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Purpose: This research paper aims to showcase current knowledge management (KM) practices via social media that is being adopted by organizations in India and China. India and China are considered leading economies in today's global market. Any understanding of management practices in these countries will help practitioners in doing businesses in these nations. Design/methodology/approach: This conceptual paper analyzes KM practices in India and China using an in-depth analysis of the extant literature to provide a comparative perspective of KM policies in these two economies. This paper has used a wide range of scholarly and non-scholarly databases from ABI Global Inform to Business Source Complete to Google Scholar among others. Findings: This research offers valuable insights into characteristic KM trends followed by Indian and Chinese firms. This paper also highlights different approaches adopted by these two cultures in managing their KM practices. The study also provides hypotheses that can be tested by potential scholars. This paper also offers theoretical models to understand this concept better. Practical implications: This paper also provides implications for practice by identifying guidelines for global managers. These frameworks might serve as preliminary parameters for practitioners planning to establish KM practices in India and China. Originality/value: This paper compares and contrasts KM practices in one of the two largest BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) economies which have not been addressed in the literature before. It also combines two theoretical frameworks from different fields (information technology and human resource management) providing a richer viewpoint on the subject.

This paper seeks to examine the relationship between competitivenessand environment-friendly behaviour of producers under an economic liberalisation regime. For that purpose, it employs a probit model and estimates the influence of the prime movers of industrial growth suchas technical change and economies of scale on environmental degradation. The empirical results of the study of pulp and paper industry, identified as one of the most polluting industries in India, indicate that these variables, as the key players of competitiveness improvement, have positive influence on environment-friendly behaviour. Such findings, therefore, fail to provide support to a view that articulates ruthless exploitation of the environment under economic liberalisation programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the conventional education system with different forms of E-learning and rigid academic instructive curriculum could not bring desired changes in specified timeframe work at rural level in the targeted communities and groups, a multipronged sociological approach with a sociable and flexible curriculum in new E-Learning programs becomes need of hour. The impact of socializing influence of these E-Learning programs should be properly exploited to motivate and inspire the rural target groups. The benefits of E-learning then become extensive and soon integrate with the needs of the lower strata of the society in order for achieving a rapid social transformation in the lives of the farmers, vocational groups, artisans and small income self help groups comprising women, girls and physically challenged. The paper suggests a number of new generation E-Learning programs as strategies of development communication with a promise of high returns for the industry for its investment in these programs with socially relevant messages and media convergence.

The electronic frontier is not something that education has embraced with open arms. There is a natural tendency to resist new ways of doing things. Our commerce teacher's attitude is responsible for the slow acceptance of modern technology in the educational environment. The paper explores the apprehensions of teachers in the implementation of technology and offers suggestions to integrate technology in the classrooms. Though the study is confined to Udupi District, the findings may be relevant to the entire commerce education.

