EPH-International Journal of Business & Management Science
EPH – International Journal of Business and Management Science is a peer-reviewed, open-access scholarly journal that publishes original research and review articles in the fields of business, management, and related disciplines, with a focus on advancing academic research and professional practice. Journal Information Journal Title: EPH – International Journal of Business and Management Science Online ISSN: 2208-2190 Published Since: 2015 Language: English Publication Frequency: From 2015-2025:- Quarterly From 2026:- Monthly Publication Format: Online Publisher: Southern Cross Academic Press
MENTAL ACCOUNTING AND REMITTANCE DEPENDENCY AMONG AFGHAN HOUSEHOLDS: A BEHAVIOURAL FINANCE PERSPECTIVE
This study investigated the influence of the dimensions of mental accounting on remittance dependency among Afghan households. Mental accounting was conceptualized as a multidimensional construct comprising mental accounting labelling (MAL), mental budgeting (MB), and Fungibility bias (FB). Using a quantitative research design, data were collected from 317 households through a structured 4-points Likert-scale questionnaire. The data were analyzed using structural equation modelling (SEM) to examine the relationship between dimensions of mental accounting and remittance dependency (RD). The findings indicated that only mental accounting labelling exhibited a significant positive relationship with remittance dependency (β = 0.537, p < 0.001), whereas Fungibility Bias (β = 0.096, p < 0.05) and Mental Budgeting (β = -0.029, p = 0.708) did not illustrate statistically significant association. These findings indicate that the dimensions of mental accounting do not contribute equally to explaining remittance dependency behavior among the sampled Afghan households. The study also found that remittances are primarily allocated to the consumption category of the households, particularly for daily needs, healthcare and urgent financial needs, while only a limited proportion was allocated toward productive categories such as investment and trade. Overall, the findings suggest that household’s mentally categorize and manage remittance income differently from their ordinary sources of income, consistent with core theory of mental accounting. The study emphasizes the importance of understanding behavioral biases, particularly mental accounting and its dimensions, as well as remittance use when designing financial literacy initiatives and remittance management policies for similar households' populations.
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FROM ENDORSEMENT TO ENGAGEMENT: A CONCEPTUAL REVIEW OF SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER MARKETING LITERATURE
Social media influencer marketing started out as a peripheral tactic borrowed from celebrity endorsement and has since grown into a distinct field of its own. This conceptual review follows the underlying academic literature along one organizing line: a shift from an endorsement paradigm, where the endorser is a credible source transferring meaning to a brand, toward an engagement paradigm, where the influencer is a relational actor embedded in an ongoing, interactive exchange with followers. Drawing on source-credibility and meaning-transfer theory, parasocial interaction research, work on authenticity management, sponsorship disclosure, and consumer brand engagement, the review traces how trust, identification, and community have gradually taken over from one-way persuasion as the field's main explanatory mechanisms. It moves through ten themes: the theoretical foundations of endorsement; the rise of the social media influencer as a distinct communicator; parasocial and two-step-flow mechanisms; credibility and trust; the micro- and nano-influencer turn; authenticity management; disclosure and persuasion knowledge; the shift toward consumer engagement; the platformization of the creator economy; and, closing the review, how this theoretical arc plays out in the Indian market, with particular attention to Haryana and the National Capital Region. The review's conclusion is that influencer marketing scholarship has not abandoned endorsement theory so much as built engagement-based, relational constructs on top of it, producing a hybrid conceptual space current theory only partly integrates, and that this hybrid pattern already shows up in emerging Indian evidence even though no study has tested it yet at the level of a single NCR city. Implications for researchers, brand managers, and platform regulators follow, along with an agenda for future regional research.
WHEN TRADE OPENNESS MEETS WEAK INSTITUTIONS: EVIDENCE ON TRADE-BASED MONEY LAUNDERING VULNERABILITY
Trade-based money laundering (TBML) exploits the scale, documentary complexity, and jurisdictional fragmentation of international trade to disguise the proceeds of crime, yet the phenomenon remains poorly measured relative to its estimated economic significance. Drawing on principal-agent theory and the economics of informational asymmetry, this study develops and empirically tests a Composite TBML Vulnerability Index (CTVI) that integrates trade-price discrepancy, institutional quality, and trade-finance opacity into a single, reproducible diagnostic. Using an unbalanced panel of 40 economies spanning all World Bank income groups over 2013-2022, the study estimates a two-way fixed-effects model in which CTVI is regressed on trade openness, regulatory quality, financial depth, shadow-economy size, and the interaction between trade openness and regulatory quality. The results show that trade openness is positively associated with TBML vulnerability, but that this relationship is substantially moderated by institutional quality: economies in the lowest decile of regulatory quality experience amplification of TBML risk from trade liberalisation that is roughly twice the sample average. Financial depth and shadow-economy size are independently and positively associated with vulnerability. The findings imply that trade liberalisation and anti-money-laundering (AML) capacity-building should be pursued jointly, and they support specific revisions to the FATF Recommendation 14 framework and to cross-agency data-sharing architecture.
