business environment, organisations are recognising strategic talent management as a critical driver of sustainable competitive advantage and long-term business sustainability. The ability to attract, develop, engage, and retain high-performing employees has become essential for improving organisational resilience, innovation, operational efficiency, and overall business performance. This review paper critically examines the relationship between strategic talent management practices and business sustainability by synthesising contemporary literature from the fields of human resource management, strategic management, and organisational behaviour. The study explores key dimensions of talent management, including talent acquisition, employee development, succession planning, performance management, employee engagement, and retention strategies, and evaluates their influence on economic, social, and organisational sustainability outcomes. Adopting a qualitative review methodology, the paper analyses recent scholarly contributions to identify prevailing theoretical perspectives, emerging trends, and research gaps within the existing body of knowledge. The findings indicate that organisations implementing integrated and strategically aligned talent management frameworks consistently achieve higher levels of organisational performance, workforce adaptability, innovation capability, employee commitment, and sustainable growth. Furthermore, digital transformation, data-driven human resource analytics, and inclusive talent management practices have emerged as significant enablers of sustainable organisational success in rapidly evolving competitive markets. The study concludes that strategic talent management should be embedded within organisational strategy rather than treated solely as a human resource function. By providing a comprehensive synthesis of existing research, this paper offers valuable theoretical insights and practical implications for business leaders, policymakers, and human resource professionals seeking to strengthen organisational sustainability through effective talent management strategies. The review also identifies future research directions to advance scholarly understanding of talent management within the context of changing global business environments.
Behavioural Biases and Digital Investment Decision-Making Among Retail Investors: Evidence from Emerging Financial Markets
The rapid advancement of digital financial technologies has significantly transformed investment practices, enabling retail investors to access financial markets through online trading platforms, mobile applications, and fintech-enabled investment services. Despite these technological advancements, investment decisions are often influenced by behavioural biases that may lead to irrational financial choices. The present study examines the influence of behavioural biases on digital investment decision-making among retail investors in emerging financial markets. Specifically, the study investigates the impact of overconfidence bias, herding bias, loss aversion, anchoring bias, and confirmation bias on investors' digital investment decisions. The study adopts a descriptive and analytical research design using a quantitative research approach. Primary data were collected through a structured questionnaire from 400 retail investors selected using a purposive sampling technique. The collected data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2021 by employing statistical tools such as frequency analysis, percentage analysis, mean, standard deviation, weighted mean, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression analysis. The findings reveal that all selected behavioural biases have a significant positive influence on digital investment decision-making. Among the behavioural biases, loss aversion emerged as the most influential factor, followed by overconfidence bias, confirmation bias, herding bias, and anchoring bias. The regression analysis indicates that behavioural biases collectively explain a substantial proportion of the variation in digital investment decision-making among retail investors. The study concludes that although digital investment platforms enhance accessibility and convenience, investor psychology continues to play a crucial role in shaping investment behaviour. The findings offer valuable implications for retail investors, financial institutions, fintech companies, policymakers, and regulators in designing investor education programmes and promoting rational investment behaviour within emerging financial markets.
An SEM Analysis of Organizational, External, and Group Stressors Influencing Work-Based Quality of Work Life among Chartered Accountants
The present study examines the effect of work related stress on quality of work life (QWL) of Chartered Accountants (CAs) in Bengaluru, India. As accounting professionals continue to encounter mounting job demands, technological disruptions, and regulatory pressures, comprehending the impact of stressors on well-being and satisfaction is of great importance. The study conceptualises three main dimensions of stress, namely, organisational, external and group, and analyses their collective impact on work based QWL, which includes esteem, actualisation, knowledge, aesthetic needs and organisational culture.A structured questionnaire was administered amongst 70 Chartered Accountants and the responses obtained were analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) through AMOS software. The study concludes that excessive workload, job insecurity and the lack of support systems are important determinants of stress among CAs. Improving organizational support, encouraging work-life balance, and creating supportive team environments can significantly improve their quality of work life. The results add to the scarce literature on QWL in the accounting profession and provide practical information for policy makers, organisations and professional organisations in designing interventions that guarantee sustainable mental well-being and job satisfaction among Chartered Accountants.
Venture Capital Contracts and Startup Success: An Empirical Study of Governance Rights and Founder Autonomy
Venture capital (VC) financing is distinguished from most other forms of corporate finance by the sheer contractual complexity attached to a single investment round: convertible preferred stock, board seat allocation, vesting schedules, anti-dilution protection, redemption rights, and staged capital commitments are combined and recombined to allocate cash-flow rights, control rights, and board representation separately from one another rather than bundling them into a single ownership stake. This paper reviews the empirical corporate finance literature on venture capital contract design, tracing the field from its foundational large-sample contract-term studies through the more recent literature examining how governance rights allocation affects founder autonomy, board dynamics, and ultimate startup outcomes. The review synthesizes evidence on staged financing and control-right contingency, the professionalization effects of VC board involvement, the renegotiation of contractual rights around exit events, and recent evidence on founder-versus-investor control of the ultimate decision to take a company public. Particular attention is given to the empirical finding that governance rights in VC contracts are typically state-contingent, shifting from founder to investor control specifically when a startup underperforms, rather than fixed at the initial investment date. Distinct comparative tables trace the empirical literature chronologically against its data source and central finding, map specific VC contract terms onto the governance function each term performs, and set out the founder-autonomy trade-offs associated with accepting VC financing at different startup life-cycle stages. The paper concludes that the empirical evidence supports contingent, rather than fixed, control allocation as the central mechanism through which VC contracts balance founder autonomy against investor governance needs, and identifies the effect of recent late-stage "unicorn" governance practices on this contingent-control model as the central future research prospect.
GreenAI: Smart AI-Based Electricity Bill Analyzer and Energy Saver
Electricity users in India, households and businesses alike regularly receive bills higher than expected, mainly because they have no way to track their usage in real time. This paper presents GreenAI, a publicly deployed web app that takes electricity meter readings from a CSV file, runs them through a machine learning model, and returns four useful outputs: a predicted next reading, an estimated monthly bill in INR, a CO₂ emissions figure, and a Green Score that communicates energy efficiency in a way anyone can understand. The backend is built in Python using FastAPI to handle requests and SGDRegressor from scikit-learn to learn from new data over time, deployed on Render. The frontend is a React.js web app built with Vite, styled with Tailwind CSS, and deployed on Vercel. Validation against two real-world datasets - a household dataset and a large industrial or factory-scale dataset, shows how the system handles very different types of energy consumers: a household consumer achieved a Green Score of 91 (Excellent Efficiency), whereas the industrial dataset yielded a Green Score of 51 (Needs Improvement), an average daily consumption of 216.77 kWh, and an AI-forecast next reading of 318.21 kWh. The results confirm that ML-assisted energy monitoring can be made accessible across consumer categories without any data science background.
Systematic Literature Review of AI-Powered Computing and Digital Transformation from the Standpoint of Flipped Classrooms and Blended Learning for Higher Education
At the core of Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) evolution is digital transformation, a process that goes beyond merely adopting digital tools to fundamentally restructuring institutional workflows, pedagogical methodologies, and student engagement models. Concurrently, the maturity of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered computing-encompassing machine learning, natural language processing, predictive analytics, and computer vision-has provided the technological infrastructure necessary to realize highly personalized, scalable, and data-driven educational frameworks. Traditional, lecture-heavy instructional models are increasingly proving inadequate for developing the critical thinking, problem-solving, and lifelonglearning competencies required in the modern workforce. Consequently, learner-centric pedagogical frameworks have gained significant traction. Among these, the flipped classroom model and blended learning environments stand out as premier strategies for optimizing higher education. The flipped classroom model inverts traditional instruction by delivering informational content outside of class hours (often via digital media), thereby freeing up synchronous class time for active, collaborative, and experiential learning. Blended learning broadens this scope by systematically integrating face-to-face instruction with online learning, creating a flexible, cohesive and multimodal educational experience. While the individual merits of AI-powered computing, digital transformation, flippedclassrooms, and blended learning are extensively documented, their intersection remains fragmented in current literature. Higher education institutions frequently deploy advanced AI tools without aligning them with active learning taxonomies, or conversely, design blended curricula that fail to leverage the computational power of modern AI infrastructure. This Systematic Literature Review(SLR) addresses this critical gap by synthesizing global research from the past decade, this study investigates how AI-powered computing acts as a catalyst for digital transformation specifically through the lens of flipped and blended learning environments in higher education.
Digital Literacy's Contribution to Career Sustainability: A Mediating Model of Work-Life Balance in a Sample of Tamil Nadu Banking Sector Employees
The study focuses on how work-life balance and digital literacy could enhance career sustainability in Tamil Nadu's banking sector. To remain competitive in the face of the rapid digital revolution, banking employees must continuously improve their knowledge of technology. Using a standardized questionnaire, 515 respondents from banks in the public and private sectors provide data for the quantitative analysis. SmartPLS is used in structural equation modelling (SEM) to investigate the connections between digital literacy, work-life balance, and career sustainability. Employees who are proficient in digital literacy are better able to manage their personal and professional responsibilities, which significantly affects work-life balance, according to the survey. Digital literacy has no direct impact on a career's sustainability. Finding a balance between work and personal life can have a significant long-term impact on career advancement and stability. The study's findings demonstrate that sustainable careers in the banking industry are impacted by employee well-being and a healthy lifestyle. In order to improve employee satisfaction, productivity, and career progression, the report provides useful insights for why companies should give priority to investing in digital skills and bringing work-life balance policies into practice.
Impact of Macroeconomic Variables on Price Volatility with Special Reference to NSE Nifty Fifty Indices
Stock market and fluctuations in share prices are the great reflectors of economic conditions of a country. In India, two stock markets played role in showing economic progression of the country to the entire world. Normally stock prices are highly influenced by macroeconomic variables. In the study, national stock exchange’s major price index NSE nifty fifty has taken as dependent variable and five macroeconomic variables like imports, exports FDI, FIIs and crude oil have taken as independent variables. Five years data collected from 2017 to 2022 have taken from various website sources as secondary data. The statistical tools used for the study is mean, standard deviation, correlation and regression for the analysis of data. The results of the study also evidenced that, selected macroeconomic variables have significant impact on NSE nifty price volatility during the study period.