In difficult times, people turn to poetry, reading, and writing for solace and peace. In emotionally intense and traumatic times, people use poetry to process and understand the lived eyepieces. The havoc wreaked by the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the emotional and psychological well-being of individuals all across the world. Poetry has emerged as a savior in these difficult times. A phenomenon, "lockdown poems", came into existence as individuals all across the globe processed and shared their lived experiences of isolation, pain, and suffering through poems. In the present paper, students of a management program process and share their experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic, the subsequent lockdowns, and their community work experience. Poetry as a therapeutic and hope-building tool is discussed in the paper along with the original poems written by the students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the association of COVID-19 confirmed cases and deaths with mental health, unemployment and financial markets-related search terms for the USA, the UK, India and worldwide using Google Trends. Design/methodology/approach: The authors use Spearman's rank correlation coefficients to assess the relationship between relative search volumes (RSVs) and mental health, unemployment and financial markets-related search terms, with the total confirmed COVID-19 cases as well as deaths in the USA, UK, India and worldwide. The sample period starts from the day 100 cases were reported for the first time, which is 7 March 2020, 13 March 2020, 23 March 2020 and 28 January 2020 for the US, the UK, India and worldwide, respectively, and ends on 25 June 2020. Findings: The results indicate a significant increase in anxiety, depression and stress leading to sleeping disorders or insomnia, further deteriorating mental health. The RSVs of employment are negatively significant, implying that people are hesitant to search for new jobs due to being susceptible to exposure, imposed lockdown and social distancing measures and changing employment patterns. The RSVs for financial terms exhibit the varying associations of COVID-19 cases and deaths with the stock market, loans, rent, etc. Research limitations/implications: This study has implications for the policymakers, health experts and the government. The state governments must provide proper medical facilities and holistic care to the affected population. It may be noted that the findings of this study only lead us to conclude about the relationship between COVID-19 cases and deaths and Google Trends searches, and do not as such indicate the effect on actual behaviour. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first attempt to investigate the relationship between the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the USA, UK and India and at the global level and RSVs for mental health-related, job-related and financial keywords. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entrepreneurship has been recognised as an important factor of development and has been playing a crucial role in capital creation and accelerating economic growth in India. Women entrepreneurs are also increasingly contributing towards the economic growth. By Women Entrepreneurs we mean, women who are engaged in an act of business and business creation that empowers women economically, builds financial stability as well as create a position for themselves in the society. Although incredible opportunities exist, few business challenges as inadequate funds, lack of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) knowledge etc. deter women entrepreneurs. This paper attempts to find the potential of ICT to support women entrepreneurs' in business ventures, and address certain problems peculiar to women, since ICT has helped expansion of many businesses and carry it to the international level too in quite a short span of time as compared to conventional business practices. This paper uses the qualitative research strategy and primary data collected from women entrepreneurs of northeast and eastern India. The result highlights, that there is limited use of ICT by these entrepreneurs in their business operation in such areas as purchasing system, website designing, internal communication etc. The present study may provide insight to existing and prospective entrepreneurs in considering use of ICT for business expansion and may help policy makers in getting relevant information to provide a sound support and information system to women. Conducive legal and institutional provisions will help future growth of women entrepreneurs and will also motivate more in creating new ventures with new hope in the future and a win-win situation for all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A developing country like India has realized the vital role of Entrepreneurship in economic growth, and mindfulness is very crucial for becoming a successful entrepreneur. The paper examines the relationship of mindfulness with Entrepreneurial orientation and all of its dimensions. The data was collected from 152 working professionals using a purposive sampling technique. MANOVA is performed to measure the impact of independent variables (gender, thought of doing business and level of mindfulness) on dependent variables, i.e., Entrepreneurial Orientation, Innovativeness, Proactiveness and Risk. Firstly, the results conclude that interaction among the combination of mindfulness, thought of doing business and gender variables have an impact on combined entrepreneurial orientation. Secondly, it is found that mindful females who have thought of doing their own business have a stronger entrepreneurial orientation. The presence of more