A QUALITATIVE EXPLORATION OF CONSUMER ACCEPTANCE OF FORTIFIED EDIBLE OILS IN INDIA: INSIGHTS FROM FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS
Purpose – This study examines how urban, educated Indian consumers perceive fortified edible oil, enriched with vitamins A and D under FSSAI's 2016 regulations, given how limited consumer adoption remains outside institutional distribution channels. Design/methodology/approach – Seven online focus groups were held with 32 participants across nine Indian states, with recruitment continuing until thematic saturation. Data were analysed through an abductive, hybrid thematic approach informed by the Theory of Planned Behavior, Value-Attitude-Behavior model and Health Belief Model, while remaining open to inductive codes. Findings – Eight themes emerged. Most participants had never come across the term "fortified," despite unknowingly buying fortified products. Health consciousness pulled consumers toward less-processed oils rather than fortified ones, and trust in fortification claims was low; purchase decisions were gendered, and price mattered less than trust and taste. Digital trust was layered, with doctors and influencers trusted more than packaging or e-commerce claims. Because the sample was digitally recruited, educated, and higher income, generalisability is limited, and the gendered pattern, observed between rather than within groups, needs confirmatory testing. Originality/value – This paper offers India-specific insight into consumer acceptance of fortified edible oil, extending TPB, VAB and HBM with naturalness orientation, institutional trust, household gatekeeping and layered digital trust. Findings suggest marketers should prioritise clinically substantiated claims and doctor- or influencer-led channels and recognise household gatekeeping, while nutrition campaigns may need to build regulatory-concept literacy separately from brand advertising.
DYNAMIC NEGOTIATION FLEXIBILITY IN GREENFIELD MINING PROJECTS: A FRAMEWORK FOR CONFLICT DE-ESCALATION, ORGANIZATIONAL ADAPTATION, AND LEGITIMACY
Greenfield mining projects operate in politically visible and institutionally complex settings shaped by land acquisition, resettlement and livelihood concerns, environmental risks, regulatory plurality, and competing stakeholder claims. These conditions can generate conflict among project organizations, affected communities, government agencies, civil-society groups, and political actors. Although existing scholarship has emphasized stakeholder engagement, collaborative governance, and social license to operate, it offers limited process-level insight into how project organizations adapt their negotiation practices as conflict dynamics, power relations, and institutional expectations evolve over the project life cycle (Freeman, 1984; Emerson, Naba Tchi, & Balogh, 2012; Prno & Slocombe, 2012). This study investigates Dynamic Negotiation Flexibility (DNF), defined as the capability of project actors to reconfigure negotiation strategies, procedures, and relationships in response to changing conflict dynamics and stakeholder conditions. DNF is provisionally conceptualized through three interrelated dimensions. Strategic flexibility concerns the revision of interests, options, sequencing, and value-creation arrangements. Procedural flexibility concerns the redesign of consultation forums, stakeholder representation, decision rules, and dispute-resolution processes. Relational flexibility concerns the adaptation of communication, trust-building, and relationship-repair practices. Negotiation theory, stakeholder theory, dynamic-capabilities theory, adaptive-governance theory, and legitimacy scholarship provide complementary lenses for examining these activities and processes (Fisher & Ury, 1981; Folke, Hahn, Olsson, & Norberg, 2005; Suchman, 1995; Teece, 2007).
FROM TALENT MANAGEMENT PRACTICES TO TALENT CLIMATE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND INTEGRATIVE FRAMEWORK OF TALENT ATTRACTION, DEVELOPMENT AND RETENTION
This review explains how talent-management practices create a talent climate. It focuses on talent attraction, development, and retention. It also examines ten proposed questionnaire dimensions. The study followed PRISMA 2020 and SPAR : 4-SLR principles. OpenAlex supplied English journal articles published between 2006 and 11 August 2026. Citation chasing added seminal papers missed by the database query. After screening and deduplication, 661 articles entered the bibliometric analysis. A focused set of 244 articles informed the conceptual synthesis. VOSviewer 1.6.21 supported concept co-occurrence mapping. Systematic coding compared exact labels, related concepts, and measurement roles. Research grew sharply after 2019 and reached 122 articles in 2025. Three connected clusters describe the field. They cover practice architecture, employee responses, and climate signals. The literature supports mentoring, leadership development, career growth, recognition, empowerment, engagement, and performance management. However, most proposed labels are uncommon. Community engagement has indirect support through social responsibility and employer reputation. Performance culture works better as a climate signal than an attraction practice. Performance comparison should become fair performance management. Workforce drive should become employee engagement and motivation. Talent climate remains underdeveloped and needs a separate measure. The review separates what organizations do from how employees interpret those actions. It presents a two-part talent-climate construct. Climate strength concerns distinctiveness, consistency, consensus, and contextual relevance. Climate quality concerns talent value, support, fairness, and inclusion. Banks should align attraction, development, and retention practices. They should also communicate those practices clearly and apply them fairly.