Empirical Exploration of Talent Management Practices and performance of an Employee
Present global era, the intense of competition significantly increasing the essence of “talent management practices” is one of key for sustainability. Since 19th century to recent era there was a continues development from factory system to “talent management system”. The study focused on “talent management practices” and performance of an employee along with employee satisfaction. Aim Of the Study: This study mainly focused on appreciate the important function talent management practices followed by different sectors in Karnataka. Analyze the “TMP” influence on talent development, employee motivation, engagement, retention, productivity and employee satisfaction in different sectors in Karnataka. Along with these the study aimed to identify the sector wise employee productivity and satisfaction by existing talent management practices. Methodology: This data collected by adoption of survey method with a sample size response of 60 valid from different sector through simple random techniques. The study has adopted the statistical tools such as Cranach’s alpha for reliability test, correlation between variables, regression model summary to identify the impact of variables mean differences. Findings: The present study contributes that respondents are high level of uniformity in their perception. Talent management practices are crucial & significant role in enhancing employee development, motivation, engagement as well as retention. This study found that talent management establish the strong predictors of development and outcomes. Research implication: This research is very significant because it provides empirical evidence that talent management significantly enhance the talent development. This study contributes towards significance of TM and talent development for the employee motivation. This research study will contribute to the organization to design the TMP according to the present situation. Originality of research: Present study is original in its sector wise comparative analysis of talent management this integrates the multiple outcomes variables talent development employee motivation and employee engagement. This research introduces a comprehensive model for core talent management.
AI-Enabled Pathways to Financial Inclusion in Emerging Markets: Evidence from Bibliometric Analysis
Financial technology (FinTech) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have become important drivers of financial inclusion to help reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by enabling widespread access to finance that is affordable, transparent, and inclusive. Although many of the ideas in this area are of interest in recent scholarship, the intellectual framework and new trends of research are still disjointed. This study aims to fill this gap with a thorough bibliometric analysis of the research on AI, FinTech and financial inclusion. For the analysis, peer-reviewed publications, published from 2014 to June 2026, from the Scopus database (1479) were analysed. The knowledge structure and influential contributors, collaboration networks and the development of themes were mapped using bibliometric techniques such as performance analysis, co-authorship, co-citation, bibliographic coupling and keyword co-occurrence analysis in the VOSviewer. The analysis shows that the research activity has significantly grown during the last decade, and AI-based mobile banking, digital payments, alternative credit scoring, blockchain, and digital financial services are key themes. The innovations have made financial services more accessible, lower cost, more credit available, and more transparent, especially in developing countries. The analysis also presents research trends that are emerging such as AI for financial inclusion, gender gaps in financial access, digital financial literacy, responsible AI, regulatory frameworks, and the role of FinTech in promoting sustainable development. This study not only contributes to the existing body of knowledge but also points to future research avenues that can help both the research community and financial players, like financial institutions and technology developers, drive inclusive and sustainable financial ecosystems using AI and FinTech innovations.
Shilpa Bahl, Shuchita Singh, Jaideep Sharma, Arvind Kumar Bhatt
Emotional Contagion and Student Burnout: The Role of Extraversion
In technology-mediated educational environments, both teachers and students face challenges such as ongoing adaptation, multitasking, and engagement with AI-enabled learning tools and digital platforms. These challenges frequently deplete students' energy and increase stress, which can ultimately lead to burnout. The present study examines whether extraversion moderates the relationship between emotional contagion and student burnout. Data were collected from 247 engineering students at private educational institutions using a survey questionnaire. The proposed moderation model was tested through linear regression analysis. Results indicate that emotional contagion is positively and significantly associated with student burnout, while trait extraversion demonstrates a substantial negative relationship with Burnout. Furthermore, extraversion moderates the relationship between emotional contagion and Burnout. This research contributes to the literature by highlighting the critical role of emotional contagion, particularly within AI-supported learning environments. Drawing on Conservation of Resource Theory, Job Demand–Resource (JD-R) Theory of Burnout, and Emotional Contagion Theory, the study's model was empirically tested. The findings offer educators and institutions valuable insights for implementing technology-based interventions that reduce emotional strain and foster a healthier, increasingly sustainable learning environment.
Artificial Intelligence in Training and Development: A Study on Its Impact on Employee Satisfaction in Tamil Nadu
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping the way organizations design, deliver and evaluate employee training and development (T&D) programmes. Adaptive learning platforms, AI-based skill-gap analytics, chatbot-driven coaching, virtual simulations and algorithmic performance feedback are gradually replacing or supplementing conventional, trainer-led instruction across sectors. This paper examines the impact of AI-enabled training and development practices on employee satisfaction, with specific reference to organizations operating in Tamil Nadu, a state that hosts a dense concentration of information technology, manufacturing, banking and public-sector establishments. The study adopts a descriptive-analytical design based entirely on secondary data drawn from peer-reviewed journal articles, industry reports, government case studies and Organisational surveys published between 2021 and 2026. The paper traces the conceptual evolution of AI in human resource development, reviews existing empirical literature situated in Tamil Nadu and comparable Indian contexts, and synthesizes the recurring benefits — personalization, accessibility, scalability, real-time feedback and cost efficiency — as well as the persistent concerns — algorithmic opacity, data privacy, reduced human interaction and employee apprehension about job security. The analysis suggests that AI-enabled training, when paired with adequate managerial support, transparent communication and hybrid human-AI delivery, is positively associated with employee satisfaction, engagement and perceived career growth, whereas poorly governed or purely automated implementations tend to generate scepticism and disengagement. The paper concludes with practical recommendations for HR practitioners and policymakers in Tamil Nadu and outlines directions for future primary research.
Artificial Intelligence and Social Media Induced Impulsive Buying Behavior of Facial Cosmetic Products Among Women: A Conceptual Review
The emergence of AI technologies and social media has resulted in a highly advanced digital environment that constantly encourages women to make unexpected purchases of facial cosmetics. The present conceptual review focuses solely on studies listed in Scopus. Twelve empirical and review studies were selected, conducted between 2021 and 2025, and fall into six main theoretical paradigms, namely, the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) theory, the TAM theory, the ELM theory, the CAB theory, Flow theory and Para-social Interaction theory. Besides, a critical commentary on the strong sides, weaknesses and gaps of each reviewed study has been provided. A Systematic Literature Review table based on SLR standards has been included. In addition, the paper develops a unified conceptual framework showing how AI-stimuli, including algorithmic curation, AR-enables product try-on, personalized recommendations, and targeted ads, are filtered by women’s internal psychological state, such as excitement, FOMO, hedonistic motivations, poor self-control, and lead to spontaneous purchase decisions.
Building Customer Loyalty in the Restaurant Industry: Entrepreneurial Strategies & Influencing Factors
This study aims to evaluate the essential elements of e-WOM, social media marketing, service quality, food quality, price fairness, restaurant ambience and brand image that contribute in entrepreneur to attain customer loyalty in the restaurant business. In addition, the purpose of this study was to validate the relationship between independent factors, such as social media marketing, e-WOM, service quality, food quality, ambience, price fairness and brand image, and the dependent variable, customer loyalty. This study is explained through a model utilized a simple random sample technique who dine at various multi cuisine restaurants in Udaipur (Rajasthan). The ideas have also been evaluated using Pearson's correlation test and regression analysis. All hypotheses have been found to be supported by the data, indicating that the examined variables are strongly associated with one another. Consequently, the results suggested that restaurant business should not only implement and preserve a competitive advantage in the restaurant sector, but also allocate more resources in enhancing service quality, food quality, and establishing a brand image that will ultimately lead to customer loyalty.
Pallavi Mehta, Pooja Joshi, Khushboo Sharma, Yagnaraj Manjaria
“Human Rights, Custodial Governance, and Reintegration of Under-trial Prisoners in India”
This paper empirically examines human rights compliance, prison conditions, and psychological impacts on under-trial prisoners in India using primary data from 210 respondents. In contrast, 62.9 per cent rated prison conditions as satisfactory, over half reported experiences of abuse, inadequate medical care, and significant mental health deterioration. The findings reveal systemic violations of Article 21 of the Constitution, the Nelson Mandela Rules, and Supreme Court mandates, including D.K. Basu and Inhuman Conditions in 1382 Prisons. Psychological harm, disrupted family relations, and uncertainty regarding post-release employment underscore the structural nature of custodial deprivation. By integrating empirical evidence with constitutional and international human rights analysis, the study demonstrates how carceral conditions impede dignity, rehabilitation, and reintegration, and argues for rights-based prison governance reforms.
Ravi Karhana, Deepak Migalni, Anjali Sehrawat
Impact of Employee Well-Being on the Implementation of Corporate Sustainability Strategies: Organizational Identification as a Mediating Variable
In recent years, corporate sustainability has moved beyond image-building initiatives to become a set of hard governance metrics. Yet in practice, sustainability strategies often break down across formal systems, operational processes, and everyday employee behaviors. This gap suggests that the key to execution is not only how institutions and procedures are designed, but also whether employees are willing to commit to the strategy and carry it out consistently over time. This study examines employees and supervisors in the high-tech industry in Fujian Province and analyzes 723 valid survey responses. The results indicate a well-fitting model: employee well-being significantly strengthens organizational identification; organizational identification, in turn, significantly promotes the implementation of sustainability strategies. Employee well-being also has a direct positive effect on sustainability strategy implementation, and organizational identification plays a significant mediating role. Overall, the findings suggest that the internal momentum for sustainability execution is driven by a chain mechanism in which employees’ positive psychological resources foster identity internalization, which then supports sustained and aligned action. Practically, beyond strengthening ESG systems and performance indicators, firms should treat employee well-being and organizational identification as key prerequisites for making sustainability strategies work on the ground—enhancing cross-department collaboration and improving the consistency and durability of day-to-day execution.