women in leadership roles will contribute to business growth; thus, such talent must be educated and trained for the benefit of the organization and the nation as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information Technology has been playing an important role in the development of the business in emerging economy like India. People are using smart phones internet regularly and continuously for their business purpose as well as for their other task. Smart phone users are increased because of that E-Commerce accessibility has been reaching to the customers conveniently. It can be expected for the future advancement helps a lot in development of the business. E commerce has a lot of benefits which we have seen during the covid-19 and the pace of that is increased because the reach of the customer of physical marketing was low due to the covid-19. It becomes an opportunity for e-commerce now the traffic on these sites are increased sales of these sites are increased they are like using a new product new services or sing in a new area. After 2016 E-Commerce has reached at a new era of success it was hundred million in 2016 now it is expected to increase twice by 2022 as per global retail development Index. The objective of this paper is to study about the growth of E commerce and linkages between sales bill volume and market share as well as strategies followed by selected E commerce companies during covid-19 to increase market share. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ongoing debates and discussions about sharing economy revolve round its definition, regulations and impact on economy, business and consumers. The paper attempts to develop a theoretical framework that define the sharing economy and analyse the possible association between the sharing economy and sustainability. The paper also assesses the need for an institutional and regulatory framework to strengthen sharing economy as an economic driver, potentially contributing to the more sustainable growth of the world economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political leaders in a modern democracy have the authority and duty to design intricate economic regulatory frameworks within which various commercial and industrial sectors are to operate and be managed. The present study describes the relationship of businesses in India with political changes. The article examines the influence of business organisations in Indian politics. The normative and scholarly value of investigating the influence of business in Indian politics cannot be overstated. Inevitably, as the private sector spearheads India's rapid economic modernisation, there will be a shift in political power towards business interests. In a capitalist economy, business organisations play a significant role in the economy and have the right to take part in politics. The crucial relationship is found between them and discussed wisely in the present study. The paper also studies how the Government of India has initiated its inputs to uplift the business sector to accelerate economic growth and increase foreign reserve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The empirical relationship between trade openness and economic growth of India has been a debatable issue. The existing literature fails to provide an unambiguous answer. The paper examines this empirical relationship for the time period 1970-2010 using Vector Autoregression method and demonstrates that the relationship has evolved over time following the regime change in the early 1980s when the Indian economy started to move from a state-led growth model to a pro-market regime. Therefore, any assumption of a static trade-growth nexus may lead to inaccurate findings. Our econometric results indicate that growth in trade volumes accelerates economic growth of India since 1980-81 onwards. We do not find evidence of any significant association between trade barriers and growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disputes are an integral and inevitable part of the society but the failure to address their pendency can be pernicious. Traditionally, the predominant mode of dispute resolution in India has been litigation, which has been losing its sheen for quite some time now due the cost, time, complications and hardships involved in it. This assumes specific importance in disputes that concern commercial matters in the light of the bearing they have- both at micro and macro level. The adverse impact of inefficiencies in dealing with commercial disputes is much more than it meets the eye. It hampers the deliverance of justice and also portrays India as a country plagued by an inefficient system and an unfriendly business environment. The idea of mediation, as an alternative to litigation is being mooted for long now. It has received recognition from the courts of law as well as the legislature to some extent and the benefits it entails are praise-worthy and seem promising. In this background, this paper seeks to study the present dispute resolution scenario surrounding commercial disputes. Further, various facets of mediation including its relation to happiness have been studied and its recognition under the Indian law has been highlighted. Thereafter, the advantages and limitations of the use of mediation in such cases have been elaborated upon. Lastly, some data from the Commercial Courts of Delhi has been analyzed and suggestions mooted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper highlights the implications of Goods and Services Tax (GST), a major tax reform in India launched in July 2017 on the Make in India initiative launched in the year 2014. The GST is expected to trigger its impact on the following eight elements: warehouse efficiency, interstate