EXPLORING BLOCKCHAIN ADOPTION IN BANKING: A TAM-BASED STUDY OF EMPLOYEE PERCEPTIONS ACROSS THE BANKING SECTOR IN DELHI
This study aims to examine the perception of employees on blockchain technology use in public and private sector banks in Delhi, applying an extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The research aims to examine the determinants influencing adoption intention. The model includes constructs of relative advantage, competitive pressure, employee knowledge, perceived cost, perceived compatibility, PEOU, and perception to investigate their effects on behavioural intention. Data were collected from 500 workers of both public and commercial banks using a structured questionnaire, and PLS-SEM was used for analysis. The conclusions of the study demonstrate that perceptions of employees on blockchain are significantly improved by perceived compatibility, perceived cost, and understanding. However, the findings suggested that perceived ease of use was not significantly impacted by competitive pressure or relative advantage because adoption seems to be more strongly influenced by internal organizational preparation and employee understanding than by external forces. The findings have practical implications for banks implementing blockchain, emphasize the importance of educating employees, and linking technological innovations to current systems. This research contributes to the already established literature and understanding based on digital transformation in the realm of banking and provides an effective framework for managing the adoption of blockchain.
AI-DRIVEN MARKETING STRATEGIES IN SMES: THE MODERATING ROLE OF TECHNOLOGICAL READINESS ON MARKET PERFORMANCE
Aim: This study examines the effect of AI-Driven Marketing Strategies (AI-DMS) on Market Performance among SMEs, while Customer Engagement (CE) serves as the mediating variable and Technological Readiness serves as the moderating variable. Research Methodology: The study employs a quantitative, descriptive, and cross-sectional research design using data collected from 390 SME managers, marketing specialists, and owners in Jaipur, Rajasthan, through a structured Likert-scale questionnaire measuring AI-DMS, CE, Technological Readiness, and Market Performance. This target group includes SME owners, managers, and marketing specialists who are directly involved in marketing and operational decision-making processes. Cronbach's alpha, Composite Reliability (CR), and Average Variance Extracted (AVE) are used to evaluate reliability and validity. To evaluate construct validity, factor analysis is conducted using SPSS, while Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is implemented in SmartPLS for assessing direct, mediating, and moderating relationships. Findings: The results confirm that AI-Driven Marketing Strategies have a significant positive effect on CE and Market Performance. CE partially mediates the AI-DMS–Market Performance relationship, whereas Technological Readiness serves as a significant moderator, amplifying the positive influence of AI-DMS on Market Performance in technologically prepared SMEs Conclusion: The study concludes that SMEs can enhance market outcomes by integrating AI-driven marketing initiatives with CE practices supported by technological readiness. These findings provide both theoretical and managerial insights for leveraging AI to achieve superior business performance in SMEs.
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE, AI LITERACY AND LEADERSHIP LEGITIMACY IN AI-SUPPORTED ORGANISATIONAL DECISION-MAKING: A PLS-SEM STUDY
AI is transforming into a powerful decision support tool in organisations, but how AI recommendations are interpreted, communicated and governed by leaders is key to their value. This research aims to explore the mediating effect of leadership legitimacy on the relationship between the use of AI decision making, AI explainability, leader emotional intelligence and AI literacy on responsible decision quality. This study utilizes a quantitative research design with partial least squares structural equation modelling technique on a thesis model data that consists of 412 data pieces containing managers, supervisors and professional employees who are exposed to AI supported decision tools. The measurement model demonstrates a good level of reliability, convergent validity and discriminant validity. Based on the structural results, it is found that the variable of reliance on AI decision is positively influential for responsible decision quality, while the other variables of AI explainability, emotional intelligence of leaders and their legitimacy are found to have positive influence on the quality of responsible decisions but are not significant. The influence of each of these factors (AI explainability, emotional intelligence, and AI literacy) on decision quality is partially explained by leadership legitimacy. Leadership legitimacy partially mediated the relationships of AI explainability and emotional intelligence with decision quality; AI literacy strengthened the relationship between AI decision reliance and responsible decision quality. The results indicate that AI enhances organisational decisions if leaders incorporate it as an accountability-based analytical assistant but do not completely rely on it for judgment. This paper enriches the academic field of business and management with empirical research of how the use of AI in decision making is associated with emotional intelligence and legitimacy and responsible leadership. The takeaway for companies is to build leaders that are AI-literate and emotionally intelligent, especially in instances where AI is being applied in people decisions that impact employees, customers and other entities.
