As societies embrace fluid gender norms, brands targeting a gender different from their traditional segments have become increasingly prevalent. Grounded on social identity and image congruence theories, our research delves into how consumers evaluate cross-gender brand extensions and their parent brands. Across two studies using a mixed-methods design, we found that consumer responses to cross-gender extensions continue to show traditional or stereotypical patterns. A traditionally masculine brand extending into the feminine segment garners more favorable evaluations than a feminine brand extending into the masculine segment. Additionally, consumers evaluate a cross-gender extension more favorably when it is privately consumed. ? 2025 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Employee attrition is a significant concern in today's organizations because it affects productivity, workforce stability, and long-term talent retention. This study aims to develop and validate a Precision HR Diagnostic Framework to identify and interpret the key drivers of employee turnover at both organizational and individual levels. This study uses the IBM Employee Attrition dataset, consisting of 1470 employee records and 35 features on employee demographics, job satisfaction, and performance metrics, and evaluates eight ML algorithms to benchmark our proposed framework. It utilizes Shapley additive explanations (SHAP) and Permutation feature importance (PFI) based explainable Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques to interpret the ML results. The empirical results show that over time, job satisfaction, environmental satisfaction, stock options, salary, and work-life balance are the key predictors of attrition. It identifies AdaBoost as the top model based on F1 score, accuracy, and interpretability characteristics. Interpreting these results through the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) frameworks reveals a distinct push-pull mechanism: job demands, such as overtime and work pressure, act as push factors driving turnover, while resources, such as higher salaries and stock options, act as pull factors leading to employee retention. Unlike prior studies that primarily focus on improving predictive accuracy, this work develops a statistically rigorous, explainable machine learning framework that provides a psychologically grounded, theory-driven approach that facilitates employee retention by strategically balancing pull resources against unavoidable push factors using SHAP. ? 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The objective of the study was to examine the mediating effects of engagement on the relationship between calling and job satisfaction, career satisfaction, and creativity. This study hypothesized that engagement may affect the relationship of calling with job satisfaction, career satisfaction, and creativity. We test several hypotheses using a sample of 227 Indian corporate professionals. The correlation analysis showed a positive relationship among the study variables of calling, engagement, job satisfaction, career satisfaction, and creativity. The results of mediation analysis using structural equation modeling showed that engagement partially mediated the effects of calling on both job and career satisfaction. In contrast, engagement fully mediated the effects of calling on creativity. The findings showed that engagement significantly affected the relationships among study variables. The study?s contribution is a mechanism-based explanation that incorporates the constructs within a single framework. This approach has been relatively underexplored in prior studies, as evidenced by the extensive literature review. Implications for theory and practice, along with the conclusions, are presented. Several promising future studies are also discussed. ? 2026 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Purpose ? Employees? bootlegging significantly contributes to corporate innovation. By relying on the conservation of resources theory, this study aims to explore the impact mechanism of workplace bullying on bootlegging, with relational energy as a mediator and symmetrical internal communication as the moderator. Design/methodology/approach ? To conduct this research, the authors used a mixed-method approach. Study 1 was an experimental scenario-based study, in which 210 participants participated, whereas Study 2 was a survey-based study in which 313 employees working in IT-enabled companies were surveyed in three waves. Furthermore, SPSS PROCESS (Models 4 and 7) was used to test the hypotheses related to mediation and moderated mediation. Findings ? The findings of this research first revealed that workplace bullying negatively affects bootlegging. Second, relational energy partially mediates the relationship between workplace bullying and bootlegging. Finally, symmetrical internal communication weakens the indirect, negative relationship between workplace bullying and bootlegging through relational energy. Originality/value ? Previous studies had majorly focused on positive aspects of organizational behavior (e.g. leader humor, leader humility, trustworthiness, organizational support) that contribute to bootlegging. By focusing on workplace bullying, this study contributes to the initial academic endeavors that focus on analyzing the impacts of dark aspects of organizations that can affect bootlegging. Furthermore, till now it is only the second study that has used an experimental approach to examine employee bootlegging conduct. ? 2026 Emerald Publishing Limited

