This study investigates whether gold, USD, and Bitcoin are hedge and safe haven assets against stock and if they are useful in diversifying downside risk for international stock markets. We propose a combined GO-GARCH-EVT-copula approach to examine the hedge and safe haven properties of gold, USD, and Bitcoin. We then examine the attractiveness of these assets in reducing stock portfolio risk by using downside risk measures estimated by the proposed approach and other competing models. We also evaluate the relative performance of the proposed model in reducing downside risk with the competing models. The findings of the study indicate that the USD is the most valuable hedge and safe haven asset closely followed by gold, while Bitcoin is the least valuable. It is also observed that the proposed combined approach performs best in reducing the portfolio downside risk. The findings of this study are of significance for portfolio managers and individual investors who wish to protect the portfolio value during market turmoil. © 2022 University of New Orleans.

Purpose: Business-to-business (B2B) relations will become more prevalent in many areas such as delivery services, based on current trends supporting e-commerce proliferation. In addition, hyperlocal e-commerce, which focuses on customers in a small geographic region, relies heavily on another business to handle the supply chain. Emerging trends in business to business to customer (B2B2C) experiences provide retailers with opportunities to develop strategies for better customer service. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop a scale for measuring business customer experience in the B2B2C aggregator business model. Design/methodology/approach: Using the psychometric scale development procedure, the researchers devised a 29-item, six-dimensional scale measuring business customer experience with the help of two cross-sectional studies. Restaurant managers who rely on delivery partners to serve their customers were surveyed twice. The authors validated a scale for assessing business customer experience using exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. Findings: Based on fit criteria, a higher-order formative structure was best suited to the scale. The dimensions identified were shared vision, interaction experience, end-customer focus, relationship experience, service experience and outcome focus. According to the study, business customer experience is more objective and utilitarian than existing paradigms on customer experience. Research limitations/implications: Theoretically, this research helps to understand the underpinnings behind the formation of business customer experience and attempt to bring transformative service research focus in the B2B2C trilogy as better experiences predict the well-being of members of the business centre in the B2B. Practical implications: Practically, this research helps businesses to revisit their strategies for a better relationship with business partners for jointly offering an improved experience to the end customers. Originality/value: This study explains a pioneer attempt to develop a scale for business customer experience in the context of B2B2C aggregator business models. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Purpose: COVID-19 induced uncertainty in the firms’ business transactions, financial markets and product-market competition, causing a severe organizational legitimacy crisis. Using the organizational legitimacy perspective and agency theory, this paper aims to study the relationship between prior corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, monitoring cost (MC) and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses a quarterly panel (16,924 firm-quarter observations from 61 countries for CSR and 53,345 firm-quarter observations from 55 countries for MC) for 14 quarters from January 2018 to June 2021. This study uses panel fixed-effect regression models to estimate the effect of CSR activities and MC (measured as audit fees) on firm performance during the COVID-19 period. Findings: This study finds a U-shaped relationship between CSR and firm performance. This relationship is strengthened during COVID-19. In contrast, this study finds an inverted U-shaped relationship between firm MC and firm performance. However, this relationship is weakened during the pandemic. Originality/value: This study contributes to theory and practice on maintaining organizational legitimacy and reducing agency costs during the pandemic. This study shows that firms’ prior legitimacy-gaining practices, such as CSR activities and MC, provide an opportunity to increase firm value. To balance agency costs and legitimacy benefits, firm managers also need to identify the optimal level of CSR activities and MC. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