check‐post operations, informal to formal business transition, interstate business expansion by micro, small, and medium enterprises, simplicity and transparency in tax collection process, logistics cost reductions, ease of doing business in India, and working capital cost realignment, which in turn may accelerate the manufacturing growth in Indian economy. In order to study the impact of the factors of GST on the Make in India initiative and the manufacturing growth, a system dynamics approach has been adopted in this paper. A number of simulation runs carried out using the system dynamics modelling have provided meaningful insights to the policymakers and strategic planners for evolving strategies for manufacturing growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global health diplomacy has gained significant importance and undoubtedly remained high on the agendas of many nations, regional and global platforms amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Many countries have realized the importance of the health sector and the value of a healthy workforce. However, there is little control on issues related to trade that impact on human health due to the dominance of profit-oriented business lobbies. A balance, however, needs to be struck between economic profits and a healthy global population. This paper aimed to highlight the importance of building capacity in global health diplomacy, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic so that health personnel may effectively negotiate on the multisectoral stage to secure the resources they need. The recent proposal to waive off certain provisions of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement for the prevention, containment and treatment of COVID-19 by India and South Africa at the World Trade Organization (WTO) presents an important opportunity for all governments to unite and stand up for public health, global solidarity, and equitable access at the international level so that both developed and developing nations may enjoy improved health outcomes related to the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth of IoT appears to be based on trading off security for convenience. The futuristic technology brings with it a landscape scattered with vulnerabilities. The paper traces the exponential growth of IoT and its business potential. It then journeys into the dark alleys of IoT exposing the real and present dangers that the technology poses to all demographics and Nation- States. The paper then explores the cyber policy landscape in the USA, the EU and in India and analyses the procedural hazards for enforcement emanating fromthe principle of territoriality, which the cyber domain clearly poses a challenge to. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internet technology has flourished in India keeping pace with other developing countries. In keeping pace with this advancement, the Internet of Things (IoT) technology is also spreading in India. Government of India (GOI) has realised IoT's business prospect and published draft policy on IoT in 2015. To achieve a better result, the prospective users are required to be kept aware regarding the prospect of IoT and for this, social media is expected to play a pivotal role. Social media can highlight advantages of IoT and in turn, these advantages would be made known to other potential users through Word of Month (WOM). This would bring in projection of a new business paradigm as contemplated by GOI. The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors affecting actual use of IoT by the potential users of India and to develop a conceptual model. The model has been verified through survey with inputs from 208 participants identified from three metropolitan cities of India. The responses have been quantified through 5-Point Likert scale. The result shows the implication that social media and WOM almost equally influence Indians to use IoT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper delves into the evolution, current trends, and impact of e-commerce on various aspects of business and society. It examines the technological advancements that have facilitated the growth of e-commerce, the challenges faced by e-commerce businesses, and the transformative effects on consumer behavior, the economy, and regulatory frameworks. India is on the verge of a revolution in e-commerce. E-commerce, or electronic commerce, refers to the buying and selling of goods and services over the Internet. It has evolved significantly since its inception and has had a profound impact on various aspects of business, society, and the economy. Here's an overview of its evolution and impact. India's e-commerce market is expanding thanks to factors including rising smartphone adoption, rising wealth, and affordable data plans, which are fuelling the expansion of online retail. India is the second-largest internet market in the world with over 800 million users and 62 billion UPI transactions in 2022. Even though e-commerce has been popular in the nation for more than a decade, it is only in recent years that the proper ecosystem has already begun to develop. The speed of internet access, the astonishing widespread use of mobile devices, and active investment have fuelled this industry's expansion, and if present if predictions are accurate, India is on track to become the fastest-growing e-commerce in the world. India has seen a growth in the use of smartphones and the internet in recent years. Due in large part to the "Digital India" effort, there were 830 million internet connections worldwide in 2021. 