RACE, GENDER, MIGRATION, AND BELONGING IN CONTEMPORARY TRANSNATIONAL FICTION: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF AMERICANAH, GIRL, WOMAN, OTHER, AND HOMEGOING
The present paper examines representation of race, gender, migration, identity, and belonging in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah (2013), Bernardine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other (2019), and Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing (2016). Using a qualitative comparative approach and close textual analysis, the study explores how socio-cultural hierarchies shape individual experiences across contemporary transnational contexts. Drawing on the concepts of cultural identity, hybridity, intersectionality, and the Black Atlantic, the paper analyses four interconnected themes: race and social exclusion, gender and intersectional marginalization, identity and cultural negotiation, and memory and migration. The study highlights that race, gender, and migration function as significant structures influencing belonging, opportunity, and selfhood, while historical memory continues to shape contemporary identities. The selected novels collectively reveal the complex relationship between personal experiences and broader social, cultural, and historical processes in contemporary transnational fiction.
JUST TRANSITION IN COAL-DEPENDENT ECONOMIES: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW (2015–2025)
This systematic literature review examines Just Transition (JT) in coal-dependent economies, focusing on empirical studies published after the Paris Agreement (2015-2025). Using the PRISMA 2020 framework, 80 Scopus-indexed articles were analysed to provide a structured and focused understanding of transition dynamics. Integrating paradoxical, theoretical, and framework perspectives, the study maps the discourse into five core driving themes: governance, regional economics, social justice, low-carbon shifts, and stakeholder engagement, which directly shape outcomes across regional resilience, just livelihoods, inclusive development, and environmental sustainability. Overall, this review provides critical insights for policymakers, highlighting the importance of inclusive governance, workforce reskilling, and regional economic diversification. This framework balances decarbonization with social equity, thereby providing a robust foundation for future research and policy interventions in coal-dependent economies.
EMPATHY AND CUSTOMER LOYALTY IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BANKS: EVIDENCE FROM BANKING CUSTOMERS
This study examines the effect of empathy-related service behaviours on customer loyalty in public and private banks. Empathy is seen as a service quality aspect in relations, which is manifested in personalized attention, knowing the customer's needs, caring communication, handling customer complaints with empathy, and listening and follow-up. The survey design was an empirical one and the data were collected from 220 respondents comprising 110 public banks and 110 private banks, of adult banking customers in India. This questionnaire was based on the SERVQUAL tradition and literature on customer loyalty was analysed using reliability analysis, Pearson correlation, multiple regression, ANOVA, model summary statistics, multicollinearity diagnostics and independent-samples comparisons. The results indicate that the bivariate level of all empathy dimensions is positively and significantly related to the customer loyalty. In the regression model, the dimensions of understanding customer needs, empathetic complaint handling, personalised attention, and caring communication still have a strong predictive power, which means that they are still significant factors in predicting the customer's reaction. This is because these dimensions of empathy are not completely explained by other dimensions, and they are independent from them. Listening and follow-up is not significant when the other empathy dimensions are included in the model, which means that it is not an independent predictor of the customer's reaction. Customers of private banks also show slightly higher loyalty scores than do customers of public banks accounting for their type, which also has a significant positive effect. The overall model accounts for 61.9% of the variation in customer loyalty. The research findings indicate that empathy is not just a soft interpersonal skill but a quantifiable service characteristic which boosts retention, recommendation and resistance to switching. In practice, banks should focus on customer understanding, recovering complaints, maintaining continuity of the relationship and providing human support in digital service systems, in order to meet customers' needs.
Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation: Implications for Organizational Performance
Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly in use by organizations to enhance operational efficiency, decision-making quality and strategic competitiveness. Although there has been growing investment in AI technologies, the way that AI adds value to organizational performance is not fully understood. This research explores the relationship between Artificial Intelligence Adoption (AIA), Digital Transformation Capability (DTC) and Organizational Performance (OP) with a special focus on the mediating role of DTC. The study is based on the Resource Based View (RBV) and Dynamic Capability Theory (DCT) and suggests that AI adoption takes a direct and indirect path to improving organizational performance via a boost in digital transformation capability. The design of the research is quantitative research design with cross sectional survey type. Data were collected through a cross-sectional survey of 245 professionals working in technology-based organizational environments and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) in ADANCO software. The results show that the use of artificial intelligence is related to the digital transformation capacity and to performance within an organisation. The ability to undertake digital transformation also has a strong positive impact on the performance of the organization. Mediation analysis revealed a significant partial mediating effect of DTC in the relationship between AIA and OP (β = 0.5358, p < 0.001). The study adds to the existing body of literature by offering a holistic understanding of how organizations realize performance outcomes from their AI investments by building capabilities. The results also provide actionable knowledge for companies aiming for sustainable growth and competitive advantage by leveraging artificial intelligence for transformation initiatives.