How much did the colonial state ?truly? know about India? This question underpinned Sir William Wilson Hunter?s early foundational work, The Annals of Rural Bengal, which marked his entry into colonial knowledge production. In this text, Hunter offered a searing critique of the Company?s ?unreliable? and ?incomplete? knowledge. This article argues that such anxieties about ignorance, sharpened in the post-1857 imperial order, enabled the colonial state?s investment in local knowledge, culminating in the Gazetteer project. Hunter?s reconstruction of the Santal rebellion of 1855 articulated a sense of anxiety, reframing colonial ignorance as a political problem of governance and diagnosing it as the product of an inadequate colonial knowledge framework revealed in moments of rebellion and administrative delay. In casting ignorance as a political risk, he recast violence as evidence of administrative misrecognition, thereby justifying the need for systematic forms of knowledge production such as the Gazetteer. The article shows how epistemic anxiety was translated into bureaucratic forms of knowledge production, with the Gazetteer institutionalising uncertainty rather than resolving it. ? 2026 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping organizational decision-making, with Generative AI (GenAI) enabling adaptive Decision Support Systems for complex challenges. Rather than uniform effects, organizations experience varied adjustments depending on roles, contexts, and implementation strategies. Routine tasks are increasingly automated, allowing employees to focus on higher-value activities, while GenAI also transforms how information is accessed, processed, and shared. These shifts influence communication, decision-making practices, and managerial benchmarks, alongside evolving expectations around workforce participation and ethics. This study integrates intellectual evaluation and sociotechnical frameworks to examine evidence across industries, highlighting links between GenAI deployment, psychological enablement, and societal change. Qualitative findings suggest that while GenAI enhances autonomy, creativity, and self-efficacy, it also introduces ethical risks, transparency concerns, and social disparities. Organizations that adopt human-centered integration approaches demonstrate greater adaptability, trust, and sustainable outcomes in AI-enabled work environments. ? 2026 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Purpose: How do enterprising subjects experience (in)visibility in their projects of the self, at what costs and with what effects? Theorizing invisibility/imperceptibility as a constant threat to one's sense of self, existence and survival within neoliberal governmentality, this study examines self-(in)visibilization among Indian Information Technology employees.



Design/methodology/approach: This study is based on an analysis of semi-structured interviews with Indian Information Technology workers. Analytically, we follow the ?thinking with theory? methodology, which involves an abductive approach to generate novel insights.



Findings: Our analysis shows that enterprising subjects experienced fourfold threats of invisibility/imperceptibility & exclusion, obsolescence, managerial disfavours and psychic incoherence, which led them to visibilize themselves as indispensable, continuously upgraded, sycophantic and coherent subjects. However, such self-visibilization also produced its traps and challenges, including living with existential insecurity and being caught in the impermanence of visibility, the oppressive double bind of visibility, and gendered differences. Employees negotiated these contradictions through continuous revisibilization, strategic (in)visibility or enacting multiple visibilities.



Originality/value: This paper uniquely theorizes and illustrates the politics of (in)visibility within neoliberalism, which involves a constant negotiation of the simultaneous desirable consequence of recognition (security and growth), weighed against the undesirable consequence of that same recognition (exploitation and intensification). This inescapable trade-off constitutes the oppressive double bind of visibility at the core of neoliberal self-constitution.