55% of all connections to the internet were in metropolitan areas, and 97% of those connections were wireless. The number of smartphones has also greatly grown, and by 2026, that number is anticipated to be 1 billion. India's digital economy has benefited from this, and by 2030, it is predicted to be worth US$1 trillion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, marked by stringent lockdowns and reduced human activity, resulted in a significant decrease in air pollutant emissions. This study investigates the impact of these altered atmospheric conditions on human health by focusing on Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) such as benzene, toluene, and meta-xylene (BTX), comparing data from before, during, and after the pandemic lockdowns. The objectives were to assess changes in Total VOC (TVOC) concentrations and to evaluate the associated health risks, particularly Lifetime Cancer Risk (LCR) from benzene exposure. Analysis of the data revealed a notable reduction in TVOCs during the 2020 lockdown, with average concentrations of 12.15 ± 20.49 µg/m3 in 2019, 8.08 ± 5.50 µg/m3 in 2020, and 5.12 ± 7.56 µg/m3 in 2021. LCR values also fluctuated, with averages of 1.12 × 10−5, 1.23 × 10−5, and 6.91 × 10−6 or pre-pandemic, during-pandemic, and post-pandemic periods, respectively. The findings highlight the potential effectiveness of lockdowns in reducing air pollution and underscore the need for continued, targeted environmental policies to improve public health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Common information model (CIM) in vogue represents transmission and distribution components, and market operations in the perspective of electrical system, as unified modeling language (UML) objects. UML is object centric. CIM can offer interoperability and facilitate model exchange for large systems and is being adopted by many utilities. However, dealing effectively with multiple business processes is the backbone of the restructured power systems. Since CIM lacks chronological process sense, this has to be superimposed on CIM models, which is not easy due to inherent limitations of UML. To overcome this, this paper proposes to utilize business process modeling notation (BPMN) standards as a kind of pre-processor. BPMN is used to represent process centric interoperability requirements as business objects. UML object representation in CIM model is derived subsequently from it. The proposal is illustrated with an application use case—deriving CIM model of day-ahead market (DAM) transaction of distribution company, from its business process representation. Semantic model of DAM transaction using CIM IEC 62325 (Markets) and extensions required are presented with a sample Indian system. DAM models in BPMN and CIM can be utilized to build an efficient software application. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose: Healthcare innovations are one of the drivers of healthcare sector growth in India. Innovation policies are challenging because of the uncertainty regarding the outcome of the innovations. Hence, there is a need to understand the interface between policies and healthcare innovations to identify gaps and propose timely recommendations. Accordingly, this study uses the Indian healthcare start-up sector as a case study to analyse the above linkages, gaps and propose recommendations. Methodology: Quantitative data from the Start-up India portal along with qualitative data from key informant interviews have been analysed to draw insights. Findings: Healthcare start-ups have made significant contributions to the economy and healthcare sector, but there are gaps and room for improvement especially in the areas of awareness, funding and mentoring. Conclusions: Based on the study findings a conceptual framework has been created for understanding the nature of gaps and their linkages in the healthcare innovation lifecycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate philanthropy is a highly misunderstood & misinterpreted term in India, people often interlink this two term which are having altogether a different prospective. Some Indian companies believe that they are complying with laws & regulations fulfill their need for social responsibility. A corporate must take these activities with sincerity in order to provide a growth full nation. Although India is a favorable business destination but unless poor people have equity in the growth of economy, India can never achieve the title of super economy. Corporate social responsibility is one such important area of corporate behavior & governance that needs to be given thorough importance. At the same time csr is one such effective tool that synergizes the efforts of corporate & the social sector agencies towards sustainable growth & development of the societal objectives at large. This paper emphasizes that how CSR has become a ladder for development of any corporate organizations. This paper tries to bring out CSR initiatives taken by various organizations in India. An emphasis has been made in order to have an understanding about how corporate are utilizing the initiates at name of philanthropy and counting them to be there CSR activity and how the upcoming ceiling of mandatory 2% CSR is getting on their nerves and making them to enter and explore some hidden unexplored arenas of governance. This paper is completely a work based on articles and secondary data so collected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Co-operative banks have come to constitute an important segment of the financial system, occupy a unique position and organized on co-operative principles. Present study evaluates the performance of the West Bengal State Co-operative bank Ltd. from the year 2001-02 to 2010-11. The West Bengal State Co-operative Bank Ltd. is performing its role of leading the co-operative movement of the state of West Bengal. The