ESG Awareness and Sustainable Investment Decisions among Retail Investors in Bangalore, India: Evidence from a Cross-Sectional Survey
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations are increasingly relevant to individual investors, yet evidence on how ESG awareness translates into sustainable investment decisions in emerging-market retail settings remains limited. This study examines ESG awareness and sustainable investment decision-making among 200 retail investors in Bangalore (Bengaluru), India, and evaluates the roles of financial literacy, risk perception, social influence, and ethical values. A cross-sectional survey using five-point Likert-type measures was analysed through descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, factorability tests, correlations, and regression. The scales showed acceptable to strong internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = .776-.852), and factorability was supported by KMO = .871 and Bartlett's test, chi-square = 1452.36, p < .001. Mean ESG awareness was 3.82 (SD = .71), significantly above the neutral midpoint, t(199) = 16.33, p < .001, d = 1.15. ESG awareness correlated positively with environmental (r = .621), social (r = .584), and governance (r = .603) considerations and explained 46.8% of the variance in sustainable investment decisions (R = .684, R2 = .468, adjusted R2 = .462). Financial literacy (beta = .298), risk perception (beta = .214), social influence (beta = .256), and ethical values (beta = .331) were significant predictors of ESG-based investment behaviour, with ethical values showing the largest standardized effect. The findings suggest that sustainable retail investing is shaped by both ESG understanding and broader financial, social, risk, and moral considerations. The study contributes city-level evidence from an important Indian financial and technology hub and offers implications for regulators, fintech platforms, advisers, and investor education.
A Thematic Analysis of Leadership Effectiveness in the Development Sector
Leadership effectiveness research remains disproportionately anchored in corporate, market disciplined settings, leaving open how effectiveness is understood in mission driven organisations that answer to donors, governments, and beneficiaries simultaneously rather than to a single market signal. This study examines how senior development sector professionals construct and describe leadership effectiveness in their own terms. Twenty semi structured interviews were conducted with professionals holding a minimum of eight years’ leadership experience across international and national non governmental organisations (NGOs), government development programmes, corporate social responsibility (CSR) foundations, disaster and emergency response agencies, and independent policy advisory roles, recruited through purposive, maximum variation sampling supplemented by snowball referral. Data were organised using Framework Analysis (Ritchie & Spencer, 1994; Gale et al., 2013) and coded through Braun and Clarke’s (2006, 2019) six phase reflexive thematic analysis, combining sensitising codes with inductive theme development. Eight themes emerged: the redefinition of success around mission fidelity rather than output metrics; a distinctive multi principal, no market signal accountability structure; leadership style as situationally and ethically constructed rather than innate; a composite of strategic patience, moral courage, and relational intelligence; a field–headquarters divide experienced as structural strain; followership organised around presence, congruence, and advocacy; a persistent decoupling of perceived competence from actual opportunity for women; and anticipated futures centred on digitisation, distributed leadership, and staff wellbeing. The findings extend corporate derived leadership theory by identifying a beneficiary facing referee of effectiveness that has no analogue in market based accounts, and by documenting mechanisms of gendered opportunity restriction specific to this sector. The study is limited by its reliance on retrospective self report and by the absence of beneficiary or junior staff perspectives, which the paper’s implications and future research agenda directly address.
Testing Semi-Strong Form Market Efficiency around Union Budget Announcements in India
This study examines whether the Indian stock market exhibits semi-strong form efficiency around Union Budget announcements by analysing price adjustments to publicly available fiscal policy information. Using event study methodology, daily closing prices of Nifty 50 index constituents were analysed across ten Union Budget announcements from 2015 to 2024. A market model with 120-day estimation window and (−15, +15) trading day event window was employed to calculate abnormal returns (AR), average abnormal returns (AAR), and cumulative average abnormal returns (CAAR). Statistical significance was tested using t-tests at 5% level. Results indicate statistically significant abnormal returns on budget announcement days and immediate post-announcement periods (days 0 to +3), suggesting short-term under-reaction. However, CAAR converged to zero within 10 trading days post-announcement, supporting semi-strong form efficiency in the medium term. Sectoral heterogeneity was observed, with banking and infrastructure sectors showing stronger reactions than FMCG and IT.
Exploring the Role of AI Literacy on Employability Skills of Students in Higher Education Institutions
This research aims to provide a detailed bibliometric analysis around the concept of employability within the context of higher education and increased attention to the place of Artificial Intelligence (AI) literacy. The research aims to address the differences of being adaptive, problem solving, collaborative, digitally literate, and a continuous learner. The research maps the scholarly conversations on the intersection of AI competence and skill development on the themes of emerging technology. Using a mixed-method approach, the research attempts to map the intellectual landscape using bibliometric techniques, and the Theory, Context, Characteristics, and Methodology (TCCM) framework to interrogate AI literacy within employability, curriculum design, and organizational fit. The analysis suggests that traditional soft skills are a key element of employability, and the infusion of AI literacy creates a greater need for innovative instructional design and measures. The research advocates for higher education institutions and policy makers to integrate AI literacy into the curriculum and organization strategy, particularly in digitally transforming contexts such as India, to train and equip graduates to work in AI enhanced environments.
“The Role of AI-Driven Personalisation in Enhancing Customer Experience and Purchase Intention: A Comparative Study Across Consumer Segments”
Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven personalisation is transforming digital marketing by enabling organisations to deliver customised recommendations, content, and customer interactions based on individual preferences and behavioural patterns. This study examines the role of AI-driven personalisation in enhancing customer experience and purchase intention, with particular emphasis on differences across consumer segments. The study adopts a quantitative research approach and descriptive research design. Primary data were collected through a structured questionnaire from 250 consumers who use AI-enabled digital platforms. The responses were measured using a five-point Likert scale. Descriptive statistics, simple linear regression, and One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were employed to analyse the data. The findings indicate that respondents have favourable perceptions of AI-driven personalisation, with a mean score of 4.12. Customer experience recorded a mean score of 4.06, while purchase intention recorded a mean score of 3.98. Regression analysis revealed that AI-driven personalisation significantly influences customer experience (R² = 0.534, p < 0.001) and purchase intention (R² = 0.468, p < 0.001). The ANOVA results further demonstrated significant differences in customer experience and purchase intention across consumer segments. The study concludes that AI-driven personalisation is an important strategic mechanism for improving customer engagement, enhancing digital experiences, and strengthening consumers' purchase intentions. The findings suggest that organisations should adopt segment-specific personalisation strategies while ensuring relevance, transparency, data privacy, and responsible use of AI to build sustainable customer relationships and competitive advantage.
Divya H N, Jagadish M H, Suneetha C, Shivakumar, Chand Pasha A, Shirisha R
Perceived Stress and Marital Satisfaction: The Mediating Effects of Coping Strategies
Marital satisfaction is necessary for the personal well-being of married individuals, their family’s stability as well as for successful social functioning. Perceived stress in married individuals has risen due to the rising life demands and psychosocial pressures, and that is likely to influence the quality of relationships negatively. Using the Vulnerability-Stress-Adaptation (VSA) framework, the current research studies the connection between perceived stress and marital satisfaction with special emphasis on the role of coping strategies. The quantitative and cross-sectional design has been used, and the data on married men and women have been gathered with the help of standardized tools. Structural equation modeling has been utilized to test both the direct and indirect relationships between the study variables. The findings indicated that perceived stress was a strong predictor of maladaptive coping strategies and adaptive coping strategies. Specifically, Perceived Stress was a positive predictor of Emotion Focused Engagement and Problem Focused Engagement and a negative predictor of Emotion Focused Disengagement and Problem Focused Disengagement. Perceived Stress was negatively linked to Marital satisfaction. Maladaptive coping strategies revealed a negative relationship with marital satisfaction and adaptive coping (problem focused engagement) exhibited a positive relationship. Mediation analysis established that perceived stress had an indirect relationship with marital satisfaction mediated by coping strategies, which implies that stress has direct and indirect effects on marital satisfaction through coping strategies. The results facilitate the theoretical supposition that adaptive processes are the major tools that interconnect stress with marital functioning. The research also emphasizes the need to enhance the adaptive coping abilities with the aim of countering the negative impact of stress on marital relationship. The findings present some useful conclusions to implement in marital counseling, preventive programs, and family well-being programs to promote relationship strength and satisfaction.
Manreet Chahal, Satvinder Singh Bhatia, Puneet Kaur Virk
Consumer Engagement with AI-Enabled Retail Services: From Chatbot Interactions to Purchase Intention
The recent fusion of artificial intelligence (AI) with retail has brought changes to consumer engagement from common digital client interactions to more advanced interactive dialogue-based service interactions. This study intends to understand how the perceived AI Chatbot interactivity is responded to and subsequently how the level of engagement and trust consumers have in the AI Chatbot influence the purchase intention. Based on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework, a sequential model is created and analysed to understand the perceived AI Chatbot interactivity, consumer engagement and trust in AI Chatbots, and purchase intention. Data from 480 consumers in the six major cities of Punjab, India, who have engaged with AI retail chatbots, were collected. Exploratory factor analysis, reliability analysis, and Pearson correlation were performed followed by multiple regression analysis and sequential mediation analysis via Hayes' PROCESS Model 6 with bootstrapping. The results showed that the perceived interactivity of AI Chatbots enhanced consumer engagement, and engagement in turn raised trust in the AI Chatbots. Trust in the AI Chatbots emerged as the strongest purchase intention predictor. The sequential indirect effect of interactivity of AI Chatbots on purchase intention through consumer engagement and trust was statistically significant, whilst the other direct effects indicated partial mediation. The study has applied the S-O-R framework to the AI retail domain for the first time and revealed that the influence of chatbot interactivity on purchase intention occurs partially through an experiential to relational pathway of consumer engagement and trust. The results of the study bring to the foreground the importance of interactive AI retail systems that engage and build trust with customers.
Tushar Batra, Pooja Puri, Sonia, Simranjit Kaur, Akashdeep, Mehakdeep Kaur
Work-Life Balance and Faculty Outcomes: Implications for Institutional Performance in Delhi NCR Higher Education
Purpose: This paper analyses the association between work-life balance (WLB) and faculty performance outcomes (job satisfaction, occupational burnout, and organisational commitment) and how the three outcomes combined can affect institutional performance in higher education institutions (HEIs) within the Delhi National Capital Region (NCR). Based on the Conservation of Resources Theory (COR) and Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model, a moderated-mediation model is hypothesized and confirmed. Design/Methodology/Approach: A survey with full-time faculty (n=347) (selected among 18 HEIs in Delhi NCR) was conducted in a cross-sectional study using stratified random sampling. All constructs were used through validated scales. Structural equation modelling (SEM) and hierarchical multiple regression with Baron and Kenny mediation steps were used for hypothesis testing. Results: WLB scales - temporal flexibility (TF), involvement balance (IB) and satisfaction balance (SB) have been found to significantly and positively predict job satisfaction (R 2 = 0.41) and organisational commitment (R 2 = 0.38), and negatively predict burnout (R 2 = 0.34). Taken together, faculty performance accounts for 43 percent of institutional performance (teaching quality, research productivity, and student satisfaction). Gender and institutional type (public vs. private) moderate the WLB-outcomes relationship. Originality/Value: The research paper fills a great empirical gap by offering quantitative data to the Indian higher education scenario, which combines faculty well-being and institutional performance measurement. The results directly apply to the HR policy, academic administration, and accreditation standards within the Indian HEIs.