E-shopping often unfolds across multiple sessions, during which consumers frequently add products to carts or wishlists without deliberate intention to purchase. This research investigates the psychological consequences of such unintentional product placements and their influence on subsequent purchase decisions. Although common intuition suggests that cart placement reflects stronger purchase commitment than wishlist placement, our findings reveal a temporal shift in this pattern over time. Across two pilot studies and five experiments, we find that products placed unintentionally in wishlists are initially less likely to be purchased than those added to carts; however, as time elapses, the purchase likelihood of wishlist items increases, whereas for cart items it remains relatively stable. This counterintuitive pattern occurs because wishlist placement triggers purchase procrastination without decision closure, keeping the choice cognitively active. We introduce the mere placement effect, demonstrating a psychological mechanism through which incidental categorization into a cart versus a wishlist can influence subsequent purchase likelihood independent of initial intent. We further identify two boundary conditions: (1) temporal gap since placement, and (2) retailer communication type (price-promotion vs. reminder-messaging). These findings highlight the psychological role of wishlists, offer actionable implications for digital retail interface management, and suggest ways to support more intentional purchase decisions. © 2026 Elsevier Ltd

Research Question/Issue: Do firms that release 10-K reports with lower readability receive a higher number of shareholder proposals on corporate governance?. Research Findings/Insights: Using the passage of the Plain Writing Act of 2010 as an exogenous source for an increase in 10-K readability within a difference-in-differences framework, we find that firms with poor 10-K readability prior to the Act experienced a decline in the likelihood of receiving corporate governance proposals. This effect is primarily concentrated in proposals sponsored by retail investors and is most pronounced in firms with entrenched management, those actively engaging in earnings management through discretionary accruals, and proposals related to executive compensation and disclosure. Theoretical/Academic Implications: By providing evidence on the differential impact of 10-K readability on retail versus institutional investors, we shed light on the varying information processing capabilities and engagement strategies across investor types. Our findings also illuminate the interplay between disclosure readability, managerial entrenchment, and earnings management, offering insights into the mechanisms through which poor 10-K readability influences the initiation of shareholder proposals. Practitioner/Policy Implications: Our findings underscore the effectiveness of the Plain Writing Act of 2010 in enhancing transparency and highlight the role of disclosure readability as a tool for shareholder engagement, particularly for retail investors. Further, we show that the Plain Writing Act achieved more than its original goal of promoting clear and transparent communication between the government and the public; it also achieved an unintended outcome by prompting firms to adopt clear writing norms. ? 2025 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Research Question/Issue: Do firms that release 10-K reports with lower readability receive a higher number of shareholder proposals on corporate governance?. Research Findings/Insights: Using the passage of the Plain Writing Act of 2010 as an exogenous source for an increase in 10-K readability within a difference-in-differences framework, we find that firms with poor 10-K readability prior to the Act experienced a decline in the likelihood of receiving corporate governance proposals. This effect is primarily concentrated in proposals sponsored by retail investors and is most pronounced in firms with entrenched management, those actively engaging in earnings management through discretionary accruals, and proposals related to executive compensation and disclosure. Theoretical/Academic Implications: By providing evidence on the differential impact of 10-K readability on retail versus institutional investors, we shed light on the varying information processing capabilities and engagement strategies across investor types. Our findings also illuminate the interplay between disclosure readability, managerial entrenchment, and earnings management, offering insights into the mechanisms through which poor 10-K readability influences the initiation of shareholder proposals. Practitioner/Policy Implications: Our findings underscore the effectiveness of the Plain Writing Act of 2010 in enhancing transparency and highlight the role of disclosure readability as a tool for shareholder engagement, particularly for retail investors. Further, we show that the Plain Writing Act achieved more than its original goal of promoting clear and transparent communication between the government and the public; it also achieved an unintended outcome by prompting firms to adopt clear writing norms. ? 2025 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) are essential components of modern intelligent warehouse logistics systems, serving as the cornerstone of efficient material handling. Their growing importance highlights their vital role in enhancing the functionality and effectiveness of intelligent warehouses in today?s industries. These material handling systems encompass three key aspects of decision-making: task-to-AGV assignment, AGV path planning, and the scheduling of arrival and departure times for each AGV at various stations. While extensive research has focused on these elements independently, integrated studies addressing the problem comprehensively remain relatively rare. This study proposes a co-optimization problem for task allocation and global path planning for multiple AGVs in intelligent warehouse systems. It effectively integrates dispatching, conflict-free routing, and scheduling of these AGVs. We formulate the problem as a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model to minimize the delay time for all tasks and the operational time for all AGVs. Given that this problem is NP-hard, solving the MILP model efficiently for realistic-scale instances is challenging. To tackle the complexities involved, we developed a tailored branch-and-price (BP) algorithm specifically designed for small- to medium-scale problems, complemented by an efficient heuristic algorithm tailored for larger-scale challenges. Enhancements to the BP algorithm?s performance were achieved by incorporating several acceleration techniques that cater to the specific characteristics of our problem. Our experimental results reveal three key findings: (i) the BP algorithm effectively addresses the problem, (ii) the heuristic serves as a viable standalone solution for large-scale scenarios, while also providing high-quality initial solutions for the BP algorithm promptly, and (iii) the introduced acceleration methods significantly reduce the computational time required by the BP algorithm. Overall, our paper presents a robust and tailored approach to AGV material handling systems, providing valuable insights for warehouse operators and supporting their decision-making processes. ? 2025 Elsevier Ltd.