objectives of the paper are to explore and evaluate the growth prospect, operational profitability, stability and recovery performance of the WBSCB Ltd. In order to measure the growth prospect of the banks some important parameters like deposits, loans and advances, and business are analysed from the year 2001-02 to 2010-11. The study shows that all the variables exhibited positive and significant growth during the period of study. It is found that overall profitability of the bank during the study period is satisfactory as "Burden Coverage Ratio" in all the years is more than 1. Results obtained in the study shows that WBSCB Ltd. have satisfactory Z score that means probability of book-value insolvency has decreased during the study period, suggesting that banks are sufficiently stable during the period of study. The study finds that recovery performance of WBSCB Ltd. is satisfactory during the period of study. The management of WBSCB Ltd. should focus on diversification of business activities of the banks, modernization of the services rendered by the bank, proper methods of borrower appraisal and credit management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses the composition, social organization and wide range of activities of the Indian maritime merchant of the early modern period. Regional contrasts between Gujarat, the Coromandel coast and Bengal are discussed. The last section of the paper discusses the interaction between the Indian maritime merchants and the Europeans, both the corporate enterprises as well as private traders. It is argued that the Indian merchants displayed a remarkable degree of adaptiveness and resilience and refused to be overwhelmed by the competition provided by the Europeans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we draw on three ethnographic studies of surrogacy we carried out separately in different contexts: the western US state of California, the south Indian state of Karnataka, and the western Russian metropolis of St Petersburg. In our interviews with surrogate mothers, intended parents, and surrogacy professionals, we traced the meanings and ideologies through which they understood the clinical labour of surrogacy. We found that in the US, interviewed surrogates, intended parents and professionals understood surrogacy as an exchange of both gifts and commodities, where gift-giving, reciprocity, and relatedness between surrogates and intended parents were the major tropes. In India, differing narratives of surrogacy were offered by its different parties: whilst professionals and intended parents framed it as a win-win exchange with an emphasis on the economic side, the interviewed surrogate mothers talked about surrogacy as creative labour of giving life. In Russia, approaches to surrogacy among the interviewed surrogate mothers, professionals and intended parents overlapped in framing it as work and a businesslike commodity exchange. We suggest these three different ways of ethical reasoning about the clinical labour of surrogacy, including justifications of women's incorporation into this labour, were situated in local moral frameworks. We name them "repro-regional moral frameworks", inspired by earlier work on moral frameworks as well as on reproductive nationalisms and transnational reproduction. Building on these findings, we argue that any international or global regulation of surrogacy, or indeed any moral stance on it, needs to take these local differences into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little has been reported to date on human resource aspects of international joint ventures (IJVs) between Australia and India. On the basis of nine case studies, this paper examines the influence of HR practices on selecting the IJV as an entry strategy to invest in India and the role of efficient HR management in ensuring IJV success. The case findings suggest that there is a very moderate HR-related influence on the entry mode decision, whereas HR management plays a significant role in IJV success. The paper also identifies several HR issues in relation to Australian-Indian joint ventures which emerged during the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farmer producer companies (FPCs) have widely transformed the livelihoods of the people and mainly squeezed the income and living standard conditions in the rural sectors, specifically a primary sector engaged majorly with village economies. This article diagnoses the collective cooperative concept and formation of FPCs in the country since their establishment in the year 2008–2021. We utilized secondary data from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) and the outcome of the study discusses the state and zone‐wise performance of FPCs in the country. The result found that only a few zones are performing in the FPCs businesses which makes it sustainable. The study further adds the sustainable measures for performance of the FPCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corruption enables private gains for public purposes, violates democracy, and incapacitates the majority of people. Though under-discussed, business or corporate corruption rather flourishes from governments' various omissions and commissions. The field-responses in several parts of West Bengal, India reveal that people have sound understanding of both business and government corruption, but their individual efforts are too inadequate in countering corruption. Still, such awareness; and people's continued interest in politics sets the context before collective capability: by non-violent means, people need to use the state's space for asserting empowerment and agency; and revitalize the regulatory agencies, as countervailing forces for strengthening democracy's