Artificial Intelligence Financial Literacy and Investment Decision Making among Retail Investors in India
The main objective of the present study was to assess the influence of Artificial Intelligence Financial Literacy (AIFL) on the investing decisions of retail investors. The use of AI technologies, such as ChatGPT, Gemini, AI-based investment applications, and robo-advisors, has grown dramatically in today's digital world. Artificial Intelligence Financial Literacy has therefore emerged as a crucial competency for investors. The study used a quantitative research approach and included a sample of retail investors. A structured questionnaire was used to gather the data. Regression analysis, Cronbach's Alpha, Pearson correlation, and descriptive statistics were employed for data analysis. The results indicate that Artificial Intelligence Financial Literacy and Investment Decision Making (IDM) are positively correlated. According to the study, increasing AIFL helps investors make more sensible, knowledgeable, and successful investing choices. In order to help investors make wise and successful investment decisions, the report also suggests that financial institutions, legislators, and educational institutions support Artificial Intelligence Financial Literacy.
Professional Development of Teachers in the Age of AI – An Empirical Study
The impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on education has dramatically changed how educators deliver instruction, plan curricula, assess students, create content, and interact with their learners. The proliferation of AI tools that generate materials have opened doors for educators but require educators to evolve in terms of the way they teach, learn and ethically apply technology, and professionally engage in ongoing AI-based competences. Educators are now required to continuously develop and grow an ever-evolving set of technological skills (e.g., AI literacy), pedagogical competencies (e.g., pedagogy enabled through AI), and professional competencies (e.g., critically evaluating AI generated information). Therefore, educator professional development cannot merely focus on traditional workshops or subject specific training, it must include developing educators’ abilities to integrate AI into all aspects of teaching, including AI based pedagogy, digital assessments, data privacy, responsible AI application, and human-centered approaches to education. UNESCO developed an AI Competence Framework for Teachers which defines fifteen (15) competency areas organized across five (5) dimensions: Human-Centred Mindset, Ethics of AI, Foundations & Applications of AI, Pedagogy Enabled Through AI, and Learning & Development Enabled Through AI. This study empirically explores the professional development of educators during this period of rapid transformation due to the integration of AI. The methodological approach utilized included a descriptive/explanatory quantitative research methodology. Data were collected from 118 educators via a structured five-point Likert-type scale survey instrument. Specifically, the study analyzed: Educator AI literacy; Educator AI-based pedagogical competence; Educator ethical awareness regarding AI; Institutional Support of Educator’s professional development needs; Educator involvement in professional development relative to AI. Results from the models identified that educators reported moderate levels of AI-based professional development. Furthermore, the importance of strengthening educator’s AI-based pedagogical competence and institutional support for professional development was emphasized. Additionally, statistically significant associations existed among educator’s AI literacy, educator’s pedagogical competence in applying AI, educator’s ethical awareness concerning AI, institutional support, and educator’s involvement in professional development. Finally, multiple regression analyses suggested that educator’s ability to effectively utilize AI within the classroom (pedagogical competence) and institutional support were key factors predicting educator’s overall readiness for continuing professional development. Ultimately, this study supports the need for educator professional development in the context of AI to be: Continuous; Practice-Oriented; Ethical; Collaborative; Supported by Educational Institutions
Shivani Naik, Preeti Verma, CMA Sarvottam Rege, T. J. Arun, Vinita Parashar
A Study on Farmers Awareness and Attitude towards Agri-Mobile Apps in the Rayalaseema Region
Agriculture, being the cornerstone of food production, is critical to life's survival. In 2015, India established the Digital India and smart agricultural systems to capitalize on the promise of digital technology. Since then, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has advanced significantly in the agricultural sector, resulting in the establishment of a wide range of services and Applications that serve farmers. Farmers may use these agricultural smartphone applications to learn about new crop types, inputs including seeds, fertilizers, and machinery, market pricing, weather forecasts, pest and disease control, transitioning from chemical to organic farming, crop diagnostics, and best farming practices. Furthermore, these apps allow farmers to communicate with agricultural experts and seek their advice. Farmers can increase agricultural yields by utilizing these applications. However, according to a recent research study done in eight districts of the Rayalaseema area, farmers often lack awareness and expertise regarding the use of agri-mobile applications due to poor guidance and inadequate information transmission. Farmers, on the other hand, are enthusiastic about adopting these applications. Therefore, it is critical to offer the agricultural community with fast and cheap internet access in order to maximize the potential of agri-mobile apps and boost production.
Financial Literacy and Behavioral Biases among Retail Investors: An Empirical Study in Kadapa Region
In today’s complicated world of finance, where complexity abounds and informed decision-making is the key, financial literacy is an important tool for navigating. This study is an attempt to find out the level of financial literacy among investors and the role of financial literacy in financial behavior. It will be helpful in understanding the correlation between knowledge and action. The results show that the investors have good understanding of financial concepts, which means they have a good background in personal finance. An assessment of their financial behaviour indicates favourable results, typified by a modest level of optimism and a willingness to take prudent risks. The study highlights the importance of financial literacy in equipping investors to take an informed decision leading to wise financial decision making hence reducing risk and increasing returns. Moreover, the study highlights the role of financial education in promoting long-term financial stability and security. The study indicates that high levels of financial literacy contribute to prudent decision making which enables an individual to attain his or her long-term financial goals and to deal confidently with the complexities of the present financial environment.
Artificial Intelligence in Talent Acquisition: A Systematic Review of Intelligent Recruitment Systems and Emerging Trends
With the fast development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, the recruitment process has become more effective with automated recruitment processes, higher hiring accuracy and strategic workforce planning for companies working under Industry 4.0. The use of AI technologies such as Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, Predictive Analytics, Generative AI, Large Language Models (LLMs), Agentic AI, Resume Parsing, and chatbots provides more efficiency in the recruitment process, lower costs and better candidate experience. Challenges regarding AI use include algorithmic bias, lack of transparency, explainability, privacy issues, and ethical governance among others. This Systematic Literature Review (SLR) will explore the role of AI in talent acquisition through an analysis of 23 peer-reviewed studies written from 2022 to 2026 applying the PRISMA methodology. It will analyze the impact of AI on the recruiting process considering its application in resume screening, candidate matching, interview scheduling, talent analytics, predictive hiring, and workforce planning. Emerging trends in Generative AI, LLMs in recruitment and Agentic AI will be considered as well.
Determinants of Customer Satisfaction and Service Quality in Rural Transportation: Evidence from Tamil Nadu
Rural transportation plays a crucial role in promoting economic development, social inclusion, and accessibility to essential services in Tamil Nadu. It facilitates the movement of people and goods between villages and urban centres, thereby supporting education, healthcare, employment, agriculture, and trade. Despite significant improvements in rural transport infrastructure, passengers continue to encounter challenges related to service quality, punctuality, safety, affordability, comfort, and accessibility. Understanding customer satisfaction is therefore essential for improving rural transportation services and ensuring sustainable mobility. The present study examines the determinants of customer satisfaction and service quality in rural transportation with special reference to Tamil Nadu. The study adopts a quantitative research design and collects primary data from 150 rural transportation users through a structured questionnaire. The research investigates the influence of reliability, safety, accessibility, affordability, vehicle condition, staff behaviour, punctuality, and overall service quality on customer satisfaction. Statistical techniques such as percentage analysis, descriptive statistics, correlation, multiple regression, ANOVA, and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) are proposed to analyse the data and test the relationships among the study variables. The expected findings will help transport authorities, policymakers, and service providers identify critical areas requiring improvement to enhance passenger satisfaction and encourage greater utilization of rural transport services. The study also contributes to the existing literature by providing empirical evidence from Tamil Nadu, where rural transportation continues to play a significant role in regional connectivity and inclusive economic development.
An Empirical Study on Consumer Satisfaction, Trust, and Continued Usage Intention of Mobile Wallet Services in Karur District
The rapid expansion of digital payment technologies has transformed the financial ecosystem by providing consumers with convenient, secure, and efficient transaction methods. Among these innovations, mobile wallet services have emerged as one of the most preferred cashless payment solutions due to their accessibility and ease of use. Despite their widespread adoption, sustaining consumer engagement depends largely on user satisfaction, trust, and the intention to continue using these services. This study empirically examines the determinants of consumer satisfaction, trust, and continued usage intention towards mobile wallet services in Karur District, Tamil Nadu. Primary data were collected from mobile wallet users through a structured questionnaire using a quantitative research approach. The study investigates the influence of perceived usefulness, ease of use, security, privacy, service quality, and promotional benefits on consumer satisfaction and trust, which subsequently affect continued usage intention. Statistical tools such as descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, multiple regression, and structural equation modelling can be employed to validate the proposed relationships. The findings are expected to provide valuable insights for mobile wallet service providers, financial institutions, policymakers, and digital payment platforms to enhance user experience, strengthen trust, and encourage sustained adoption of digital payment systems. The study also contributes to the growing body of knowledge on digital financial behaviour in emerging economies.
