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Purpose: This paper proposes a decision-making framework for assessing various dimensions and barriers that have affected the admission process in management educational institutions during the ongoing pandemic. The framework considers the interrelationship between the obstacles and highlights the importance of each barrier. Design/methodology/approach: An integrated method based on decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory and analytical network process is proposed to structure the barrier assessment framework. Results obtained from the study are validated by comparing them against the conventional analytical hierarchy process. Findings: The results obtained from this study indicate four significant dimensions that hinder admission in Indian management institutes, namely, governmental, financial, sectoral, institutional and market. The top five barriers are demand shift towards technical (alternative) skills, acceptance of the graduated students, lack of industry–institute collaboration, lack of long-term vision and opening new Indian Institute of Technologies (IITs) and Indian Institute of Managements (IIMs). Research limitations/implications: During this ongoing pandemic, many educational institutes have been forced to shift from the traditional classroom to a virtual teaching model. In this regard, this study helps identify and assess the barriers to admission in Indian management institutes during this epidemic and thus, contribute to the literature. The findings will assist all stakeholders and policymakers of management institutions design and develop appropriate managerial strategies. The study is conducted in the Indian management educational institute context and can be extended to technical education institutions for deeper insights. Originality/value: The paper develops an assessment framework for analysing the barriers to admission in Indian management institutes during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Research implications are discussed in the context of a developing country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the student psychological contract in the post-pandemic induced hybrid mode of the academic ecosystem in residential business schools of India. The study puts forth three facets of understanding student expectations for contract fulfillment: the business school, academic staff (faculty) and peers. Design/methodology/approach: Using a sequential mixed methodology (qualitative and quantitative), data were gathered and analyzed in two phases. Perceptions of students regarding their expectations were captured through in-depth semi-structured telephonic interviews. The sample comprised 64 students pursuing two years of full-time master's in management courses at four residential business schools in India. Data obtained through interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. The themes extracted were prioritized using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) in the second phase. Findings: The study provides insight into the prioritized expectations of students from their peers, academic staff and the institute. The findings of the study propose that though the expectations may differ across different groups, the mutual interdependence of these groups was mandatory for contract fulfillment. Originality/value: Research on student psychological contracts in the hybrid mode of business education is scarce. The study provides a holistic perspective on this from the lens of students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify critical Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) benefits and assess their relative significance in the context of developing economies (e.g. India). Design/methodology/approach: This study has conducted face-to-face (offline/online) discussions with experts in order to identify appropriate criteria and related CDM benefits. Further, this study has used subsequently, using the analytic hierarchy process, a multi-criteria decision-making method and assess the relative significance of benefits of CDM projects. Findings: The results reveal that knowledge and capacity building, technology transfer and social benefits are the most significant CDM benefits, respectively. It is because the knowledge and capacity building tends to disseminate the awareness on CDM benefits among policymakers and stakeholders, thereby, lead to efficient policy-making and encourage effective technology transfer in a way to achieve sustainable economic growth in the host country. Originality/value: The literature is dominated by studies of CDM projects in Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Africa and China. Within the thousands of CDM projects globally, India only has 1,376 registered CDM projects. To the authors' knowledge, this is one of the first studies that highlight the relative significance of CDM benefits in the context of India. This study will enhance the implementation in the Indian scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The objective of the work is to have an insight into the degree of the contemporary concept of greening the organization through human resource management (HRM) and to attempt to bridge the gap toward environmental awareness, as well as to observe the dimensions of green HRM (GHRM) practices and its impression toward environmental sustainability by using analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and FAHP. Design/methodology/approach: The research was carried out in two phases; multi-method was employed. The first phase mainly includes a systematic review to convene comprehensive knowledge of widespread GHRM practices to leverage environmental sustainability. In the second phase, the AHP and fuzzy AHP (FAHP) were employed to examine the influence of the respective dimension of GHRM practices toward environmental sustainability. Findings: This study emphasizes the status of GHRM practices such as green recruitment and green selection, green performance management, green training and development, green compensation and rewards, green welfare aspects as a way to aid environmental issues. The findings suggest that these initiatives help to leverage environmental sustainability. Further, this paper reveals that green compensation and rewards have the highest impact on leveraging environmental sustainability. However, this study also emphasizes the comparative study of GHRM dimensions through AHP and FAHP. Originality/value: As existing studies reveal, there is least research carried on this field of study and no study was conducted using AHP and FAHP in this field. Thus, this study reveals the necessity to discover the degree of concern toward GHRM practices in context to India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper demonstrates a multi-criteria analytic hierarchy process (AHP) framework for evaluating and benchmarking maintenance performance in the select agro-based industry. Design/methodology/approach: Initially, 20 maintenance practices (criteria) have been identified after a detailed literature review and discussion with the agro-based industry (sugar, textile and dairy industry) executives. These are then grouped into six maintenance management areas referred to as group criteria. The multi-criteria methodology consists of three steps: criteria identification, hierarchical modeling and data collection and