CUSTOMER CO-CREATION IN THE PRINTING AND PACKAGING INDUSTRY: A STRATEGIC APPROACH TO VALUE CAPTURE
The printing and packaging industry is being reshaped by digital production systems, sustainability expectations, shorter product life cycles, and growing demand for customised brand communication. Although customer co-creation is well established in service, innovation, and digital platform research, its role in the printing and packaging industry remains comparatively under-examined. This paper investigates customer co-creation as a strategic mechanism for value capture in printing and packaging firms. Drawing on value co-creation theory and the resource-based view, the study argues that customer knowledge becomes strategically meaningful when it is transformed into repeatable organisational routines for design, production, sustainability alignment, and customer relationship management. A mixed-methods design was adopted, combining 20 semi-structured interviews with executives, designers, marketing professionals, and selected customers, and a structured survey of 150 industry professionals and customers. The survey measured customer co-creation capability, digital collaboration, organisational support, sustainability orientation, operational efficiency, customer satisfaction, market differentiation, and value capture using five-point Likert-scale items. Reliability and validity were assessed through Cronbach’s alpha, content validation, exploratory factor checks and triangulation with qualitative themes. In addition to descriptive statistics and correlation analysis, the revised analysis reports regression, mediation and group comparison results. The findings show that customer co-creation has a positive and statistically significant association with value capture, and that operational efficiency partially mediates this relationship. Digital collaboration, organisational support and sustainability orientation further strengthen the value of co-creation. The paper contributes to theory by explaining how value co-creation can be converted into a valuable, difficult-to-imitate organisational capability in a manufacturing-service hybrid sector. It also offers managerial guidance for firms seeking to use customer collaboration as a disciplined route to innovation, sustainability and competitive advantage.
A COMPARATIVE AND INTEGRATIVE REVIEW OF AAKER AND KELLER: TOWARDS A THREE-LAYER FRAMEWORK OF BRAND EQUITY
This review paper develops an integrative framework that reconciles Aaker’s asset-based model and Keller’s Customer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE) pyramid, two dominant but traditionally parallel perspectives in brand equity research. While prior studies have compared these frameworks, they have largely remained analytically separate. This study synthesises their theoretical foundations, structural differences, and areas of complementarity through an integrative review approach. Aaker conceptualises brand equity as a portfolio of strategic assets, whereas Keller frames it as a staged process of consumer relationship development. Building on this distinction, the paper proposes a three-layer framework integrating structural foundations, consumer processes, and market outcomes, with brand trust as a mediating mechanism. Ten theoretical propositions are derived to guide future empirical research across digital, cross-cultural, and sustainability contexts. By formalising the integration of asset-based and consumer-based perspectives, this review contributes to advancing brand equity theory and offers a structured basis for both academic research and managerial application.
EMPOWERED OR INDEBTED? RETHINKING WOMEN’S AGENCY IN MICROCREDIT ECONOMIES IN BANGLADESH
Women's involvement in the micro credit industry in Bangladesh has been seen as a sign of empowerment, but access to finance is not necessarily a means of control over resources, enterprise development or of being free from debt burden. The study in this article employed secondary data from four data sets that focused on women's financial inclusion, microfinance institutions, financial behaviour among the national population and policy priorities for women's economic empowerment to analyse women's agency in the context of microcredit and financial inclusion in Bangladesh. The analysis was done between the participation of women in MFIs, banks, NBFIs, mobile financial services, credit from CMSME and national borrowing and saving indicators. The results indicated a double trend. Women were well represented in MFI deposit accounts (91%), but not in bank loan accounts or NBFI loan accounts or in higher value CMSME credit. Also, opportunity and debt exposure were observed in the MFI sector as it had the highest concentration of borrowers and institutional size. The article maintained that although microcredit had brought women into the financial realm, it had not necessarily resulted in women having full economic agency. The empowerment outcomes needed to be strengthened, which necessitated the credit control, financial capability, enterprise pathways, digital access, and protection from gendered debt burdens.
PARTITION AND THE FRAGMENTED SUBJECT: A LACANIAN-FREUDIAN READING OF MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN, THE SHADOW LINES, AND TAMAS
The Partition of India in 1947 continues to shape South Asian literary representations of identity, memory, and belonging. While existing scholarship has largely focused on trauma and memory, the present study examines how Partition reshapes subjectivity through a comparative psychoanalytic reading of Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children (1981), Amitav Ghosh’s The Shadow Lines (1988), and Bhisham Sahni’s Tamas (1974). Drawing on Jacques Lacan’s concepts of the Symbolic Order, the Other, and Lack, and supported by Sigmund Freud's theories of repression and mourning/melancholia, the study employs close textual reading and comparative thematic analysis. The study attempts to highlight that Partition is represented not simply as a historical event but as a continuing disruption of symbolic structures that shape identity and social relations. The study highlights the relationship between symbolic instability, otherness, and unresolved loss in shaping post-Partition subjectivity
ARE DRONES TRANSFORMING TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICS FOR THE LAST-MILE REACH IN THE URBAN LANDSCAPE
The rapid growth of e-commerce, urban congestion, and rising customer expectations for faster delivery have increased pressure on last-mile logistics systems. This study examines the role of drone technology in improving urban last-mile delivery from business, operational, sustainability, and managerial perspectives. The purpose of the study is to evaluate how drone-enabled logistics can enhance delivery efficiency, accessibility, cost performance, and strategic value while identifying major barriers to large-scale adoption. A secondary research approach was adopted, using peer-reviewed literature, industry reports, government publications, and case studies of Amazon Prime Air, UPS Flight Forward, DHL Parcelcopter, and Zipline. The findings indicate that drones can improve delivery speed, reduce dependence on congested road networks, support access to hard-to-reach areas, and create value in urgent, lightweight, and healthcare-related deliveries. Adoption remains limited by payload capacity, battery life, weather dependency, infrastructure needs, regulation, safety, privacy, and public acceptance. The study concludes that drones are more effective as complementary tools within hybrid logistics networks than as complete replacements for traditional delivery systems. Managerially, firms should adopt drone logistics selectively through cost-benefit analysis, regulatory compliance, infrastructure planning, and strategic integration with existing supply chain operations.