Guidance and Counselling Needs of Secondary School Students: A Descriptive Study
The study aimed at identifying guidance and counselling needs of secondary school students. The population for the study consisted of 42,000 students studying in secondary schools across west Tripura. The sample consisted of 100 students. A structured quantitative inventory for assessing guidance and counselling needs of students was developed. The tool consisted of five domains of needs, i.e. educational, vocational, personal, social and health-related. The data thus collected were analyzed through descriptive statistics, percentage, mean, standard deviation, cross tabulation and bar graph. Findings of the study revealed that 47% of students had moderate level of guidance and counseling needs, 32% had high level of needs and 21% had low level of needs. Thus 79% of sample under study required guidance and counseling of moderate to high level. Findings also indicated that the highest level of needs were for educational guidance, followed by vocational guidance, personal counseling, social counseling and health-related guidance. The findings of the study further revealed that girls had higher mean score for overall needs as compared to boys. However, the difference was very small and indicated that both boys and girls required guidance and counseling of systematic nature. The study concluded that secondary schools required an integrated, preventive and developmental guidance program with the help of a trained counselor. Implications of the study for school administrators, counselor, teacher and educational planner were also discussed. Suggestions were also made for strengthening the counseling program at secondary stage of education. Result Result refers to the results or outcomes of a study. In this study the findings from the data of 100 students have been presented. The findings showed that 47% of students required guidance and counseling of moderate level whereas 32% required guidance and counseling of high level and only 21% required of low level. Hence 79% of the students required guidance and counseling of moderate to high level. The highest domain mean was found for educational guidance (M = 3.91) followed by vocational guidance (M = 3.74), personal counseling (M = 3.58), social counseling (M = 3.36) and health related guidance (M = 3.21). The girls required guidance and counseling of higher level than boys as their mean score (71.20) was higher than that of boys (68.40). However, the difference was very small. The findings of the study indicated that the students required regular, ongoing, systematic, school based, and inclusive guidance and counseling services as most of the student’s required guidance and counseling. Only visible problems of students were not required to be solved through guidance and counseling.
Transforming Rural Landscapes: The Role of Advanced Technologies in Agricultural Development and Rural Sustainability
This study investigates the transformative potential of advanced technologies in rural agricultural landscapes, focusing on their impact on productivity, supply chain efficiency, and market access. Through judgmental sampling, data were collected from 100 respondents using a structured questionnaire. The research analyzes how digital platforms and Internet of Things (IoT) applications can enhance agricultural practices and contribute to rural sustainability. The study aims to provide evidence-based policy recommendations for promoting the widespread adoption of these technologies in rural areas. Findings suggest that advanced technologies significantly improve agricultural productivity, streamline supply chains, and expand market opportunities for rural farmers. The research highlights the importance of targeted policies and infrastructure development to support the integration of these technologies, ultimately fostering rural development and sustainability.
Impact of AI-Driven Financial Services on Customer Trust and Retention: An Empirical Study of the Banking Sector in Chikkaballapura District
In this study, it is analysed how financial services provided by the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) impacts on the satisfaction and retention of customers in the bank in Chikkaballapura District. It is all about customer perceptions, trust, satisfaction and retention with AI banking services. The data were collected from 150 customers of bank under primary data were collected by using a structured questionnaire and analysis is done by using ANOVA. Overall, the customers' perception of the AI services was positive, and no significant difference (p > 0.05) was found between the opinion of the respondents. AI banking services are seen as trustworthy, secure, convenient, and beneficial to banking experiences by customers. Finally, the study finds that AI has a key part to play in improving customer trust, satisfaction and retention. It implies enhanced cybersecurity, customer awareness and transparency, and innovations focused on the customer in the banking industry when it comes to AI.
Swetha MR, Shanthaswaroop N, Akhila J, Jeevitha J R, Anil Kumar K Y, Vinay M
Assessing the Factors that Influence Women's Financial Inclusion: Evidence from India (Madhya Pradesh)
Financial inclusion has emerged as a primary policy and research issue due to its potential in triggering economic development, alleviating poverty, and promoting gender equality. Although India’s financial inclusion agenda has made remarkable strides toward financial access and literacy, women’s involvement in the formal financial system remains constrained by various factors, including accessibility, awareness, financial capabilities, and utilisation of services. In addition, prior research on financial inclusion has primarily focused on assessing the overall level of inclusion while neglecting its multidimensionality, particularly in the case of women. This paper aims to explore the critical dimensions of women’s financial inclusion and assess their impact on financial inclusion using primary data and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). In particular, this study employs a survey questionnaire with 57 items to measure the level of women’s financial inclusion. The results of the reliability test show that Cronbach’s Alpha is .989, which is an indication of top reliability. Moreover, the KMO test (.906) and Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity (p <0.001) met the required criteria for factor analysis. In this study, EFA revealed nine factors that explained 75.995% of the variance in women’s financial inclusion data. These factors are Socio-Economic Empowerment, Perceived Banking Service Quality, Banking Service Accessibility, Bank Inclusiveness, Socio-Economic Awareness, Personal Financial Capacity, Financial Capability, Insurance and Credit Services, and Rural Banking Outreach. In general, the results indicate that women’s financial inclusion is a multidimensional concept that goes beyond banking services to include financial empowerment capabilities and socio-economic aspects. This article’s findings have significant implications for policymakers and financial service providers in fostering sustainable financial inclusion policies and strategies, particularly in relation to gender inequality.
Aditi Sharma, Pragati Tomar, Gagan Bhati, Deepesh Mahajan
A Transparent End-to-End AI Framework for Marketing Automation and Lead Generation in Small and Medium Enterprises
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is progressively revolutionising marketing through the facilitation of automated consumer segmentation, predictive lead scoring, tailored communication, customer interaction, and performance analysis. These functionalities are especially pertinent to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), which often function with constrained financial assets, few marketing personnel, and limited access to sophisticated analytical tools. Nonetheless, the integration of AI in marketing presents obstacles with data integrity, privacy, algorithmic prejudice, transparency, responsibility, and consumer confidence. This document presents a clear, comprehensive AI framework for automating marketing and generating leads in small and medium-sized enterprises. The study adopted a quantitative research design to examine the components of the Transparent End-to-End AI Framework. Data were collected from 200 respondents using a convenience sampling technique. A one-sample t-test was applied to assess the significance of respondents’ perceptions of the framework components. The structure has eight interrelated phases: data gathering and amalgamation, data preparation, customer insights, AI-driven lead creation, lead evaluation and qualification, automated tailored interaction, conversion and customer relationship management, and performance assessment. In contrast to traditional automation methods that emphasise isolated marketing tasks, the suggested architecture integrates the whole client acquisition journey via an ongoing feedback mechanism. Transparency, explainability, privacy, security, justice, and human supervision are integrated as overarching concepts across the AI lifecycle. The framework offers small and medium-sized enterprises a systematic method for enhancing marketing effectiveness while upholding ethical AI standards. The study asserts that transparent AI may improve the efficacy of SME marketing automation when technology competencies are integrated with suitable governance, staff engagement, and ongoing assessment.
AI-Enabled Fintech Services: Examining Consumer Trust, Security and Behavioral Intentions
The rapid integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into financial technology (Fintech) services is transforming the way consumers access, evaluate, and use financial products. AI-enabled Fintech applications provide personalized financial recommendations, automated customer support, fraud detection, credit assessment, digital payments, robo-advisory services, and intelligent financial management. Despite these advantages, consumer adoption depends strongly on trust, perceived security, privacy, transparency, and confidence in AI-driven decisions. The article examines the relationship between AI-enabled Fintech services, consumer trust, perceived security, and behavioral intentions. A convenience sampling technique was employed to select respondents who were readily accessible and willing to participate in the study. A total of 250 respondents constituted the sample for the study. Primary data were collected through a structured questionnaire designed to capture respondents’ perceptions and experiences regarding AI-enabled fintech services. It highlights how technological reliability and responsible use of consumer data can influence willingness to adopt and continuously use AI-based financial services. The article also discusses major challenges, including algorithmic bias, cybersecurity threats, lack of transparency, data privacy concerns, and limited consumer understanding of AI. The analysis suggests that trust and security are not merely technical requirements but fundamental determinants of consumer acceptance. Fintech providers can strengthen behavioral intentions by improving transparency, data protection, explainability, human support, and responsible AI governance. Building a secure and trustworthy AI ecosystem is therefore essential for sustainable Fintech growth and long-term consumer relationships.
AI-Driven HR Analytics for Intelligent Talent Management: Integrating Machine Learning Techniques with Strategic Human Resource Decision-Making
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) have significantly transformed Human Resource Management (HRM) by enabling organizations to make intelligent, data-driven decisions across the employee lifecycle. AI-driven HR analytics supports organizations in identifying talent, predicting employee performance, enhancing workforce engagement, and optimizing strategic workforce planning. The integration of machine learning techniques into HR processes improves recruitment efficiency, minimizes human bias, strengthens retention strategies, and facilitates personalized learning and development initiatives. The present study aims to examine the influence of AI-driven HR analytics on intelligent talent management, to evaluate the role of machine learning techniques in enhancing recruitment, employee performance, learning and career development, employee retention analytics, and strategic workforce planning, and to provide recommendations for organizations seeking to adopt AI-enabled HR practices for sustainable competitive advantage. The study contributes to the growing body of knowledge by highlighting how predictive analytics and intelligent decision-support systems improve strategic HR functions while maintaining organizational effectiveness. The findings are expected to assist HR professionals, managers, and policymakers in implementing AI-based talent management systems that improve operational efficiency, employee satisfaction, and long-term organizational performance in an increasingly digital business environment.
Assessing the Effectiveness of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in Enhancing Consumer Payment Experiences in the Retail Sector
The retail payment landscape has undergone a complete revolution in India due to the advent of digital payment technologies, with Unified Payments Interface (UPI) being among the most popular payment technologies. This research will examine the effectiveness of UPI on improving the consumer payment experience in retail. In particular, the study investigates the impact of convenience, security, transaction speed and ease-of-use on consumer satisfaction and future use intentions. The method used in the study is quantitative research and the data collection method is a structured questionnaire, which was applied with 250 retail consumers. The analysis of collected data was descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, multiple regression analysis and correlation analysis. The results indicate that convenience, security, transaction speed and ease of use have a significant and positive impact on the consumer's experience when paying. Of these, transaction speed had the most significant impact on customer satisfaction, with convenience, ease of use and security following. The findings also highlight that positive experiences of payments leads to sustained adoption of UPI for retail payments. The study validates the Technology Acceptance Model and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and highlights the role of perceived usefulness, ease of use and trust in the adoption of digital payment. The results provide helpful information for policy makers, financial institutions, payment service providers and retailers aiming to foster better digital payment services and consumer confidence. The study finds that UPI has significantly improved the payment experience and played a crucial role in the growth of India's digital payment system.