During disruptive events, supply chains struggle to meet the demand due to limitations posed by logistics, transportation and supply side failures. In the present study, a flexible supplier network of personal protective equipment (PPEs), such as face masks, hand sanitizers, gloves, and face shields, has been modelled using an extensive risk enabled data driven decision making for addressing disruptions in the supply chain. This paper studies various risks which exists in PPE supply chain and evaluates the total supplier risk based on them. Furthermore, the paper proposes a Multi-objective Mixed Integer Linear Program (MOMILP) to optimally select suppliers and the sustainable allocation of orders under various risks, namely disruption, delay, receivables, inventory, and capacity. The proposed MOMILP model is also extended to promptly revise the orders to other suppliers under a disruption scenario enabling an effective response resulting in minimization of stockouts. The criteria-risk matrix is developed with the help of supply chain experts from industry and academia. Conclusively, the numerical case study and its computational analysis is conducted on the PPE data received from distributors to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed model. The findings suggest that the proposed flexible MOMILP can optimally revise allocations during disruptions to drastically reduce the stockouts and minimize overall cost of procurement in the PPE supply network. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Purpose: COVID-19 pandemic has shattered the economic systems all around the world while creating numerous problems which were faced by all, especially international migrants. The present study offers a qualitative and quantitative perspective on the distress of international migrants and their repatriation intention during the pandemic period. Design/methodology/approach: In-depth semi-structured interviews of 30 respondents belonging to five host nations, Australia, the USA, the UK, New Zealand and Canada, revealed diverse issues. Based on qualitative study findings and past literature, 22 purposeful statements about six constructs – financial issues, social issues, mobility constraints, psychological problems, healthcare issues, and repatriation intentions – were developed. These statements were measured on a seven-point Likert scale and shared online with international migrants from India residing in the host nations. Data collected from 496 international migrants from October 2020 to July 2021 were used to analyze the influence of various determinants on the repatriation intentions by partial least square-structural equation modeling using SmartPLS software. Findings: The analysis results revealed that the role of financial, social, mobility, psychological and healthcare issues was significant in strengthening the repatriation intentions of the migrants. There is a need to create job opportunities, retrain laid-off workers and formulate migrant inclusive policies. Originality/value: Although some studies have highlighted a few problems faced by international migrants, their impact on repatriation intentions has not been studied yet. The present study fills this gap and analyzes the repatriation intention of international migrants in light of different problems they faced during the pandemic. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-04-2022-0233. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

A growing body of literature is focused on subsistence markets and how marketing interventions can increase well-being for those whose daily existence is a struggle to ensure access to necessities of life. To understand the lifeworld of those living at the subsistence level, interviews are favored as a data collection tool. This methodological paper examines interviewing in the subsistence context with a focus on women whose lived experiences are affected by the intersection of gender, power imbalance, and culture. The study context is India. Specifically, we draw upon data from three previous author-conducted academic studies and conduct a reflective analysis that leads to a series of reflections and recommendations for the interview process. This paper calls for more work to be done in the area and raises the need for a new research paradigm rather than reliance on western-oriented approaches that may not fit the context. © 2022 The Authors. Journal of Consumer Affairs published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Council on Consumer Interests.

Industry 4.0 technologies have been revolutionizing the financial sector over the past few decades through the emergence of disruptive technologies. These disruptive technologies have also given rise to a new monetary taxonomy known as “digital currencies.” One form of digital currency that provides a more effective, environmentally friendly, stable, and reasonably priced payment alternative is stablecoin, an artificial intelligence-driven payment rail. However, it poses unique risks to the broader financial system, putting the country's economy at risk if it is adopted as a mainstream means of payment. In this context, the present study identifies and prioritizes several major risk categories and their classifications that prevent stablecoins from becoming mainstream payment instruments. Three sequential stages were followed to complete the entire research. The initial phase identified four risk categories and their classifications through a systematic literature review. Thereafter, Pythagorean fuzzy delphi was used in the study to validate the identified risk categories. To prioritize these risks, the authors employed a Pythagorean fuzzy analytical hierarchy and a combined comprehensive solution approach in the final stage. The results of this study revealed that technical risks, which are the biggest impediment to the widespread adoption of stablecoins as a means of payment, were the most influential criterion, followed by macroeconomic risks and legal and regulatory risks. The least significant criterion has been discovered to be user-centric risks. In sub-criterion ranking, monetary stability risks, relative price stability risks, concentration risks, money laundering (ML)/terrorist financing (TF) and other illicit activities, oracle risks, smart contract failures, operational failures, privacy risks, and consumer protection risks are the leading risks. This study is relevant to individuals, investors, researchers, policymakers, and regulators in the long-term evolution of the stablecoin ecosystem. © 2022 Elsevier Ltd