In order for smart cities to effectively handle traffic congestion, short-term traffic predictions must be precise. Using a year-long simulated urban traffic dataset, this study compares three common forecasting techniques: Seasonal ARIMA (SARIMA), LSTM networks, and eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost). LSTM represents non-linear temporal behaviour but is susceptible to tiny amounts of data, XGBoost leverages engineered temporal characteristics for powerful tabular learning, and SARIMA provides a clear statistical baseline that indicates weekly seasonality. Based on the experimental results, XGBoost has the best MAPE (11.21%) and SARIMA has the lowest RMSE (7.34) when utilised independently. Additionally, we examine basic convex ensembles and discover that merging models consistently yields superior outcomes. To illustrate, an LSTM-XGBoost ensemble achieves the lowest MAPE of 10.89% and a SARIMA-LSTM ensemble reduces RMSE to 7.05%. Based on these findings, lightweight hybrid ensembles are an effective and practical method for predicting urban traffic delays in the short term, outperforming individual models. ? 2026 IEEE.

Purpose: To compare DEA-based ranking methods and develop a fair approach to evaluate states? efficiency and rankings at the National Games, India's national-level multi-sport event, adjusted for population and wealth, while excluding less relevant macroeconomic factors. Design/methodology/approach: Using data from the 2023 Games (37th edition), we compare three widely applied Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) models: variable returns to scale (VRS), zero-sum gains (ZSG), and cross-efficiency. Results are validated using data from the 35th edition of the National Games to ensure robustness. Findings: The cross-efficiency method best produces complete rankings without ties. The VRS method identifies peer groups for the seventeen inefficient states out of 29 participating teams. Originality: This study contributes by providing a comparative evaluation comparing DEA models and identifying the most suitable method to assess states? efficiency in promoting athletes at multi-sport events. It also highlights each method?s particularities, suitability, and characteristics. Research Contribution: By combining technical rigor with practical relevance, the paper addresses a gap in the literature by comparatively evaluating VRS, ZSG, and cross-efficiency models, underscoring their methodological distinctiveness and applicability. Practical implications: It provides actionable insights for state sports bodies, organizers, and policymakers to optimize resources, support talent development, and strengthen future National Games performance. ? 2026 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

This study aims to explore the use of equated daily instalments (EDI), as an alternative repayment schedule compared to the traditional equated monthly instalments (EMI) in consumer and commercial lending. It also discusses the feasibility, advantages, and drawbacks of EDI systems. The research compares EDI with EMI and assesses the effect on borrower behavior, financial planning and overall loan performance. It relies on case studies, borrower surveys, and financial modelling to evaluate the feasibility and efficiency of daily repayment models. EDIs has proven to be more flexible (and lower defaults, perhaps) but inherent challenges of admin complexity and self-discipline also accompany them. This study adds to the generic literature on new financial products and their effects on financial inclusion and customer satisfaction. ? 2026 selection and editorial matter, Sai Kiran Oruganti, Manoj V. Bhalerao, Vishal Gangadhar Naranje, Dalia A. Magdi and Santosh Gore; individual chapters, the contributors.