maintenance performance evaluation, and benchmarking. The multi-criteria methodology proposed in this work facilitates two ways of carrying out benchmarking: (1) within the agro-based industry and (2) between the agro-based industry. The methodology has been explained by taking a case example of 45 agro-based industries (18 dairy, 13 sugar and 14 textile) from the western region of India. The sensitivity analysis of the model has been performed to ascertain the robustness of the results. Findings: There is a difference in the maintenance performance across the agro-based industries due to different maintenance practices perceived differently. Research limitations/implications: The outcome of the model is mainly given by the judgments of the agro-based industry executives. It is also sensitive to any change in the relative importance to the evaluation criteria or the perception about the maintenance performance. Practical implications: The study contributes in identifying the weakness, if any, by comparing the agro-based industry under investigation with the benchmark factory at three levels, namely, overall performance (factory level), group criteria (maintenance management area level) and criteria (maintenance practice level) allowing further improvement. Originality/value: The methodology assists in better decision-making and in improving maintenance performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the key performance indicators (KPIs) of vaccine supply chain of Universal Immunization Program (UIP) India, and measure their impact on vaccine supply chain performance improvement, so that results of this study can help the decision makers manage the activity and effectiveness of their resources in order to improve vaccine delivery performance and child immunization coverage.Design/methodology/approach The 41 KPIs in terms of four dimension of the balanced scorecard (BSC), i.e. financial, customer, internal process and learning and growth have been identified and validated from the literature and expert's opinions. Further, the impact of internal process and learning and growth performance indicators on the vaccine supply chain performance improvement have been evaluated using two-way assessment. The rankings obtained using two-way assessment are then compared to DEMATEL approach to validate the results.Findings The results from the analysis reveal that "Enhancement in employee work satisfaction" (LG3=10.08 percent), "Enhancement in professional vaccine supply chain managers and leaders" (LG2 = 6.70 percent) "Improvement in planning and coordination in the supply chain" (LG9 = 6.57 percent) are the three critical performance indicators having maximum impact on vaccine supply chain performance improvement. The decision makers should give priority to these performance indicators to improve delivery performance and immunization coverage.Social implications This study focuses on the improvement in vaccine delivery performance, therefore, analysis and findings can be useful to government immunization programs of India to other developing nations to improve child immunization coverage.Originality/value To our knowledge, this paper is first to attempt to provide a direction to improve immunization coverage through vaccine supply chain performance indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – There is significant research related to risk and uncertainty in valuation. Risk, in valuation, is mostly communicated to investors in qualitative terms. There has been some research in developed markets to communicate risk quantitatively to clients through property risk scores. However there is paucity of research on communicating risk in emerging markets where the valuation profession is still evolving. Indian property markets have emerged as one the fastest growing markets in the last five years. With the growth in Indian economy and the emergence of indirect property investment market, it is likely that domestic and international passive investors would play an important role in property investment in India. Valuation of assets in portfolio and communication of risk in appropriate way would gain utmost importance. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – This study uses analytical hierarchical process method to quantitatively assess risk to value for office properties in India. This study focuses on identifying principal elements of risk as perceived by key market players in an emerging economy like India. It identifies fundamentals of market, property and lease to determine valuation risk. It may be highlighted here that the risk that this paper is analysing is not the risk that is associated with the valuation for valuer who is conducting valuation but systematic and non-systematic risk associated with property. A two round of survey has been conducted to find various principal elements of valuation risk and sub criteria’s through an online survey conducted through survey monkey. Findings – The study found that in an emerging market like India there are limited exit option for developers and investors due to absence of exit vehicle like REITs for office property. Principal element of risk considered is the resale of property, i.e. exit from an investment, followed by tenant and lease specific elements to be other principal elements of risk in the order tenant risk, lock-in duration, functional obsolescence and lease duration. Other market risks like yield movement, rental movement, occupier demand were not considered principal elements of risk. Research limitations/implications – The study could be expanded further by increasing the sample size and as this study demonstrates present market sentiments. Study needs to be updated periodically to retain its practical importance and relevance to the industry. Practical implications – Findings of this study could be used by valuers and investors investing in office properties in India. Originality/value – This is the first paper on risk scoring for commercial properties in the Indian market. It has high importance as Indian market for office space will grow significantly with introduction of REITs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Sustainability in supply chain is gaining attention in recent years due to environmental concern, enforced legislation, green issues, social responsibility, etc. Sustainable supply chain (SSC) has revolved around the various dimensions including economy, environment and societal factors since its inception. The purpose of this paper is to identify, prioritize and evaluate the indicators of SSC so that organizations can cultivate strategies to implement them on priority.Design/methodology/approach This paper proposes a methodology based on fuzzy analytic hierarchy process to prioritize the indicators of SSC. A numerical analysis of Indian automotive industry is presented to demonstrate the use of the proposed method. This proposed method considered fuzzy framework that can handle impreciseness and uncertainty. Sensitivity analysis is also performed to test the robustness of the proposed model.Findings Potential indicators are identified from relevant literature and validated by industry experts. This research finalizes the SSC indicators under three dimensions so that prioritization of identified indicators can be developed and the insights relationship of factors would be explored. The results of the study found that environmental and social dimensions