Purpose: Digital technologies emerged as innovative avenues for launching new products, advertising brands, increasing customer awareness and thus leaving a remarkable impact on the online marketplace. The present study analyzed the effects of crucial antecedents of AR interactive technology on customers' behavior toward AR-based e-commerce websites. Design/methodology/approach: Convenience sampling was used to collect primary data from 357 iGen respondents aged 16–22 years; residing in New Delhi and the NCR region of India and examined using the structural equation modeling technique. Findings: Results revealed that technology anxiety and virtuality significantly influence customers' attitudes and behavioral intentions toward AR-based e-commerce websites. However, interactivity and innovativeness remain non-significant. Additionally, non-significant moderating effects were identified for the moderators, i.e. trust and need for touch. At the same time, gender has a significant moderating effect only for the association between technology anxiety and attitude toward AR-based e-commerce websites. Research limitations/implications: The study summarizes numerous theoretical and managerial implications for AR-based website designers and policymakers, followed by the crucial limitations and directions for future research. Originality/value: The present research provides a significant understanding of the e-commerce industry by providing valuable insights about young iGen consumers' perceptions of AR-based e-commerce websites. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

The purpose of the paper is to identify the important factors which affect the trust in virtual shops. A close examination of the relationship between trust and purchase intention of the customers towards the online products and services has been done. Data has been collected from the 597 active shoppers of online shopping websites in India. The selected respondents for the study comprises of university students pursuing their studies (graduation and post-graduation) and residing in the capital of the country and adjoining areas. The theoretical framework was purposed to highlight the structural interrelationships between the constructs and was examined with the application of AMOS software. The results confirmed that website quality, familiarity, ease of use, and online review and ratings are significantly affecting the trust and purchase intention of the respondents towards online shopping websites. The result of this paper provides significant implications for the managers and policymakers so that they can focus on these important factors to earn customers’ trust and ultimately get positive purchase intention. Website architects and designers should focus on the design, look, utility, features of these virtual shops so that more traffic can be converted and online purchasing can be enhanced. Copyright © 2023 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Digital platforms develop and offer opportunities in the form of online brand communities (OBCs) to interact and engage customers with the brand, which might lead to brand loyalty over a while. The present study investigates how OBCs influence online customer engagement (OCE) and brand loyalty through a questionnaire survey of 488 social media users. Extant literature is reviewed to identify the unique characteristics (website satisfaction, usefulness, response time, and entertainment) of such digital platforms and examine their influences on OCE and brand loyalty. The moderating role of gender was also tested empirically. Results revealed that characteristics of OBC platforms primarily influence OCE; however, website satisfaction influences both OCE and brand loyalty. Moreover, OCE positively influences brand loyalty. These findings were similar for male and female customers, excluding website satisfaction, which was insignificant for females. The study concludes with crucial theoretical and managerial implications that will help develop the firms’ strategies to encounter issues related to OBCs globally. © 2023 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study the influence of centralization and formalization on the frequency of political tactics (FPT) used by employees. It also examines political will as the underlying variable that mediates the relationship between the focal variables. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses data (n = 234) collected from a large public sector organization in India. The interrelationships are tested empirically using structural equation modeling. Findings: The findings suggest that both centralization and formalization significantly influence the FPT used by employees. Also, political will partially mediate the relationship between centralization, formalization and FPT. Research limitations/implications: The study provides evidence of the influence of centralization and formalization as two organizational realities that lead to employee engagement in political tactics. It also elucidates the importance of political will and the need to develop social astuteness to maneuver through the maze of organizational politics. The study is conducted in a public sector organization in India and uses cross-sectional data. Therefore, generalizations must be made with caution. Originality/value: The study establishes political will as an important mediator between centralization, formalization and political behavior, fostering in-depth research into the structural aspects of public sector organizations. It also establishes political will as an important individual disposition of employees that augments the engagement of employees in political behavior in highly centralized and formalized organizations. © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited.

This study investigates whether the more sophisticated GARCH based models are better minimum variance hedging strategies than the less sophisticated regression based traditional models. The findings of the study suggest that the traditional models that directly estimate the optimal hedge ratio significantly outperform the more sophisticated models that indirectly estimate the optimal hedge ratio based on timevarying variance-covariance parameters. Although, the sophisticated models seem to have more theoretical appeal, the higher estimation and misspecification errors of these models reduce their hedging effectiveness, making them inferior to the traditional models. © 2023