NAVIGATING THE DIGITAL MEDIA ECOSYSTEM: COMMERCIAL SOCIALIZATION, PR DEPENDENCIES, AND THE STATE OF LOCAL WATCHDOG JOURNALISM IN UTTAR PRADESH
The research examines revenue and structural factors affecting the development of hyperlocal digital journalism in Uttar Pradesh, especially the relationship between the backgrounds of platform founders and editorial practices. The research analyzes the influence of different forms of capital, namely institutional cultural capital, prior professional socialization and locational social capital on watchdog journalism, reliance on public relations material and revenue models, using Pierre Bourdieu’s Field Theory and Shoemaker and Reese’s Hierarchy of Influences model. The study is based on a cross-sectional quantitative survey of 162 founders, CEOs, and producers of digital-native hyperlocal news platforms across Lucknow, Gorakhpur and Raebareli. The study found significant correlations between socio-cultural background and platform behavior. The findings reveal that 77.2% of hyperlocal operators have no formal training in journalism, while those who have been educated in journalism have a significantly higher watchdog orientation. Producers with a background in commerce or public relations tend to rely more on press releases from the government and promotional material. Local embeddedness in the long run improves advertising opportunities but increases dependence on local political and commercial networks, often at the cost of editorial independence. The paper shows that hyperlocal journalism in Uttar Pradesh exists in a structurally fragile ecosystem in which economic precarity, professional background, and social networks shape journalistic, independence and democratic accountability.
WHY STANDARDISED LEADERSHIP APPROACHES FAIL: THE ROLE OF ORGANISATIONAL CONTEXT IN LEADERSHIP EFFECTIVENESS
Contemporary organisations operate in complex and diverse environments, yet many continue to rely on standardised leadership approaches that assume uniform effectiveness across organisational settings. The study examines employee perceptions of one-size-fits-all leadership practices, analyses the influence of organisational context on leadership effectiveness, and assesses the relationship between leadership standardisation and organisational outcomes. A quantitative cross-sectional research design was adopted. Data were collected from 120 employees and mid-level managers across diverse organisational settings using purposive sampling. A structured questionnaire measured leadership standardisation, organisational context, leadership effectiveness, organisational outcomes, and overall perceptions through a five-point Likert scale. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis, and an independent samples t-test. Organisational context showed a positive association with organisational outcomes and appeared to be a stronger positive predictor of organisational outcomes than leadership standardisation. Descriptive results indicated moderately positive perceptions of leadership effectiveness and organisational outcomes, while overall perceptions of uniform leadership remained neutral. The independent samples t-test revealed no significant difference in perceived leadership effectiveness between employees and mid-level managers. The study concludes that standardised leadership approaches offer limited value in diverse organisational environments and that leadership effectiveness depends more on contextual sensitivity, flexibility, and alignment with organisational conditions.
LABOUR MARKET TRANSFORMATION, INFORMAL EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL SECURITY INCLUSION IN INDIA: EVIDENCE FROM PLFS, CENSUS AND E-SHRAM DATA
India’s labour market is undergoing a complex structural transformation characterized by rising labour force participation, persistent informal employment, and expanding social security initiatives. This study examines labour market participation, informal employment, and social security inclusion in India using secondary data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2017–18 to 2023–24, Census 2011 worker classification data, e-Shram administrative records, and supplementary evidence from the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE). The study critically evaluates whether improvements in labour market indicators necessarily reflect improvements in employment quality and workforce security. The findings reveal that the all-India Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) increased from 49.8% in 2017–18 to 60.1% in 2023–24, while female LFPR rose substantially from 23.3% to 41.7%. However, the study finds that a large proportion of employment growth remains concentrated in informal, low-productivity, and socially unprotected work. Census-based evidence indicates that nearly 47.5% of rural female workers were classified as marginal workers, reflecting significant employment intermittency and workforce vulnerability. Informal employment continues to dominate the Indian labour market, accounting for a major share of self-employment, unpaid family work, and casual labour. The paper further evaluates India’s e-Shram initiative through the identification–coverage–adequacy–utilisation framework for social protection. While the platform has achieved large-scale worker registration and administrative visibility for informal workers, substantial gaps remain regarding benefit utilisation, portability, adequacy, and independent impact evaluation. The study argues that labour market policy should move beyond headline participation and unemployment indicators toward a stronger focus on employment quality, workforce formalisation, social security accessibility, and sustainable labour governance. The study contributes to business and management literature by integrating labour economics, workforce governance, employment sustainability, and social protection analysis within the context of India’s evolving labour market structure. The findings offer practical implications for policymakers, labour administrators, workforce planners, and social protection institutions seeking to improve employment quality, workforce resilience, and inclusive economic development.