of sustainability contribute more toward the sustainability.Research limitations/implications This study is limited to identify evaluation factors and other factors have not been identified and categorized. Evaluation is done by experts in this area so it is natural that views of decision makers may be subjective and vary with regard to industry type, priorities, resources, etc.Practical implications This study will help industry to identify, evaluate and prioritize factors for successful implementation of sustainability in their supply chain. Automotive companies could device these factors by applying the outcome of the study in their operations with higher priority to integrate sustainability in their supply chain.Originality/value These factors are identified to implement sustain ability into supply chain practices for automotive industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Understanding the significance of supply chain, demands need of multiple criteria for its performance evaluation. The aim of this paper is to propose an approach to evaluate the performance of supply chain using multiple criteria. Design/methodology/approach – A multi-criteria decision making tool, like analytic hierarchy process is used to develop an eight step methodology for performance evaluation. The proposed methodology is also elucidated with an illustration and a case from Indian chemical company. Findings – Supply chain performance number is computed, suggesting the present performance status of the supply chain. The methodology also helps rank the various links according to its performance. The analysis leads in computation of supply chain performance number (SCPN): the value lies between 0 and 1. Research limitations/implications – The methodology can be suitably modified to accommodate any number of criteria and supply links, given the structure of the supply chain. Practical implications – A case from an Indian chemical industry is presented in this paper. The findings of which, are encouraging and have benefited the practicing mangers in various ways. Originality/value – This paper presents a unique approach for supply chain performance evaluation considering multiple criteria, with a flexibility to modify and analyze using the available data sets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify, model, analyze and prioritize the barriers in implementing sustainable practices in rubber products manufacturing industry in Kerala, a state in South India. This research provides a more reliable quantitative measure of association of the barriers in the implementation of sustainable practices in the rubber products manufacturing sector. Design/methodology/approach: Interpretive structural modeling (ISM) is used to develop the hierarchical relationships among the barriers in the implementation of sustainable supply chain practices in the rubber products manufacturing sector. The hierarchical structure among the barriers is framed using the experts' opinion. Cross-impact matrix multiplication applied to the classification (MICMAC) analysis is integrated with the output of ISM to classify the barriers into different categories based on the driving power and the dependence power. The driving power and the dependence power of the barriers obtained from ISM constitute two criteria for prioritizing the barriers. The change management required is considered as the third criterion. The fuzzy-analytic hierarchy process (F-AHP) methodology is adopted to prioritize the barriers based on these three criteria. Findings: The hierarchical relationship obtained through ISM methodology shows that lack of government initiatives and lack of benchmark on sustainability measurement in Indian conditions are the major barriers in implementing sustainable practices in the rubber products manufacturing sector. These barriers lead to the lack of management commitment for the implementation of sustainable practices in the organizations under study. The prioritization obtained through the F-AHP method suggests that lack of top-level management commitment, lack of motivation, lack of government initiatives and high initial cost of implementation are some of the major barriers in implementing sustainable practices in the organizations. Research limitations/implications: In the application of the ISM methodology, the contextual relationship between the barriers specified by the experts and their preferences may involve bias. Another limitation of this research is that the modeling and prioritization of the barriers are executed based on the opinion of experts from rubber product manufacturing companies in one state only. Originality/value: To the best knowledge of the authors, this research is the first study on the identification and prioritization of the barriers in sustainable supply chain implementation in the rubber products manufacturing sector. Modeling the inter-relationship among the barriers using ISM technique and prioritizing the barriers using F-AHP are the novel features of the contributions of this work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Companies all over the world have recently started to adopt supply chain finance (SCF) solutions in their supply chains to reduce the payment defaults and simplify the bill settlement process. The purpose of this paper is to identify and prioritize the barriers to adopting SCF in micro, small and medium enterprises. Design/methodology/approach: It employs a three-phase methodology to identify and prioritize the essential barriers to the implementation of SCF. An extensive survey has been carried out in 101 Indian MSMEs in India which identified 37 barriers under six heads in the first phase. Experts' interview using the Delphi technique has been carried out in the second phase to finalize the barriers. The analytic hierarchy process methodology, with sensitivity analysis for validation, is used in the final stage to prioritize and rank the barriers. Findings: Results show that financial and information technology barriers are prominent in SCF adoption followed by financial challenges. Among specific barriers, the disclosure of sensitive company information to competitor barrier acts as an essential barrier followed by poor technological capability of MSMEs. Research limitations/implications: The study is limited to SCF adoption of MSMEs in a developing nation. Extensive research is required in order to derive a global trend. Practical implications: The current research contributes to the stakeholder theory and transaction cost economics. Observations made in the current research can encourage organizations to incorporate stakeholders' concerns into the adoption of SCF solutions. The study provides a more in-depth view of such challenges and a benchmark, which will help companies to adopt SCF solutions more effortlessly. Moreover, policy makers across the world can explore these serious issues and amend or introduce new policies to facilitate companies' implementation of supply chain financial solutions. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study which identified and prioritized SCF adoption barriers of MSMEs in a developing nation. This study is also novel in adopting a hybrid analytical hierarchy process-sensitivity analysis for ranking the SCF barriers in an MSME context. SCF studies often emphasize only on the reverse factoring aspect of SCF. The current study considers many innovative aspects of SCF, such as pre-shipment financing, dynamic discounting, inventory financing, collaborative logistics, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – With the growing importance of service quality in Indian retail, it becomes critical for the retailers to identify the appropriate dimensions for their retail stores. In the process of evaluating service quality the decision maker is often faced with ambiguities due to the imprecise information gained from the respondents. The purpose of this paper is to present an integrated fuzzy (fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) approach to help the decision makers/retailers in practicing and judging the priorities of service quality strategies and accordingly benchmarking retail stores in Indian retail environment. Design/methodology/approach – The study incorporated the five basic dimensions of Retail Service Quality Scale proposed by Dabholkar et al. (1996) and the FAHP approach to three leading apparel retail stores of a major city (Rourkela) of Orissa (an Indian state located in eastern part of the country) to determine the weights of criteria and sub-criteria of retail service quality. Findings – The study identified that the dimensions, namely, personal interaction, physical aspects, reliability and policy are perceived as important by the Indian consumers. Merchandise and the store’s willingness to handle returns and exchanges emerge as the most influencing variable affecting the overall service quality of the store. Research limitations/implications – The study was restricted to a major city of Orissa and to three apparel stores. The results obtained may not be extrapolated to the country as a whole. The authors believe that the integrated approach of FAHP could be used by a variety of service industries to evaluate the service quality. The study did not investigate switching behavior among the respondents as they had been visiting all the three apparel stores during the preceding months. Practical implications – The integrated approach of FAHP makes an empirical contribution to the service quality and retail marketing literature by overcoming the uncertainty of concepts those are associated with human beings’ subjective judgments. Social implications – The retailer can improve the quality of service provided by them based on the parameters important in Indian context, which will lead to higher customer satisfaction. Originality/value – This paper can help the retail service providers to identify which of the retail service quality dimensions requires much attention to create sustainable competitive advantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Security and safety have remained important concerns for mankind since ancient times. In the context of railways, however, the threat perceptions to safety and security have increased significantly lately. In view of this, the Indian Railways requires an effective and efficient security management system. The purpose of this paper is to propose an integrated approach to help develop the Indian railway security system (IRSS) by successively reducing the complexity of the system through a series of studies. Design/methodology/approach: The relevant elements of the complex system of Indian Railways have been identified. The framework in which the elements exist and interact with each other has been clearly established using the interpretive structural modelling (ISM) technique. The output of ISM is further reduced in complexity by having different policy option profiles. A comparison of different option profiles has been done by a multi-criteria decision-making technique, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), by choosing suitable criteria for comparison. Findings: The following elements need to be pursued as the key objectives for making IRSS: protection of passengers, protection of property, modernisation, manpower enhancement, multi-skilling of staff, latest technology and enhanced legal powers. Research limitations/implications: The present research can be extended in many important ways. Interpretive structural models for different contextual relationships can be developed and used for formulating and implementing customised security policy. Policy elements and the ISM structure obtained in this research can be utilised for the system dynamic modelling of IRSS. A pilot study can be done to implement the recommendations made in this study. Practical implications: The ISM model developed can be implemented as a policy tool in enhancing the railway's security. Some of the policy elements proposed appear to be consistent with the strategic direction being undertaken in the railway security in the country. Social implications: Security is an important concern for mankind and social civilisations. The results have significant welfare implications in India and the rest of the world. Originality/value: The present study is one of the first approaches in a series of studies in railway security in India. The results of this study can be extended to other security scenarios with similar needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The successive waves of the Covid-19 SARS-II pandemic and the attendant lockdown imposed by the governments worldwide drove the economic activities to a halt. Offices and factories closed, production of goods and services declined and supply chains got severely disrupted. Many companies were embattled with the grim reality of shrinkage of aggregate demand, first due to supply shock and later due to loss of jobs and wages. Amidst all this, the handling and shipping of commodities became extremely complex. As the pandemic shifted consumer preference in favour of digital platforms, more and more fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies were confronted with multiple strategies and choices of an appropriate distribution channel to ensure smooth delivery of raw materials and products. The present study aims to study this shift and its implications in the Indian context. Design/methodology/approach: A mix-method approach, integrating quantitative and qualitative analysis, is employed to investigate the factors influencing the selection of distribution channels amongst general trade, modern trade, e-commerce and hyperlocal for FMCG companies in India. The first phase of the study uses exploratory factor analysis (EFA), followed by the application of analytical hierarchy process (AHP) approach in a fuzzy environment to realise the priority weights and ranking of the identified factors. Finally, sensitivity analysis is performed to confirm the robustness of the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) outcomes. Findings: The study revealed that modern trade has emerged as the most favoured channel in the post-pandemic Indian economy. It has the potential to disrupt general trade. The study also revealed that the hyperlocal delivery model is not economically viable, and the partnership of FMCG companies with these applications is at best a short-term solution. However, it must be submitted that due to its sheer capability to ensure quick deliveries within a confined geographic area, hyperlocal delivery will gain momentum with the advancement of technology. Originality/value: This study can be seen as the first attempt to investigate the issues related to the selection of the distribution channels in the FMCG sector of India using multi-criteria decision-making technique (MCDM). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Adopting the circular economy (CE) notion in the supply chain perspective is necessary for the sustainability viewpoint. However, such practices are deficient, especially in developing countries like India, because of several obstacles. The purpose of this study was to create an approach for circular supply chain management (CSCM) adaption in Indian rubber industries by identifying and evaluating its associated obstacles. Design/methodology/approach: A hybrid approach of analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the grey-based ELECTRE method had been employed in this research to obtain the mutual rankings of the identified obstacles based on their impressions on the CSCM prosperity criteria through a case study and involving diverse expert's opinions. Findings: Presented study's findings illustrate that "Lack of consumer knowledge and consciousness towards environmental sustainability" was found to be the top-ranked obstacle followed by "Unwillingness towards supply chain re-structuring". Research limitations/implications: The obstacles' prioritized rankings could help leaders to create sequential strategies for adapting a resilient CSCM structure by systematically eliminating these obstacles. Moreover, the pinpointed critical obstacles could be investigated further in separate studies and generate future studies' scope. Originality/value: During the extensive literature survey, it had been found that the CSCM practices are in the fledgling stage in the developing country's context. Moreover, studies related to CSCM adaption in rubber-based manufacturing industries were much lacking. Presented work is peculiar, aiming to accelerate the CSCM adaption in the industrial rubber sector in developing countries like India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The present study aims to determine and benchmark the performance of socially responsible companies (SRCs) in India based on the financial, value-added and combined performance indicators by addressing the climate change problems at the grass-root level. Design/methodology/approach: The present study has used the traditional financial, value-added and combined performance indicators to evaluate and rank the performance of 14 SRCs under the Bombay stock exchange (BSE)-Greenex sustainability index. The technique for order performance by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) and fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) algorithms calculate performance scores and assign weights to the indicators from 2015 to 2019. Further, the Altman Z-score methodology has been applied to understand the SRCs propensity toward bankruptcy behavior. The parametric t-test is also performed on the outcomes of TOPSIS scores under different categories of indicators to check the statistical significance. Findings: The performance scores of the TOPSIS algorithm indicate that the financial indicators of SRCs govern the firm performance significantly over the value-added indicators (VAIs). Further, parametric t-test results validate the outcomes of the performance scores by exhibiting that there is no significant difference between the traditional financial and VAIs at a 5% significance level. However, a few SRCs overall performance rankings have improved significantly after including VAIs. Moreover, the Altman Z-score results also reveal that most of the SRCs evaluated in the study are stable, showcasing consistent performance and absent from bankruptcy behavior. Practical implications: The study has practical implications as follows: (1) to facilitate a clear understanding of investors and portfolio managers in selecting appropriate companies under socially responsible investing (SRI); (2) to provide portfolio diversification insights for domestic and international investors besides advocating the necessity of investing in better performing sustainable companies to safeguard their investments against the future uncertainty and (3) the study results would benefit the regulatory bodies to frame appropriate sustainability policy interventions at the organization level. Originality/value: In the context of ambiguous inferences on the performance of SRI, no prior study has been conducted to assess the performance of SRCs in the Indian version of sustainability index BSE-Greenex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study prioritizes the supply chain risks (SCRs) and determines risk mitigation strategies (RMSs) for the Indian apparel industry to mitigate the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic disruption. Design/methodology/approach: Initially, 23 SCRs within the apparel industry are identified through an extant literature review. Further, a fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) is utilized to prioritize the SCRs considering the epidemic situations to understand the criticality of SCRs and determine appropriate RMSs to mitigate the shock of SCRs during COVID-19. Findings: This study prioritized and ranked the SCRs within the Indian apparel industry based on their severity during the COVID-19 disruption. Results indicate that the demand uncertainty and pandemic disruption risks are the most critical. Based on the SCRs, the present work evaluated and suggested the flexibility and postponement mitigation strategies for the case under study. Research limitations/implications: This study has novel implications to the existing literature on supply chain risk management in the form of the FAHP framework. Supply chain practitioners from the other industrial sectors can extend the proposed FAHP framework to assess the SCRs and identify suitable mitigation strategies. The results aid the practitioners working in an apparel industry to benchmark and deploy the proposed RMSs in their firm. Originality/value: The present study is a unique and earlier attempt to develop a quantitative framework using FAHP to evaluate and determine the risk mitigation strategy for managing the SCRs during the coronavirus epidemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The primary objective of the study is to discover the most prominent criteria and sub-criteria among environmental issues, social dimensions and corporate governance factors that may impact individual equity investors' investment decisions. Design/methodology/approach: The present study collected data from 438 individual equity investors from the North Indian region. To achieve the objectives of the study, a fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (Fuzzy AHP) was applied. The key considerations of the study were environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. Findings: The governance criterion was discovered to be the most significant factor influencing individual equity investors' investment decisions among the three ESG factors, followed by environmental criteria, while social criteria were shown to be the least influential. Research limitations/implications: The present study solely looked at ESG issues as drivers of stock investors' investment decisions. In the current world, however, many other factors, including behavioral biases, accounting information, ownership structure and fundamental analysis, can have a substantial influence on investors' investment decisions. Practical implications: The study's findings widen the theoretical contribution in the field of responsible investment by asserting