Drivers of Customer Loyalty in India Post Payments Bank: The Mediating Role of Customer Experience
The fast-paced digital transformation of the banking industry has caused a paradigm change in terms of prioritizing products over customer-centric service delivery, and customer trustworthiness is seen as a key success factor in banking competitiveness. In this context, India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has conceived a unique phygital banking concept which combines digital financial services with the vast postal network of the country. Although it has gained popularity and more customer base, there is a deficiency of practical evidence of what factors in service ultimately used to improve customer loyalty through customer experience in this unique banking environment. The present study aims to fill this gap by investigating the effect of service quality, service innovation, personalization and perceived security on customer loyalty, with the mediation of customer experience. The research adopted a quantitative approach and the primary data was collected from the active IPPB customers in Bengaluru using a structured questionnaire. SEM technique was used to validate the proposed conceptual framework. Results show that service quality, service innovation, personalization and perceived security all have statistically significant positive impact on customer experience; the strongest of which is perceived security. Moreover, experience shows that customer experience (CE) has a significant positive impact on customer loyalty (CL) and plays a large mediation role in the relationship between the four antecedents and CL. The structural model provides moderate explanatory power, with evidence that customer experience proves to be an effective mechanism of relation in the service ecosystem of IPPB. The study adds to the customer experience literature and to the literature on digital banking by applying old concepts of relationship marketing to the case of government-supported phygital banking. Findings also offer practical implications to the decision makers and the policy makers in stressing the significance of secure, innovative, personalized and quality service delivery to boost the customer retention and sustainable customer loyalty.
Enhancing Quality Education through Institutional Digital Transformation and Teacher Communication Effectiveness: A Mediation Analysis
Quality education, one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, is vital for a nation’s professional progress and significantly contributes to the country’s development while boosting global competitiveness. A high-quality education depends on core factors such as students’ characteristics, institutional support, curriculum and learning goals, feedback, and motivation. Additionally, teachers’ communication effectiveness plays a pivotal role in cultivating a stimulating learning environment, encouraging analytical thinking, and providing tailored support to learners. As education becomes increasingly digital, it is essential to plan and organise educational content through technological advancements. With digital transformation, the usage of digital tools such as multimedia, AI and Analytics, flipped classrooms, and Online assessments has become indispensable alongside conventional teaching skills. The current study seeks to gain insight into how core determinants of education, with digital transformation and teachers’ communication effectiveness as mediators, can influence quality education. A model has been proposed, highlighting the role of teacher communication effectiveness and digital transformation as robust mediators. The study makes a substantial contribution to the corpus of knowledge by integrating teachers’ communication effectiveness and digital transformation with core determinants of Quality education, ensuring opportunities for inclusive, equitable, and continuous learning that foster holistic development and equip students with life skills, knowledge, and character.
Consumer Perceptions and Behavioral Intentions Toward Health and Wellness Products: A Psychological and Economic Perspective
The global health and wellness market has expanded rapidly in response to increasing consumer awareness of disease prevention, healthy lifestyles, and personalized healthcare, yet the mechanisms underlying consumer decision-making remain multifaceted and insufficiently integrated across disciplines. This narrative review synthesizes evidence from health psychology, consumer behavior, and behavioral economics to examine the psychological and economic determinants influencing consumer perceptions and behavioral intentions toward health and wellness products. The review identifies health consciousness, perceived efficacy, perceived risk, trust, self-efficacy, and social influence as the principal psychological drivers shaping consumer attitudes and purchase intentions, while economic factors including price sensitivity, perceived value, income, affordability, accessibility, and demand elasticity determine purchasing feasibility and market responsiveness. The synthesis further highlights the growing influence of digital health platforms, personalized wellness solutions, premiumization, sustainability, and ethical consumption in reshaping contemporary consumer behavior. By integrating psychological motivations with economic constraints into a unified conceptual framework, this review provides a comprehensive explanation of how cognitive, emotional, social, and financial factors collectively influence wellness-related purchasing decisions. The findings indicate that consumer responses are highly context-dependent and moderated by product credibility, regulatory transparency, information quality, and affordability. This review advances the theoretical understanding of wellness consumption by bridging psychological and economic perspectives, identifies key research gaps for future investigation, and offers evidence-based implications for researchers, healthcare professionals, policymakers, and industry stakeholders seeking to promote effective, accessible, and consumer-centered health and wellness products.
Socio-economic Disparities and Cardiovascular Disease in India: Impact of Healthcare Access and Policy Interventions
Socio-economic disparities significantly exacerbate cardiovascular disease (CVD) burden in India, particularly among lower socio-economic status (SES) populations, driven by limited healthcare access and uneven policy interventions. This review examines how income inequality, low health literacy, caste-based exclusion, gender disparities, and urban-rural divides worsen CVD prevalence and mortality. High out-of-pocket expenditure (58% of healthcare costs), consuming 75% of lower SES household income, pushes 40 million Indians into poverty annually. Limited health insurance (20% coverage) and Ayushman Bharat’s restricted reach (30% of CVD patients) hinder affordability, especially for rural and marginalized groups. Inadequate infrastructure, with only 0.1 cardiologists per 100,000 and 40% of rural health centers equipped for diagnostics, restricts timely care. Urban areas, hosting 70% of CVD facilities for 31% of the population, contribute to 15% pre-hospital CVD deaths. Policies like COTPA and NPCDCS curb tobacco and alcohol use but are limited by weak rural enforcement and low reach (10% rural screening). Air pollution, linked to 15% of CVD cases, is inadequately addressed, particularly in rural and slum areas. Gender norms reduce women’s access to care by 20%, and caste-based exclusion disproportionately affects Scheduled Castes/Tribes. Recommendations include expanding rural healthcare infrastructure, increasing insurance coverage to 50%, enhancing health literacy, and strengthening policy enforcement for tobacco, alcohol, and environmental exposures. These findings highlight the need for equitable healthcare access and robust policy interventions to mitigate CVD disparities among lower SES populations.
Virtual Try-On: An Overarching Bibliometric Analysis
The study presents a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of Virtual Try-On (VTO) and allied technologies within the fashion, retail and e-commerce domains. It aims to identify key publication trends, the most influential contributors, the collaborative and intellectual networks underlying the field, together with its dominant research themes. The analysis draws on 1,265 documents (journal articles, conference proceedings, books, book chapters and reviews) retrieved from the Scopus database, spanning the period 1969 to 2025 and examined using Biblioshiny, the web-based interface of the Bibliometrix R package. Performance analysis (annual scientific production, Bradford's Law, Lotka's Law and author-, source- and country-level productivity and citation indicators) combined with science mapping (thematic evolution, keyword co-occurrence, three-field analysis and international collaboration networks) reveals a marked thematic shift from early computer-graphics and virtual-reality foundations toward augmented reality, computer vision and AI-driven personalisation, closely interlinked with e-commerce, online retailing and the metaverse. China leads the field in publication volume, whereas the USA records a higher citation impact (3,941 total citations at an average of 54 citations per article, against China's 3,203 total citations and an average of 10.5), pointing to a divergence between research productivity and research influence across countries. By consolidating more than five decades of VTO scholarship into a single productivity-, citation- and theme-based mapping, the study provides researchers and practitioners with a structured evidence base for tracking the field's evolution and identifying priority areas for future enquiry. Further research should explore cross-disciplinary innovation and emerging applications to deepen understanding of nascent areas within Virtual Try-On technology.
Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Talent Acquisition and Its Impact on Decision Making
The integration of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI)into talent acquisition is transforming recruitment and selection by enabling faster, data driven and increasingly automated decision making. However, the effectiveness of Generative AI depends not only on its adoption but also on the accuracy and reliability of its outputs, perceived efficiency, objectivity, fairness and users’ confidence in AI supported decisions. This study examines the relationship between Generative AI adoption in recruitment and selection and strategic effectiveness and decision confidence, with particular emphasis on the roles of Accuracy and reliability and usefulness of AI outputs, Efficiency of HR decisions and objectivity and fairness. A quantitative research design was adopted and primary data were collected from 120 HR professionals across different industries using structured questionnaire based on Likert scale measures. The data wad analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, regression analysis, and medication analysis. The findings indicate Generative AI is positively associate with recruitment efficiency, accuracy, consistency and objectivity. Among the dimensions examined, AI enabled efficiency demonstrated the strongest association with decision effectiveness. The mediation analysis further revealed that Objectivity and Fairness significantly mediated the relationship between Generative AI adoption and Strategic Effectiveness and Decision Confidence, with a significant indirect effect (b= 0.411, p <0.001; 95% bootstrap CI [ 0.275, 0.536]). The findings suggest that the effectiveness of Generative AI in recruitment extends beyond operational efficiency and depends substantially on perception of fairness and objectivity. The study concludes that organizations should adopt Generative AI as a strategic decision support technology, complemented by human judgement, transparency, ethical governance, reliable data and appropriate HR training. The study contributes to the emerging literature om Generative Ai in HRM by highlighting the importance of fairness and human trust in translating technological adoption into effective HR decision making.
Contemporary Approaches to Language, Discourse, and Professional Communication in English Studies
English studies have expanded considerably beyond its traditional literary-critical core to encompass a diverse set of methodological approaches for analyzing language as it is actually used in institutional, professional, and increasingly digital contexts. This paper surveys the contemporary theoretical and methodological landscape English studies now brings to bear on discourse and professional communication, examining six converging approaches: corpus linguistics, genre theory, systemic functional and multimodal discourse analysis, critical discourse analysis, computer-mediated discourse analysis, and intercultural and translingual communication studies. The review synthesizes foundational methodological statements from each tradition alongside recent applied studies demonstrating how these approaches illuminate professional and workplace language specifically. Particular attention is given to how corpus-linguistic methods have supplied an empirical, large-scale evidentiary base that earlier, more interpretive discourse traditions lacked, and to how the increasing linguistic and cultural diversity of professional communication has pushed the field toward translingual rather than purely monolingual models of communicative competence. A single consolidated comparative table positions each contemporary approach against its unit of analysis, methodological signature, and a representative professional-communication finding. The paper concludes that contemporary English studies is most productively understood not as a single unified discipline but as a coordinated methodological toolkit, in which corpus, genre, multimodal, critical, digital, and intercultural approaches answer complementary rather than competing questions about professional language use, and identifies integrated multimethod designs combining corpus evidence with critical and multimodal interpretation as the central future research prospect.