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine how perceptions of politics (POP) impact individuals’ willingness to engage in organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and how this relationship is impacted by individuals’ conscientiousness and political skills. Design/methodology/approach: Primary data collected from 211 employee working in the consultancy sector in India were analyzed using hierarchical moderated regression technique. Findings: The authors found a significant three-way interaction between POP, conscientiousness and political skill in predicting OCB. Presence of high conscientiousness and high political skill alleviates the negative effect of politics on OCB. Research limitations/implications: The data were collected from consultancy sector organizations, and thus, generalizability of the results is somewhat limited. Further, self-report surveys are used for data collection. Future studies should use multiple methods to collect data to avoid common method bias. Practical implications: The results suggest that to alleviate the negative effect of POP on OCB, practitioners should recruit employees with high levels of conscientiousness and impart training to develop political skill. Originality/value: This study attempts to take a holistic person-centric approach to study the moderating effect of personality variable and political skill when examining the linkage between perceived politics and citizenship behavior. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

In the broad sphere of Analytics, prescriptive analytics is one of the emerging areas of interest for both academicians and practitioners. As prescriptive analytics has transitioned from its inception to an emerging topic, there is a need to review existing literature in order to ascertain development in this area. There are a very few reviews in the related field but not specifically on the applications of prescriptive analytics in sustainable operations research using content analysis. To address this gap, we performed a review of 147 articles published in peer-reviewed academic journals from 2010 to August 2021. Using content analysis, we have identified the five emerging research themes. Through this study, we aim to contribute to the literature on prescriptive analytics by identifying and proposing emerging research themes and future research directions. Based on our literature review, we propose a conceptual framework for studying the impacts of the adoption of prescriptive analytics and its impact on sustainable supply chain resilience, sustainable supply chain performance and competitive advantage. Finally, the paper acknowledges the managerial implications, theoretical contribution and the limitations of this study. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to look at the attitudes of the employees in terms of sharing knowledge during COVID-19 in an online environment and the various difficulties associated and to analyze knowledge sharing (KS) in a virtual office setting, using the conservation of resources theory. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative approach was used by conducting face-to-face interviews online through GoogleMeet, Skype and Zoom. A total of 34 interviews from 14 multinational companies (or their subsidiaries), in a supervisory role, were conducted for the study. A thematic analysis was conducted to analyze the responses. Findings: During a crisis, the tendency of employees to share knowledge at the individual, team and organizational level increases and is interlinked. The results of this study suggest that during the initial phases of lockdown, the creativity levels among employees were high; however, as the work from the office got postponed because of extended lockdowns, the creativity level of employees saw a dip. Furthermore, the findings of this study also highlighted that KS in remotely located teams was found to be dependent on the extent to which the team members knew each other, such that known teams were in a better position to share knowledge than a newly formed team with unknown or less known members. Research limitations/implications: This study has 34 respondents which is an acceptable number for a qualitative inquiry. However, the number of industries could be increased for generalization purposes. Responses were collected from a group of knowledge workers who were willing to correspond digitally, using social media channels of the authors, such as Linkedin. Responses collected personally could provide different results. Practical implications: This study provides insights into visible change in organizational processes. The conceptual model developed in this study has several implications which will help chief knowledge officers to understand why the various individual, team and organizational factors lead to KS, particularly with respect to COVID-19. Originality/value: This study has explored a contemporary phenomenon – KS during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, in an online environment. This study depicts the extant literature on knowledge management during a pandemic, thus bridging the scholarly gap. This study tried to bring in a broader perspective by selecting respondents across continents, domains and varied age groups. Fourth, most studies analyzing KS/knowledge hiding in the extant literature, especially during the pandemic, have followed a quantitative approach. This study followed a qualitative approach to gain insights into the KS of the firm and the thoughts and practicalities behind it. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

In a quest to examine people’s perceptions of biopesticide usage, the current research investigates the influence of the health belief model and theory of planned behavior constructs on farmers’ intentions toward using biopesticides. Furthermore, the study explores the mediation effect of attitude on usage intention. Data were collected from 323 vegetable and fruit growers from seven northern states of India and examined by applying the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique using SmartPLS software. The results reveal that all the factors, except perceived behavioral control, significantly influence farmers’ attitudes and behavioral intention to use biopesticides. Moreover, a mediation analysis reveals a full mediation effect of attitude for health motivation and a partial mediation effect for perceived benefits on behavioral intention. Finally, the proposed research model has substantial explanatory power and helps to examine farmers’ intention to use biopesticides. The government and policymakers may use the current research findings to develop strategies to enhance biopesticide usage. © 2023 Newcastle University.