how ESG factors influence investors' investment decisions in the equity market. From a practical standpoint, this study applies to retail and institutional investors, portfolio managers, financial advisors, market regulators, corporations and society at large. Originality/value: To the best of authors knowledge, no attempt has been made to prioritize the ESG issues that impact the investment decisions of individual equity investors. Ergo, this study contributes to the existing literature on socially responsible investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Elderly patients suffering from non-communicable disease face a dilemma in the selection of healthcare providers. This study attempts to identify the key variables playing a crucial role and identify the appropriate healthcare destination with the help of a combination of Decision-making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) techniques. The primary objective is to introduce the DEMATEL and AHP as efficient decision-making methods to choose the right healthcare provider for elderly patients suffering from non-communicable diseases. Design/methodology/approach: An integrative approach utilizing DEMATEL and AHP is used to reach the ideal solution for healthcare provider selection decisions. The DEMATEL approach is used to segregate the cause and effect variables. Similarly, the AHP is used to identify the weights of the top five cause-inducing variables, and the paired comparison method is used to select the healthcare provider. Findings: The variables such as dependency on family members, easily accessible services, and patient autonomy play a vital role in the selection decision of healthcare providers in elderly patients suffering from non-communicable diseases. Practical implications: In terms of priority, home healthcare should be considered the preferred provider for elderly patients suffering from non-communicable diseases followed by neighbourhood registered medical practitioners and hospitals. Originality/value: This is the first of its kind study which has attempted to solve the healthcare provider selection decision with the combined approach of DEMATEL and AHP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of the research is to identify and prioritise the implementation challenges of blockchain technology and suggests ways for its implementation in supply chains. Design/methodology/approach: Underlined by the technology, organisational, and external environment model, a conceptual framework with four challenge categories and sixteen challenges is proposed. Data collected from three stakeholder groups with experience in the implementation of blockchain technology in India is analysed by employing an analytical hierarchy process method-based case study. Further, a criticality–effort matrix analysis is performed to group challenges and suggest ways for implementation. Findings: The analysis revels that all stakeholders perceive complexity challenge associated with the technology, organisational structure, and external environment, and issues of compatibility with existing systems, software, and business practices to be high on the criticality and effort scales, which thus require meticulous planning to manage. Likewise, top-management support issues related to insufficient understanding of how technology fits with the organisation's policy and benefits offered by the technology requires high effort to address this challenge. Research limitations/implications: The results were obtained by focusing on the Indian context and therefore may not apply to other nations' contexts. Practical implications: By investigating the challenges that the developers, consultants, and client organisations need to address, this study assists managers in developing plans to facilitate coordination among these organisations for successful blockchain implementation. Originality/value: To the authors' knowledge this study is the first to identify and prioritise the challenges from the perspectives of multiple stakeholder groups with experience in blockchain technology implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Advanced digitalization techniques combined with artificial intelligence and automated robotic systems have created "Smart" organizations resulting in a new revolution in the industrial production systems as Industry 4.0 (I4.0). The research is aimed to do a meticulous scanning of internal and external environment pertaining to I4.0 implementation in the manufacturing industry in India. Design/methodology/approach: A survey was conducted among the manufacturing managers and information technology professionals about the factors affecting I4.0 application, and 20 such internal and external factors were identified. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were executed for factor analysis, and four dimensions in terms of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) factors were determined from the variables. The analytical hierarchy process (AHP) methodology was then applied. Findings: Results show that increased productivity and efficiency appeared to be the biggest strength of I4.0 while the biggest weakness is the need for specialized training and skills. The biggest opportunity is found to be increasing trust of customers in Internet transactions and employee resistance to adopting new technologies turned out to be the biggest threat. Practical implications: Organizations will be able to evaluate the strengths, work upon weakness, exploit the opportunities and protect against external challenges and threats beforehand while implementing I4.0 technologies. Originality/value: The four dimensions in terms of SWOT pertaining to manufacturing industry have been identified by collecting original data from the manufacturing industry, and AHP and CFA were then carried out to prioritize and verify them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: A large number of roads have been constructed in the rural areas of India to connect habitations with the nearest major roads. With time, the pavements of these roads have deteriorated and they need some kind of maintenance, although they all do not need maintenance at the same time, as they have all not deteriorated to the same level. Hence, they have to be prioritized for maintenance. Design/methodology/approach: In order to present a scientific methodology for prioritizing pavement maintenance, the factors affecting prioritization and the relative importance of each were identified through an expert survey. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to scientifically establish weight (importance) of each factor based on its relative importance over other factors. The proposed methodology was validated through a case study of 203 low volume rural roads in the state of Himachal Pradesh in India. Ranking of these roads in order of their priority for maintenance was presented as the final result. Findings: The results show that pavement distresses, traffic volume, type of connectivity and the socioeconomic facilities located along a road are the four major factors to be considered in determining the priority of a road for maintenance. Research limitations/implications: The methodology provides a comprehensive, scientific and socially responsible pavement maintenance prioritization method which will automatically select roads for maintenance without any bias. Practical implications: Timely maintenance of roads will also save budgetary expenditure of restoration/reconstruction, leading to enhancement of road service life. The government will not only save money but also provide timely benefit to the needy population. Social implications: Road transportation is the primary mode of inland transportation in rural areas. Timely maintenance of the pavements will be of great help to the socioeconomic development of rural areas. Originality/value: The proposed methodology lays special emphasis on rural roads which are small in length, but large in number. Instead of random, a scientific method for selection of roads for maintenance will be of great help to the public works department for better management of rural road network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to use the framework of stakeholder analysis in a participatory democracy, used in forest management planning, for arriving at the best management option for selected sacred groves of Kachchh. This is achieved by accounting for economic, cultural and ecological values and the resulting outcomes in the complex institutional mechanism. Additionally, this study provides a framework for complex decision-making that characterizes the management of sacred groves involving multiple criteria and options accounting for multiple stakeholders that involve conflicting interests. Design/methodology/approach: The analytical hierarchy process was used to calculate the global priorities of management options using the relative importance of stakeholders, weights of different decision criteria to arrive at the best management practice for selected groves of Kachchh. The global priorities of management options rank management practices based on stakeholders' values and their effects on the choice of management strategy as well as on the potential to attain a compromise between competing interests. For this purpose, survey responses of 141 individuals belonging to seven different stakeholder categories were analyzed. Along with focus group discussions, and personal interviews, a stratified random sampling technique was used to survey respondents. Findings: Based on the global priority weights of the alternatives, it is determined that the restoration management option (guggal is restored by planting new guggal sapplings, cattle grazing is prohibited and high levels of ecosystem goods and services are provided) had the highest score, followed by the preservation management option (grazing is allowed on the periphery, juvenile guggal is preserved and moderate ecosystem goods and services are provided). Therefore, restoration of sacred groves is the best management practice of sacred groves in West Kachchh, offering a compromise between maximizing provision of ecosystem services and economic benefits in terms of allowing cattle grazing. Originality/value: Though there are several studies on best management practices for community-owned forests, irrigation systems, and pasture lands, and the role of local institutions in sustaining these common-pool resources; such studies for sacred groves are absent, despite sacred groves being one of the longest surviving common-pool resources that has sustained it over several decades. This is the first study that uses the framework of stakeholder analysis to arrive at the best management practice for sacred groves. The uniqueness of the study lies in a comprehensive evaluation of ecological–economic–cultural interests of multiple stakeholders toward management of sacred groves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: An amalgamation of Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) and Analytical Network Process (ANP) has been performed to develop a decision-making framework for improving the overall performance of the microfinance institutions. A primary survey was conducted to collect real-time data from the heterogeneous stakeholders of microfinance institutions across India. The validation of the proposed framework is performed by comparing the results against the conventional method of Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Design/methodology/approach: This study identifies various dimensions and indicators for measuring the performance of Indian microfinance institutions. Additionally, the ranking and prioritisation of the performance dimensions and indicators is obtained by considering the mutual interrelation between them. Findings: The study indicates that there exists a significant dyadic relationship between financial performance and social performance for improving the overall performance of the microfinance institutions. Governance is found to unidirectionally influence both financial and social performance. Among all the considered dimensions, financial performance of a microfinance institution is the most critical dimension for improving the overall performance. The top five performance indicators of the Indian microfinance institutions are funding source, borrowing and overhead cost, size of the firm, end-use of the money and depth of outreach. Research limitations/implications: The study was conducted in the context of Indian microfinance institutions; hence the scope of generalisation of the results is limited. This research considers both subjective and objective aspect of the performance dimensions and indicators from the perspective of multiple stakeholders (i.e. firm, society and regulator). The integrated framework is expected to aid in improving overall performance of microfinance institutions by focusing on the most critical (high prioritised) performance indicators. Originality/value: An integrated DEMATEL-ANP framework is used in the domain of microfinance to assess the performance dimensions. This study is unique in terms of analysing performance of microfinance institutions from the perspective of heterogeneous stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study provides an extensive risk assessment framework for nonlisted real estate funds' (NREFs) portfolio management in India across their life cycle; that is, the investment stage, the monitoring stage and the exit stage in an emerging market context. The study of risk across these three stages is a new addition to the literature and assumes importance in the context of real estate portfolio management for NREFs in the emerging markets (e.g. India), which are predominantly an opportunistic investment play. Design/methodology/approach: The risk assessment framework is built on the multiactor/multicriteria risk priorities, using analytical hierarchy process (AHP), obtained from 35 experts in four real estate fund management professional groups; namely, investors/fund managers, valuers, consultants and international developers. Findings: The results demonstrate that the real estate portfolio management risk priorities change across the three life cycle stages of the fund. At the investment stage, specific risks are most critical; at the monitoring stage, it is important to concentrate on all three risks – specific, systematic and management risks; and at the exit stage, systematic risk plays a crucial role. Real estate portfolio management risk evaluation at the subfactor level shows that investee/partner and location selection needs to be critically evaluated at the time of the investment; project execution and quality of development must be monitored during the construction/monitoring period; and repatriation of the funds, currency volatility and