Simultaneous optimisation of multiple design characteristics (or ?responses?) derived from a process is critical to ensure product quality. Due to the correlations between these responses, multiple non-dominated Pareto trade-off solutions (or process-setting conditions) are inevitable. Such optimisation problems are categorised as ?multiple response optimisation (MRO)? problems. In the context of MRO, considering response predictive uncertainties and determining robust Pareto solutions is always challenging for decision-makers. Yet, there is little evidence of work that explores the potential of different Multi-Objective Optimisation (MOO) algorithms to derive robust solutions for complex real-life MRO problems, considering predictive response uncertainties. The efficiency of an MOO algorithm can define the quality of feasible and implementable near-optimal solutions. This study attempts to compare and contrast the performance and efficiency of different MOO algorithms, broadly classified based on sources of inspiration (viz. swarm intelligence, human behaviour, physics, evolutionary), applied to three different ?mean? and four different ?mean?variance? continuous, and two different ?mean?variance? mixed-integer real-life MRO problems. In addition, a modified Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm III (NSGA-III), based on Tabu search (TS), is proposed to enhance the balance between search intensification and diversification strategy. The performance and efficiency of these algorithms are measured based on recommended metrics, viz., average hypervolume, worst-case weighted mean square error, worst-case Mahalanobis Distance, and signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio. Multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques are used to rank the MOO algorithms. The findings indicate consistent rank superiority of Speed-constrained Multi-objective Particle Swarm Optimisation (SMPSO), Multi-Objective Individualised-Instruction Teaching?Learning-Based Optimisation (INM-TLBO), and the modified NSGA-III algorithm for varied ?mean? and ?mean?variance? MRO problems. ? The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2026.

Aim: To observe the effect of audio-visual and pamphlet-based information upon the level of anxiety, depression, and stress among oral cancer (OC) and oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD) patients. Methods: Out of 190 OPMD and 187 OC patients, 184 OPMD and 184 OC patients were enrolled (9 were excluded) after taking the written informed consent from the outpatient clinic of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Oncology departments of a reputed tertiary health care centre of northern India. Out of 184 OPMD and 184 OC patients, 60 each were given audio-visual intervention (group A), 64 each were administered with pamphlet intervention (group B), and 60 each were given conventional method and no intervention (controls, group C). Grouping was done by simple random sampling using the chit method. Using a blinded approach, Beck?s anxiety and depression inventory and Perceived Stress Scale questionnaires were applied in each pre and post-intervention group. Result: Within the group analysis, both groups (A and B) showed that during pre and post-intervention, there was a significant difference between anxiety, depression, and stress. But between the group analyses, there was no significant difference found for anxiety, depression, and stress. Conclusion: Our study concluded that both pamphlet and audio-visual based information are equally effective in alleviating anxiety, depression and stress. Both methods are also feasible in imparting information but more research is required to determine which information method is preferable. Moreover, it is recommended that both pamphlet and audio-visual based information should be provided in conjunction to improve the health literacy. ? 2026 National Journal of Maxillofacial Surgery.