space against corruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand whether the adoption of environmental management practices and firm characteristics influence the environmental benchmarking in Indian firms. It further looks into the impact of environmental benchmarking practices on firms’ environmental performance. Design/methodology/approach – The study conducts a research survey to obtain the practitioner’s responses on the different aspects of environmental benchmarking. The survey data of 104 firms provide an empirical basis to investigate different research hypotheses using statistical techniques. Findings – The results indicate that the firms which implement environmental management practices are more likely to adopt environmental benchmarking in one or more areas of their operations. The findings signify that firms which benchmarks for environmental purposes are more likely to have better environmental performance. The study confirms that large firms have significant chances of having environmental benchmarking compared to small and medium sized firms. The firms in different sectors have different relative preference to eight different areas of environmental benchmarking. However, all these preferences are not significant at 95 per cent confidence level. Research limitations/implications – The research use only qualitative responses on environment management aspects and could be further extended by incorporating the quantitative (emission) data of different industries. Practical implications – The study provides an insight into the environmental benchmarking practices of Indian firms for better management of environmental performance of the firms. Originality/value – The study investigates the experience and attitude of Indian firms to environmental benchmarking based on an empirical research. It adds to the knowledge in the field of environmental benchmarking in developing countries with specific focus on India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access to medicines has become a major concern for countries worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic, as pharmaceutical production and trade have been disrupted in the course of the crisis. Antibiotics are one group of medicines where worries about access have been raised. Access to the right antibiotic at the right time is important not only for curing infections of individual patients, but also for curbing antibiotic resistance globally. Reliable pharmaceutical supply is key to ensuring access to medicines. The global supply of generic medicines has over the last decades been transformed by the rise of India's pharmaceutical industry. In this paper, I trace the changing role of this industry for the global export of antibiotics, by mapping and describing changes in Indian antibiotic exports and discussing these in light of historical processes and events. The paper offers a novel approach to analyse global antibiotic trajectories by using international trade data from publicly available resources combined with a secondary literature review. I show that India's pharmaceutical industry today holds a key role as one of the world's biggest exporters of antibiotic medicines, but with an increasing dependency on China as a supplier of antibiotic ingredients. This produces both opportunities and concerns for access to antibiotics globally. • Offers a novel approach to trace antibiotic and pharmaceutical geographies. • Uses international trade data to map India's role for global antibiotics supply. • Describes that India has become one of the world's biggest exporters of antibiotics. • Shows that India is highly dependent on China for import of antibiotic ingredients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

corporate social responsibility also known as corporate conscience, corporate citizenship, responsible business. CSR policy functions as a self regulatory mechanism whereby a business monitors & ensures its active compliance with spirit of law, ethical standard & international norms. In the present scenario of financial crisis, increasing income inequality, environmental and other calamities linked to some corporations, there is a greater demand and requirement for CSR globally which is increasing at fast pace.CSR is still relatively new corporate function that continues to change & evolve. The changing marketing innovations demands direct linkage of CSR practices with business corporate strategies. Unlike United States and other major countries in the world, which have greater realized voluntary approaches to the adoption & awareness about CSR, India on the other hand has chosen mandatory approach to CSR. This paper focused on the India's emerging CSR regime & its potential strength & weakness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizations from hotel sector are increasingly embracing the practice of corporate strategy in anticipation that this will translate to improved performance. Corporate strategy represents the way a firm plans to deploy its resources and to use its capability to achieve its goals. Recent research has pointed out the important role of the business environment on the corporate strategy choices by organizations. However, most of the researches have been conducted in advance economies. This paper extends the research on business environment and corporate strategy by presenting results from an emerging economy. Using data collected from hotels in India we demonstrate that in an emerging economy concerns about the environmental dynamism is the factor with the strongest influence on corporate strategy choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supplier selection is the process by which firms identify, evaluate and contract with suppliers. The