Competency mapping of Healthcare Professionals- A case study of Bengaluru city
As competition is increasing with growth in Healthcare organizations industry in India, Healthcare organizations in Bangalore have to prepare to grab the opportunity, as well to meet the requirements and expectations of customers. To survive and achieve competitive advantage, an organization needs to improve their performance. Human resource of an organization is one component which contributes significantly to improve the performance. Competency mapping as a tool for assessment is widely used in various type of Industry for evaluating personnel and process. The present study studies the importance of competency mapping in healthcare organisations in Bengaluru. The healthcare organisations were selected by the bed size of the hospitals placing in three categories 9 hospitals were selected for research. Three categories of respondents were selected in this current study i.e. (administrative, medical and para medical staff). The study follows conclusive research design. Simple Random sampling technique used and survey method is used to collect data using well-structured questionnaires in this study. The correlation between HRD Climate, Employee Engagement, Patient satisfaction with regard to the competencies of healthcare professionals is studied. The results show that there is positive corelation between all the variables that is studied supporting the hypothesis formulated.
Modeling Consumer Perception and its Impact on Brand Image and Customer Retention: Evidence from Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL)
In this study, the authors examine the relationship among consumer perception, brand image and customer retention in the context of Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) as one of the largest public sector oil marketing companies in India. In a highly competitive petroleum retailing industry, brand success and customer loyalty largely depend on how consumers see the brands. The data obtained for the research is primary data obtained from 200 respondents by a structured questionnaire designed for capturing the important dimensions affecting the consumers' behaviour toward IOCL. Reliability of the scale was tested by Cronbach's Alpha, and the number of factors was determined by Exploratory Factor Analysis of consumer perceptions. Some significant factors were considered such as service quality, fair price, product availability, trust, brand reputation and all-around customer experience. The impact of consumer perception on the brand image and customer retention was then tested through multiple regression analysis. Moreover, ANOVA and independent sample t-tests were used to compare the consumer perception on demographic variables like age, gender, and income level. Results show that there is a high positive correlation between consumer perception, brand image and customer retention. When the perception of the customers is positive, this has a great impact on the IOCL brand image and keeps more customers staying with the company. The findings highlight the significance of providing high levels of service excellence, transparency of pricing and trust to enhance brand equity and customer loyalty. The study found that IOCL and oil marketing companies can obtain a sustainable competitive advantage by consistently building their consumers' perceptions by delivering services, engaging digitally, and seeking to focus on the consumer. The study offers significant strategic insights into the impact of customer perception on brand image and customer retention in the Indian oil and gas industry.
From Traditional Artisans to Modern Entrepreneurs: Unlocking the Value Chain in the Indian Footwear Industry
The handcrafted footwear industry of India is undergoing a historic transformation in its organization, which includes famous footwear craft clusters such as Kolhapuri belt (Maharashtra and Karnataka), Mojari and Jutti (Rajasthan and Punjab), huge leather craftsman complexes in Ambur, Kanpur and Agra. The traditional footwear making artisans who are trapped in unorganized supply chain, unequal access to markets, informal debt traps with high interest rates and with a lack of adequate sizing and ergonomic features are fast becoming self-directed micro, small and medium scale entrepreneurs (MSMEs). Within this extensive research monograph, a multi-faceted investigation into this transition is given. It highlights the direct-to-consumer (D2C) e-commerce, public credit interventions for targeted categories (MUDRA, PM-Vishwakarma, SFURTI), collaborations for design modernization with the top institutes (NIFT, FDDI, CFTIs) and cash-flow underwriting through the fintech mechanisms. The study gives a detailed map for scaling up ALD entrepreneurship in all parts of India, with detailed cluster-by-cluster case studies, comparative value-chain mapping, socio-economic impact indicators, operational bottleneck diagnostic tools and an action oriented 10-point policy road map.
Institutional Support Towards Youth Engagement in Agricultural Entrepreneurship: Evidence from South Bihar, India
Rural youth can benefit from agricultural entrepreneurship if they are supported by institutions; however, their involvement and well-being might rely on this support. This current study looks at the relationship between Institutional Support, Youth Engagement in Agricultural Entrepreneurship and Youth Welfare among youth agricultural entrepreneurs of South Bihar, India. The study is based on institutional theory with quantitative research design. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data from 397 young agricultural entrepreneurs of 17 districts in South Bihar. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) technique was used to analyze the data in SmartPLS 4. The results show that Institutional Support has positive and significant effect on Youth Engagement (β = 0.252, p < 0.001). Youth Engagement has a significant positive effect on Youth Welfare (β=0.597, p<0.001). Institutional Support has a strong positive effect on Youth Welfare (β = 0.164, p < 0.001). The mediation analysis also demonstrates that Youth Engagement is a significant mediator between the relationship between Institutional Support and Youth Welfare (β = 0.150, p < 0.001). There are considerable direct and indirect effects, suggesting a partial mediation in a complementary manner. The model accounts for 43.2% of the variance in the Youth Welfare and positive values of Q²_predict signify predictive relevance. The findings reveal that institutional support has a positive impact on welfare outcomes of young entrepreneurs, if they are engaged in agricultural enterprises. The study highlights the importance of holistic support including financial, training, technical assistance, market linkage and information on government support. The study has an added value to the literature as it has provided an empirical linkage between institutional support and youth engagement and their welfare under the umbrella of agricultural entrepreneurship in South Bihar.
Perception of Stakeholders on Adoption of Blockchain Technology in Regulatory Bodies of Fintech Industry
Purpose: This research paper aims to find out the place of Blockchain technology in regulatory bodies of financial institutions. To achieve the aim, I have taken 2 regulatory bodies one is RBI and other is SEBI. Methodology: I have taken sample in the form of perspective of employees, customers and used mixed methods approach using some tests. This article has used multiple tests such as T- tests, Correlation and regression, Chi- Square tests etc. to prove hypothesis. Findings: It concludes that there is a positive perception of stakeholders towards the blockchain adoption and also there is significant and somehow positive impact of Blockchain on regulatory bodies. Besides that, there is pros and cons of digital technology, but shows no relationship between opportunities and challenges of blockchain adoption. The paper also discusses the potential benefits, inherent challenges and future outcome to implement the Blockchain technology in regulatory markets. The research concludes that there were hurdles in implementing the new technology to any sector but the end result is growth of the economy. Originality: Multiple separate researches have done with taking perception and Blockchain but few researches found the link between them which is my gap of research. Regulatory bodies are confused whether to use new technology or not but I have found that there is an ease in work if they use new technology according to the stakeholders. I have used regulatory bodies; other researchers can take an Industry for the future research.
Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence for Strengthening Healthcare Systems in Africa: A Scoping Review
Digital transformation may address persistent constraints in African health systems, but the breadth and maturity of implemented technologies remain unclear. This scoping review mapped empirical evidence on digital health and artificial intelligence (AI) used to strengthen health systems in Africa. PubMed/MEDLINE and Europe PMC were searched from inception to 26 August 2026 using terms for technology, African settings, system functions and implementation. Peer-reviewed empirical studies of an implemented technology and a health-system outcome were eligible. Findings were charted against the World Health Organization health-system building blocks and synthesised descriptively under PRISMA-ScR guidance. Of 1,998 records identified, 1,550 unique records were screened, 61 reports underwent full-text assessment and 58 studies from 20 countries were included. Thirty-three studies (56.9%) were published during 2023–2026. Electronic health records, health-information systems or DHIS2 were addressed in 38 studies and mobile health or short-message services in 27; clinical decision support (n=7), digital surveillance (n=6), telemedicine (n=4) and implemented AI or machine learning (n=2) were less common. Reported contributions included improved access, referral and continuity; more timely and usable data; workforce support; and strengthened clinical processes. Evidence often concerned feasibility, acceptability and scale. Recurrent constraints involved skills and training, equity of digital access, recurrent financing, workflow burden, infrastructure, interoperability and governance. Digital health can support several health-system functions simultaneously, but evidence remains geographically concentrated and dominated by implementation studies rather than robust long-term effectiveness or economic evaluations. Interoperable public infrastructure, sustainable financing, workforce capability, equitable design and accountable AI governance are priorities for responsible scale-up.
Legal and Regulatory Challenges of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare Startups: A Narrative Review
Artificial intelligence (AI) startups are developing tools for diagnosis, triage, clinical decision support, remote monitoring and health-system administration. Their translation is governed by overlapping requirements for medical devices, data protection, biomedical research, professional practice, cybersecurity, consumer protection and intellectual property. This narrative review examines the principal legal and regulatory challenges faced by healthcare AI startups, with India as the primary jurisdiction and the European Union and United States as comparators. Openly accessible peer-reviewed literature and official regulatory materials published from January 2018 to August 2026 were reviewed, together with earlier foundational instruments. The analysis identifies six recurrent pressure points: uncertain product classification; evidence requirements that may not fit rapidly changing software; lawful access to representative health data; bias, transparency and human oversight; fragmented liability across developers, clinicians and institutions; and inconsistent rules across export markets. India now has a more defined policy environment through the Medical Devices Rules, the 2026 guidance on medical device software, the Digital Personal Data Protection framework, the Indian Council of Medical Research ethical guidelines and national AI-governance guidance. These instruments are complementary, but their scopes, commencement schedules and enforcement routes are not identical. Startups should therefore treat compliance as a product-lifecycle function: define intended use before development, establish data provenance and contractual rights, generate population-relevant clinical evidence, document human oversight, control software changes, allocate responsibility contractually and monitor performance after deployment. Proportionate regulatory support, common technical standards, regulatory sandboxes and clearer coordination among health, data and AI authorities could reduce uncertainty without lowering patient-safety safeguards.