EXAMINING THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT: IS JOB SATISFACTION A MEDIATOR?
In knowledge-based industries, employee engagement has become one of the prominent factors in determining organizational success Organizations in India, especially in the IT and BPM Sector, are confronting compounded challenges with respect to retention efforts, employee productivity escalation, work-life balance preservation, and workforce commitment. Although organizational culture is one of the key factors in organizations that affect employee attitudes and behaviors, what are the mechanisms by which it impacts employee engagement is not well understood. This research explores organizational culture, employee engagement and job satisfaction as a mediator in the IT and BPM industry of India. The study develops a conceptual framework between organizational culture, job satisfaction and employee engagement based on the Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory and Denison’s Organizational Culture Model. Organizational culture is operationalized in terms of involvement, consistency, adaptability, and mission dimensions, and job satisfaction is operationalized in terms of satisfaction with compensation, supervision, work environment, and coworker relationships. Employee engagement is assessed in terms of vigor, dedication and absorption. A quantitative research design is anticipated using the survey data collected from the employees working in the leading IT and BPM organizations across India. The Structural Equation Model (SEM) was used to examine the direct and indirect relationships of the constructs. The results are expected to show that the impact of organizational culture directly and indirectly through job satisfaction is significant to employee engagement. Furthermore, job satisfaction is expected to be a significant mediator that explains the mechanism through which organizational culture leads to higher employee engagement. This study assists to the organizational behavior literature by extending the knowledge of the mechanisms of employee engagement in the framework of emerging economies and provides practical implications for managers who seek to improve the engagement of the workforce through cultural and satisfaction-oriented interventions.
REMEMBERING EMPIRE: MEMORY, IDENTITY, AND HISTORICAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN TAYEB SALIH’S SEASON OF MIGRATION TO THE NORTH AND KAZUO ISHIGURO’S THE REMAINS OF THE DAY
The present paper examines the reconstruction of historical consciousness in Tayeb Salih’s Season of Migration to the North and Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day. Using a qualitative, interpretative and comparative approach. The study analyzes how both novels revisit the past through retrospective narration and personal experience. Drawing on the postcolonial theories of Edward Said, Homi K. Bhabha, and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, it explores the relationship between empire, memory, identity, and marginalized perspectives. The analysis demonstrates that selected texts question dominant historical narratives by foregrounding individual recollection, cultural negotiation, and overlooked experiences. It further reveals that imperial legacies continue to shape selfhood and historical understanding beyond the formal end of colonial rule. By presenting identity as fluid and historical knowledge as interpretive, the novels challenge claims of historical certainty and authority. The study concludes that both works construct a distinctly postcolonial historical consciousness in which the past remains open to revision, negotiation, and competing interpretations.
EXPLAINING IMPULSE BUYING IN SOCIAL COMMERCE THROUGH PARASOCIAL IDENTIFICATION: THE ROLES OF CREATOR AUTHENTICITY AND FEAR OF MISSING OUT
Social commerce has revolutionized online shopping by bringing social interaction, user-generated content, and eCommerce together in an immersive environment. While previous research has focused on the effects of parasocial relationships or impulse buying behavior separately, there is a lack of research in understanding the combined effect of creator authenticity and fear of missing out (FOMO) on impulse buying through parasocial identification (PSID). This study is based on Stimulus–Organism–Response (S–O–R) model and aims to investigate how creator authenticity, social attraction and FOMO influence consumers' impulse buying behaviour through the mediation of parasocial identification as the psychological mechanism. Using secondary survey data from a data set of social commerce users who have active social commerce accounts on creator-driven digital platforms & partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) we evaluated measurement and structural models. The findings show that creator authenticity and social attraction positively contribute to parasocial identification. Moreover, parasocial identification has a positive effect on impulse buying behaviour, thus reinforcing its importance as a mediation mechanism between the creator's characteristics and its consumers' purchase responses. Additionally, FOMO also proves to be a substantial direct predictor of impulse buying, emphasizing the psychological urgency in social commerce contexts. The study advances the social commerce and consumer behaviour research field by building upon the S–O–R model and incorporating creator authenticity, FOMO, and parasocial identification into a single model. The results offer actionable insights for content creators, marketers, and platform developers aiming to enhance customer interaction and drive purchasing decisions by delivering genuine and emotionally compelling digital experiences.