This study presents a novel hybrid methodology for multi-attribute group decision-making (MAGDM) under uncertainty using interval-valued q-rung orthopair fuzzy sets (IVq-ROFSs). Each alternative is evaluated in terms of interval-valued membership and non-membership degrees with respect to multiple attributes, allowing a richer representation of expert assessments and inherent hesitation. To objectively determine the influence of decision-makers, correlation coefficients are computed based on deviations from upper and lower outlier assessments. A key feature of the approach is an individualized linear programming (LP) model solved separately for each alternative. This enables the optimization of attribute-wise membership and non-membership values to derive the best achievable score for each alternative under its most favorable attribute weighting, an approach analogous to efficiency estimation in data envelopment analysis. To validate the rankings and integrate attribute importance, an enhanced CRITIC-TOPSIS method is employed. CRITIC captures contrast intensity and inter-criteria correlation to derive objective attribute weights, while TOPSIS ranks alternatives based on proximity to ideal solutions. The applicability and robustness of the proposed method are demonstrated through a sustainable supplier selection problem considering economic, environmental, and social dimensions. Sensitivity analysis, comparative evaluation, and Copeland rank fusion further confirm the consistency and reliability of the decision outcomes. ? 2026 Elsevier B.V.

Strategy execution remains a critical challenge for organizations worldwide, with up to 67% of well-formulated strategies failing due to poor implementation. This study addresses the lack of comprehensive strategy execution frameworks by developing and validating the CADAP (capability, agility, design, alignment and people) strategy execution framework. Through a systematic bibliometric analysis of 40 years of literature, we identified eight influential frameworks and conducted research on their limitations. Employing a rigorous combination of inductive and deductive approaches, along with gap analysis, we conceptualized a new framework?CADAP strategy execution framework, consisting of five dimensions: capability, agility, design, alignment and people. We substantiated our framework using natural language processing on 534 articles from four top-tier journals and validated it through a case study of a global bank divestiture. Results demonstrate that CADAP provides a holistic approach to strategy execution, with organizations effectively implementing it, showing improved adaptability and performance in complex environments. Overall, this study contributes to management literature by offering an empirically grounded framework for strategy execution, providing a roadmap for organizations to navigate modern business complexities and foster resilience in the global marketplace. Finally, the limitations and possible future research directions are discussed. ? 2025 Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode

Blockchain has gained significant attention, but operations literature lacks an integrated framework capturing its adoption dynamics. This article addresses the gap through a multicase study, proposing a framework that examines drivers, enablers, resistors, mechanisms, and outcomes of blockchain adoption in supply chains. The process is segmented into three phases?preadoption, early adoption, and full adoption?across technological, organizational, and environmental dimensions. Findings show organizational and environmental factors dominate preadoption, while enablers and resistors shape early adoption. In full adoption, mechanisms such as resilience, trust, visibility, information sharing, and cost reduction deliver operational benefits. The article offers valuable insights for researchers and practitioners to better understand and implement blockchain in supply chain operations. ? 1988-2012 IEEE.

Crises are commonly treated as episodic disruptions that interrupt otherwise stable market processes. This framing casts crises as external shocks and resilience as a technical capacity to absorb and recover from them. In contrast, this paper advances a relational perspective in which crises are understood as intensified manifestations of structural fragility already embedded within market systems. Rather than anomalies, crises render visible the social, moral, and institutional arrangements through which value is routinely produced, maintained, and legitimized. We argue that crises function as relational?moral inflection points in which dominant value regimes are disrupted and renegotiated. This disruption foregrounds the socially constructed character of value and exposes the limitations of firm-centered and harmony-oriented approaches such as Creating Shared Value (CSV), which assume stable conditions, aligned interests, and commensurable values. We extend this critique by proposing a constructionist alternative?Creating?Shared Value (C?SV)?that situates value as plural, contested, and continuously co-constituted through networks of actors, practices, and institutions. To theorize how markets respond under such conditions, we develop a typology of exchange modalities?commodity, barter, gift, mutuality, and sharing?and map these onto different resilience orientations. We show how stabilization, adaptation, and transformation are not discrete outcomes but interrelated moments in the ongoing reconstitution of market order. By reframing crises as constitutive rather than exceptional, and value as relational rather than objective, the paper contributes a systemic account of resilience that foregrounds legitimacy, relational infrastructures, and the moral foundations of exchange in times of disruption. ? The Author(s) 2026