Strategy-User Profiles of Pre-Service Elementary Teachers: A Cluster-Analytic Study of Language Learning Strategies among D.El.Ed. Trainees in Tripura
Variable-centred analyses of language learning strategies describe the average learner and can conceal meaningful subgroups. Adopting a person-centred approach, this study identified strategy-user profiles among 248 Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed.) trainees at District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs) in Tripura, India, who completed Oxford’s 50-item Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL, Version 7.0; α = .96). K-means cluster analysis of the six standardised SILL subscale scores yielded three profiles: high strategy users (n = 69, 27.8%; overall M = 4.37), moderate strategy users (n = 108, 43.5%; M = 3.56), and low strategy users (n = 71, 28.6%; M = 2.85). The profiles differed in elevation rather than shape: one-way ANOVAs were significant for every subscale (η2 = .55 to .69), yet within each profile metacognitive strategies ranked highest and compensation strategies lowest, indicating a level-invariant internal asymmetry. Profile membership was significantly associated with year of study, χ2(2) = 14.42, p < .001, Cramér’s V = .24: 41.2% of second-year trainees were high strategy users compared with 19.0% of first-year trainees. The association with gender was not significant (p = .120). The findings suggest that trainees differ chiefly in how much strategic behaviour they deploy, that this general propensity is greater in the senior cohort, and that nearly three in ten future elementary teachers are low strategy users. Implications are drawn for entry-point diagnosis and differentiated strategy-based instruction in teacher education under India’s National Education Policy 2020.
Digitally Mediated and Culturally Responsive Classroom Management: Perceived Competence of Prospective Teachers in the Tribal and Bengali Context of Tripura
Classrooms in Tripura bring together learners from Tribal and Bengali communities, and the state's teacher education programmes are simultaneously expected to prepare graduates for technology enriched instruction. The present study examined how confident prospective teachers feel about three families of classroom management skills: conventional skills, culturally responsive skills rooted in the Tribal and Bengali context, and digitally mediated skills. Data were gathered from 119 prospective teachers of The ICFAI University Tripura through the Classroom Management Skills Inventory (CMSI, Tripura Context), a 42 item Likert scale within which six items measure digitally mediated management and six measure culturally responsive management. A within subjects design was employed. Repeated measures analysis of variance revealed a significant difference among the three skill families (F(2, 236) = 16.40, p < .001, partial eta squared = .122). Digitally mediated skills (M = 3.82) were rated significantly lower than both conventional (M = 3.97, d = 0.53) and culturally responsive skills (M = 3.95, d = 0.34), while the latter two did not differ. Second year trainees reported significantly stronger digital management skills than first year trainees. The findings identify digital classroom management as the weakest link in preparation and support deliberate integration of ICT based and culturally grounded management training in teacher education.
Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Second-Order Structure of the Attitude towards the Pedagogical Formation of Prospective Teachers Inventory: Evidence from a Standardisation Study in Tripura, India
Attitudes formed during initial teacher preparation shape how prospective teachers engage with their pedagogical formation and, ultimately, how they teach. This study examined the factorial validity and higher-order structure of the Attitude towards the Pedagogical Formation of Prospective Teachers Inventory, a 32-item measure comprising four dimensions: Professional Commitment and Value, Child-Centred and Instructional Practices, Relevance and Necessity of the Programme, and Personal Efficacy and Adaptability. The inventory was administered to 345 prospective teachers drawn by proportionate simple random sampling from a population of 1410 trainees enrolled in eight teacher education institutions of Tripura, India. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that all 32 items loaded significantly on their intended factors (p < .001), and the four-factor model achieved a reasonable approximate fit, with RMSEA = .076 and SRMR = .053, although the comparative fit indices remained below conventional thresholds (CFI = .823, TLI = .808). The four factors were very strongly intercorrelated (r = .815 to .913), so a second-order model was tested in which the four dimensions loaded on a general attitude factor. The second-order model fitted the data as well as the correlated-factors model and clearly better than a single-factor model. All four standardised second-order loadings were high and significant, with Personal Efficacy and Adaptability emerging as the most influential dimension of the general attitude construct (γ = .952), followed closely by Relevance and Necessity of the Programme (γ = .945) and Child-Centred and Instructional Practices (γ = .943), while Professional Commitment and Value contributed comparatively least (γ = .900). Implications for teacher education practice and for further refinement of the inventory are discussed.
The Moderating Role of Mindfulness in the Relationship Between Psychological Distress, Work–Life Conflict, and Turnover Intention among IT Employees
The information technology (IT) sector is characterized by rapid technological change, demanding workloads, extended working hours, tight deadlines, and continuous performance expectations. These conditions can create psychological distress and work–life conflict, which may increase employees’ intentions to leave their organizations. In this context, mindfulness may serve as an important personal resource that enables employees to manage stressful experiences more effectively and maintain psychological balance. This article examines the proposed moderating role of mindfulness in the relationships between psychological distress, work–life conflict, and turnover intention among IT employees. Psychological distress is considered a condition involving emotional strain, anxiety, and difficulty coping with workplace demands, while work–life conflict refers to incompatibility between work responsibilities and personal or family roles. Turnover intention represents an employee’s conscious consideration or willingness to leave the current organization. Mindfulness, characterized by attentive and non-judgmental awareness of present experiences, may weaken the adverse effects of psychological distress and work–life conflict on turnover intention. The article develops a conceptual framework explaining these relationships and discusses implications for IT organizations, managers, and employees. It argues that integrating mindfulness-oriented interventions with organizational strategies addressing workload, flexibility, and employee well-being may contribute to employee retention and healthier work environments.
Determinants of Employee Commitment Among Non-Teaching Staff in Arts and Science Colleges: An Empirical Analysis
This empirical study investigates the influence of workplace dimensions on the employee engagement and institutional commitment of non-teaching personnel in Arts and Science colleges across Tiruchirappalli City, Tamil Nadu. While administrative and technical staff sustain higher education operations, their behavioral outcomes remain under-researched. Utilizing a descriptive, cross-sectional research design, primary data were gathered from 150 non-teaching staff across Government-Aided and Self-Financing institutions. The measurement instrument demonstrated strong internal consistency and reliability. Statistical evaluation through IBM SPSS Statistics 26.0 incorporated Percentage Analysis, Pearson Bivariate Correlation, and Multiple Linear Regression. The empirical findings indicate that all eight workplace dimensions correlate significantly and positively with institutional commitment. Leadership and supervisory support alongside fairness, salary benefits, and job security emerged as the primary determinants of institutional loyalty, reinforced substantially by a conducive work environment, continuous digital skill development, recognition, and open communication channels. Institutional managements must prioritize transparent remuneration, employment stability, empathetic leadership, and digital upskilling to enhance administrative capacity and reduce turnover intentions.
Copper Supply Chain Thermodynamics as a Leading Indicator of Geopolitical Instability
Every ton of refined copper carries two measurable costs: a financial cost denominated in US dollars on the London Metal Exchange (LME), and a thermodynamic cost measured in gigajoules (GJ) of energy consumed across mining, concentration, smelting, refining, and maritime transit. Under stable conditions, these two costs correlate closely. This paper identifies conditions under which they diverge and argues that persistent divergences between dollar cost and energy cost serve as leading indicators of geopolitical instability in the copper supply chain. Five categories of supply-chain chokepoint are examined: maritime (Hormuz, Malacca, Panama), chemical (sulphuric acid), processing (Chinese smelter concentration), institutional (Codelco, social license in Peru), and hydrological (Atacama desalination). Analysis of the 2026 Hormuz crisis, the concurrent sulphuric acid supply failure, and the structural divergence between Chinese and Western smelting costs demonstrates that the copper supply system is currently experiencing simultaneous stress at multiple nodes. The paper concludes that thermodynamic cost analysis offers a complementary framework to conventional commodity-price analysis for anticipating supply-chain failure and geopolitical realignment.
Do Happy Employees Create Loyal Consumers? Reframing Workplace Well-being through Consumer Perception Lenses.
The present study examines whether employee well-being influences consumer loyalty through the mediating role of consumer perception. Drawing upon Service-Profit Chain Theory, Emotional Contagion Theory, and Social Exchange Theory, the study explores the connection between internal workplace experiences and external consumer outcomes. A quantitative research design was adopted using a structured questionnaire administered to consumers interacting with service-oriented organizations. The constructs examined in the study include Employee Well-being (EWB), Consumer Perception (CP), and Consumer Loyalty (CL). Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings revealed that Employee Well-being significantly and positively influences Consumer Perception. Consumer Perception also demonstrated a strong positive effect on Consumer Loyalty. The study further identified a significant indirect effect of Employee Well-being on Consumer Loyalty through Consumer Perception, confirming partial mediation. The structural model exhibited substantial explanatory power, indicating that workplace well-being contributes meaningfully to customer-related outcomes. The study contributes to interdisciplinary literature by reframing workplace well-being through consumer-centered perspectives. The findings suggest that organizations prioritizing employee well-being are more likely to strengthen brand authenticity, improve customer experiences, and foster long-term consumer loyalty. The research highlights the strategic importance of employee-centered organizational practices in achieving sustainable competitive advantage within contemporary service economies.
Consumer Purchase Intention Towards Electric Scooters: Examining the Influence of Digital Electric Vehicle Information Exposure
Consumer markets have undergone a remarkable digitalization, which has had a substantial impact on the way consumers obtain, evaluate and process product-related information prior to making purchasing decisions. The effects of Digital Electric Vehicle Information Exposure on the purchase intention of electric scooters in the study were mediated by Perceived Value and Perceived Risk. The study is based on Stimulus–Organism–Response model, which posits that digital information exposure is the stimulus, the perceived value and perceived risk are consumers' internal evaluations, and purchase intention is the behavioural response. The research method used was quantitative with a study design of descriptive survey, the sampling technique used was convenience sampling and the type of data obtained was primary data obtained by using a structured questionnaire with 297 respondents. The empirical test of the proposed model was conducted by the method of structural equation modelling (SEM). The results indicate that Digital Electric Vehicle Information Exposure significantly and positively affects Perceived Value and significantly decreases Perceived Risk. Perceived Value has significant influence on consumers' purchase intention, while Perceived Risk does not have significant direct influence on purchase intention. Moreover, Digital Electric Vehicle Information Exposure does not have a direct significant impact on buying intention. The mediation analysis shows that Perceived Value significantly mediates the relationship between Digital Electric Vehicle Information Exposure and purchase intention and Perceived Risk does not show a significant mediating effect. The results indicate that digital information has more of an impact on consumers' purchase intent for an electric scooter because it enhances their perception of product value, rather than by reducing their perceived risk. This study adds to the digital consumer behaviour and electric mobility literature by stressing the relevance of digital information exposure and evaluation from a value perspective in explaining the purchase intention of electric scooters.