supplier selection process deploys a tremendous amount of a firm's operational and financial resources and is considered as an important determinant of the success of its supply chain. In spite of being strategically important to organizations, the decision for supplier selection is often complex and unstructured. Furthermore, it is inherently a multi-criterion decision-making (MCDM) problem, which pertains to structuring and solving decision problems involving multiple criteria. The paper provides a framework to analyze and evaluate supplier selection in Indian pharmaceutical sector (IPS) using MCDM technique of fuzzy analytic hierarchy process. It intends to improve managerial decision-making in the IPS in developing a supplier selection strategy based on multi-criteria evaluation technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on an ethnographic study of mobile stores' business practices in a slum community in Mumbai. The basic mobile phone store that sells small "talktime" (the period of billing per call) is graduating to repair, formatting, and maintenance of phone hardware and software. Central to this process of store expansion and skill building is the store entrepreneur. He forges relations with procurement channels and mediating agents, renewing existing ties and expanding business loops by interweaving social and business networks. We refer to these aggregations as "hybrid networks," and we highlight their maintenance as a critical resource governing enterprise potential. By evoking the ecology of the mobile phone business in an urban slum setting, the paper draws attention to the following concepts: 1) the unique potential of ICTs as an entrepreneurial commodity, 2) the micro- and small enterprise (MSE) as a functional model for local technology immersions, and 3) local social networks as pivotal in expanding technology adoption and aligning with the needs of the low-income consumer. In essence, we locate the small mobile phone store as the site of convergence for the commercial expansion of mobile phone technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on family politics and exchange of goods in British India. This paper also situates Anglo-Indian gifts within a spectrum of emotionally-charged exchange mechanisms through which products circulated in British India. The gift-giving and market-orientated consumer behaviors occupied shifting positions within a register of exchange in Anglo-India.

This paper presents the findings of a study of purchasing and supply management professionals in India conducted to identify the key ethical issues they face in carrying out their work related responsibilities as well as to determine the extent to which various factors appear to be helpful or to present challenges to their efforts to act ethically in the course of their work. The Indian findings are then compared to those for studies conducted among purchasing and supply management professionals in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada. Key findings for the four studies are summarized and implications for business and the professions are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the orthopedics markets in the US and the EU reaching a plateau, the market size in countries such as Brazil, Russia, India, and China is steadily growing. As a result, major orthopedic companies are shifting their focus towards these markets and developing products tailored to their needs. However, a significant challenge associated with this new opportunity is the requirement for the development of more affordable prostheses compared to those sold in the US and Europe. With the introduction of these lower-cost models into the market, this article aims to assess their performance in comparison to traditional models. A literature review was conducted, analyzing four parameters—the Hospital for Special Surgery Score, Knee Society Score, Range of Motion, and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index—to evaluate different models. The findings indicated that low-cost models perform either equally well or, in some cases, slightly worse than traditional ones. It is worth to mention that the existing literature on this topic is limited, resulting in a relatively small number of models and studies included in this specific study. Nevertheless, this latter serves as a valuable foundation for future in-depth analyses and investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vulnerability is a pivotal concept for understanding transnational commercial surrogacy and the ethics of reproductive travel. While implicitly recognizing vulnerability as important, existing scholarship falls short of understanding the dynamism of vulnerability. Placing our empirical analysis in conjunction with the rich theoretical literature on this concept, we explore vulnerability in surrogacy arrangements in India as a "mode of openness," defined by its multilayeredness and context specificity. We focus on two retellings of vulnerability. In the first narrative, we analyse the journey of an intended parent who becomes an agent, while in the second narrative, we focus on the trajectory of a surrogate and egg donor becoming an agent. In both narratives, the layers of vulnerability across different interconnected circuits of reproduction—of intended parent, agent, and surrogate—are explicated. Our analysis illustrates the complex and conflicting meanings of vulnerability and illustrates vulnerability as an instigator of agency and resistance; how it can propel upward social mobility and animate attempts to transform an unjust system, but also how such individual agency and empowerment may serve to uphold exploitative relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]