exit risk (resale) are critical at the exit stage of the fund. Practical implications: The understanding of the real estate portfolio management risk transformation across the life cycle stages is crucial for NREF managers for risk minimization, transfer and mitigation strategy formulation in their real estate portfolios. Unlike previous research that evaluates investment risk, this study breaks the NREF's risks into the investment, monitoring and exit stages. The key risk factors for each stage depend on the NREF's real estate activities for that stage. These activities, in turn, give rise to a typical risk profile for that stage. The findings are crucial for the various stakeholders of real estate fund management and policymakers in an emerging market context; particularly India, one of the fastest growing major economies in the world. Originality/value: This risk assessment framework for simultaneously assessing risk across the three life cycle stages of NREFs is a new addition to the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This research focuses on suggesting an optimized model for selecting best employees using advanced multi-criteria decision making method to a supply chain firm, who is planning to start a new cold chain business vertical. Design/methodology/approach: Study has been conducted in a supply chain firm in North India, who wants to expand its business with the help of efficient team members. In total 38 applicants were considered for the study, as selected by the firm after initial screening from pool of talent. AHP-LP and TOPSIS-LP integrated approach were applied separately for evaluation and implementation of personnel selection model. Further, both the approaches were compared to find the best fit and optimized model. Findings: As per the findings, both AHP and TOPSIS can be used to select the best candidate among the alternatives available. TOPSIS was found easier to implement as it involves ranking of applicants with respect to each skills required for respective job profile only once, whereas AHP involves pair-wise comparison among candidates with respect to each skills required for respective job profile and normalization of each comparison, resulting in the formation of number of comparison matrices. However, AHP is more reliable as it considers consistency check for each level of pair-wise comparison. Hence, there is a chance to avoid or revise the human judgment error. Integrated ranking and optimization approach minimizes the cost by suggesting the relevant positions to be filed to make an efficient team. Research limitations/implications: Group of interviewers are involved in the decision-making process, hence there are chances of biasness in ranking method which can influence the group decision. Research is limited to a particular geography of North India therefore needs to be tested for other regions also in order to generalize. The research will help the third party logistics (3PL) and other related firms in efficient team selection. Originality/value: The researcher focuses on formalizing a method for potential candidate selection by considering the constraints of the organization. It has been observed that limited researches have been done on the application of AHP-LP or TOPSIS-LP integrated approach for selection process. Hence, this research proposes two integrated ranking-optimization method and suggests the best fit by comparing both the approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to identify the critical factors (barriers and drivers) influencing the adoption of cloud computing (ACC) in the manufacturing sector in India. Design/methodology/approach: In this study, a mixed methodology approach is used. Interviews are conducted to investigate factors (drivers and barriers) influencing the ACC, which are further categorized as controllable determinants (weaknesses and strengths) and uncontrollable determinants (threats and opportunities) using a SWOT analysis. Fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) has been utilized to highlight the most critical drivers as well as barriers. Finally, decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) has been used to find the cause-effect relationships among factors and their influence on the decision of adoption. Findings: The manufacturing sector is in the digital and value change transformation phase with Industry 4.0, that is, the next industrial revolution. The 24 critical factors influencing ACC are subdivided into strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The FAHP analysis ranked time to market, competitive advantage, business agility, data confidentiality and lack of government policy standards as the most critical factors. The cause-effect relationships highlight that time to market is the most significant causal factor, and resistance to technology is the least significant effect factor. The results of the study elucidate that the strengths of ACC are appreciably more than its weaknesses. Research limitations/implications: This study couples the technology acceptance model (TAM) with technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework and adds an economic perspective to examine the significant influences of ACC in the Indian manufacturing sector. Further, it contributes to the knowledge of ACC in general and provides valuable insights into interrelationships among factors influencing the decision and strategies of adoption in particular. Originality/value: This is the first scholarly work in the Indian manufacturing sector that uses the analysis from SWOT and FAHP approach as a base for identifying cause-effect relationships between the critical factors influencing ACC. Further, based on the extant literature and analysis of this work, an adoption framework has been proposed that justifies that ACC is not just a technological challenge but is also an environmental, economic and organizational challenge that includes organizational issues, costs and need for adequate government policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The study aims to identify and rank the critical success factors (CSFs) for BOT projects in India. Design/methodology/approach – The study was conducted based on an extensive literature review and focus group discussions. Through structured questionnaire, a survey was conducted with executives from leading construction, consultancy and government organizations. A total of 150 questionnaires were sent out of which 60 responses were received. Analytical hierarchy process method was used to analyze the data. Findings – Concession agreement, short-construction period, selection procedure of concessionaire, sufficient long-term demand and sufficient net cash inflow emerged as the top five factors critical for the success of the BOT projects in India. Practical implications – The identified CSFs should influence the policy development towards BOT projects and are expected to enhance the success rate of these projects. Originality/value – The study has made much-needed contribution to the extant literature on BOT projects. The findings would be valuable in assisting government (owner) and private participants to have a better understanding of the critical factors leading to success of these projects. The results from the current study are crucial as not many studies have been conducted in India as compared to China and West. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]