Purpose: This research aims to study employees' pandemic-induced work–home boundary violations using the work–home boundary model. Boundary theory and social theories provide the theoretical underpinnings for this study. The authors study the role of gender, gender role ideology, and fear of COVID-19 in explaining the relationship between work–home boundary violations, work–family conflict (WFC), and subjective well-being (SWB) among working professionals. Design/methodology/approach: Data were gathered using an online survey on married and working individuals (N = 354) and analyzed using the multi-group analysis technique in structural equation modeling (SEM). Findings: Results show that men faced higher WFC due to job insecurity, while women reported higher WFC due to traditional gender role ideology. Surprisingly, men reported lower subjective well-being due to WFC compared to women, when fear of COVID-19 was low. One promising finding is the potential in using problem-focused coping strategy (PCS) as a boundary-work tactic for both men and women to ensure boundary control (BC) to reduce WFC and improve SWB during the new normal. Practical implications: This study contributes to boundary theory, social role theory, and social support resource theory, along with practical implications for employees, organizations, and policymakers. Originality/value: This study dissects the primary role of problem-focused coping as a valid coping mechanism for managing the issues arising from the pandemic-induced unfavorable working conditions. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

The financial service sector involves high-risk and uncertain elements that make financial decision-making challenging; thus, information sources act as facilitators. The present study analyzed the effects of financial advertisements on investors’ behavioral intentions with perceived risk acting as a mediator and gender and marital status as moderating variables. The study empirically validates the proposed conceptual model (based on Stimulus–Organism–Response) with the interrelationship between financial advertisement antecedents, perceived risk, and investors’ investment intentions. Data were collected from 481 respondents using the survey method and analyzed using the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). “Multigroup analysis (MGA)” was conducted to identify the gender and marital status intergroup moderating effects. The study confirms the significant relationship between informativeness and truthfulness with the perceived risk. The result found that credibility and truthfulness are significantly related to investor intention. In addition, the mediating effect of the perceived risk was found to be absent. Gender is moderating the relationship between credibility and investment intentions; informativeness and perceived risk; truthfulness and perceived risk, whereas marital status moderates the relationship between credibility and investment intentions; involvement and perceived risk; and truthfulness and perceived risk. The present study helps to understand millennial investment decision-making when they are exposed to various financial promotions and advertisements. This study provides insights to the government in policy framing regarding the financial advertisements essentials and disclosures that need to be focused on. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.

This study examines a moderated mediation model to explore how the power value of an individual influences the use of manipulation tactics, and how hierarchy and political will of employees interact to influence this relationship. Data were collected from the employees of a public sector organization in India. Structural equation modeling has been used to explore the mediation and moderated mediation relationships between variables. The results of the study indicate that political will mediates the relationship between power value and the use of manipulation tactics, and hierarchy increases the use of manipulation tactics by strengthening the effect of political will on the use of manipulation tactics. The study elaborates upon the role of hierarchy in the process, thereby paving the way for a better understanding of leadership in the context of organizational politics. This study also calls for a fine-tuning of the organizational structure to make it more welcoming toward the political will and power values of the employees. This study also contributes to value studies and organizational psychology literature by explaining moderated mediation mechanisms through which power value and political will affect employees’ use of manipulation tactics. © 2023 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

This paper examines how the Government of India (GOI) used macrosocial marketing (MSM) to address the issues of clean cooking fuel accessibility and affordability and structural inequalities in subsidy redistribution. It highlights a novel MSM application to address chrematistics in marketing systems. Two initiatives established by the GOI are examined. “Give It Up” encourages wealthier households to surrender liquid petroleum gas (LPG) subsidies, leaving these to poorer families, and Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) installs LPG connections for poor, rural women. The research explores how the GOI has addressed economic inefficiencies and structural inequalities, focusing on institutional norms and affordability, accessibility, awareness, and acceptability (the “4As”). The research expands the theoretical boundaries of MSM in relation to poverty and identifies its capacity to affect individual and systemic change through formal and informal institutional changes. Although new institutional norms were adopted, PMUY could not address the ongoing affordability of LPG, despite the changes to LPG subsidies. © The Author(s) 2022.