THE ROLE OF EMPATHY AND ENCOURAGEMENT IN IMPROVING CANDIDATE OUTCOMES: EVIDENCE FROM GLOBAL RECRUITMENT REPORTS
The recruitment process has evolved from a transactional hiring activity to a strategic function that emphasizes candidate experience and organizational attractiveness. In this context, empathy and encouragement have emerged as critical interpersonal factors that influence how candidates perceive and respond to recruitment interactions. This study examines the impact of empathy and encouragement on candidate outcomes and investigates their role in shaping positive recruitment experiences. Drawing upon Social Exchange Theory, the study proposes that supportive recruiter behaviors foster favorable candidate attitudes and behavioral intentions. A quantitative research design was adopted, and data were collected from 151 respondents who had recently participated in recruitment processes. The study employed a structured questionnaire using a five-point Likert scale to measure empathy, encouragement, and candidate outcomes. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, validity assessment, and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings reveal that both empathy and encouragement significantly and positively influence candidate outcomes. Empathy emerged as the strongest predictor of candidate outcomes (β = 0.472, p < 0.001), followed by encouragement (β = 0.391, p < 0.001). The model explained 64.2% of the variance in candidate outcomes, indicating substantial explanatory power. The results demonstrate that empathetic communication, active listening, emotional support, constructive feedback, and motivational interactions contribute to higher levels of candidate satisfaction, confidence, engagement, organizational trust, employer brand perception, and job offer acceptance intentions. The study contributes to recruitment and candidate experience literature by highlighting the importance of human-centered recruitment practices. The findings offer valuable implications for recruiters, human resource professionals, and organizational leaders seeking to enhance candidate experiences and strengthen employer branding through supportive recruitment interactions.
BEHAVIOURAL DETERMINANTS OF PERSONAL FINANCIAL INVESTMENT DECISION-MAKING: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF FINANCIAL AWARENESS IN AN EMERGING MARKET CONTEXT
Rapid expansion of financial markets, digital investment platforms, and diversified financial products has increased the need to understand how retail investors make investment decisions. In emerging economies such as India, investment behaviour is influenced not only by economic considerations but also by behavioural and cognitive factors. This study investigates the effects of Investor Attitude, Risk Perception, and Financial Awareness on personal financial Investment Decision-Making among retail investors in West Bengal and Eastern India. A quantitative cross-sectional survey design was adopted, and 550 questionnaires were distributed. After data screening, 408 valid responses were retained for analysis. SPSS was used for exploratory analysis, while SmartPLS and PLS-SEM were employed to assess the measurement model, test structural relationships, examine predictive relevance, and evaluate mediation effects. The results indicate that Financial Awareness is the most influential determinant of Investment Decision-Making, suggesting that investors with greater knowledge of financial products, market information, and risk-return trade-offs make more informed investment choices. Investor Attitude and Risk Perception also exert significant direct and indirect effects on Investment Decision-Making through Financial Awareness. The study extends behavioural finance and bounded rationality theory and provides practical implications for financial institutions, policymakers, advisors, and investor education initiatives aimed at improving investment decision quality.
GREEN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND WORKPLACE ATTRACTIVENESS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF SERVICE AND MANUFACTURING SECTOR EMPLOYEES
Environmental sustainability has appeared as a strategic organizational priority, leading firms to increasingly integrate Green Human Resource Management practices into their human resource systems. The present study focused on the effect of Green Human Resource Management on the attractiveness of the workplace among employees from manufacturing and service industries, as well as the mediation of perceived organizational support for the environment. A cross-sectional quantitative research design was used and data was gathered with 240 full-time employees of whom 120 were from manufacturing and 120 were from service organizations from India. This study used hierarchical regression analysis, Structural Equation Modeling and Multi-Group Analysis on SPSS 28 and SmartPLS 4. The results showed that the Green Human Resource Management has a significant indirect effect on workplace attractiveness through the partial mediation by perceived organizational support for the environment (β = 0.29, p < 0.001), and an important direct effect (β = 0.51, p < 0.01). Furthermore, sectoral comparison indicated that the total effect of Green Human Resource Management on workplace attractiveness was stronger in manufacturing (β = 0.53) than in services (β = 0.38). The study concludes that sector-sensitive implementation of GHRM practices is essential for strengthening workplace attractiveness and sustainability-oriented employer branding.
Perceived Organizational Support for the Environment
POWERING PERFORMANCE: THE IMPACT OF COMPENSATION AND INCENTIVE PRACTICES ON SALES FORCE EFFECTIVENESS IN THE PHARMACEUTICAL EQUIPMENT INDUSTRY
This research aims to determine how compensation and incentive practices affect the sales force’s effectiveness in the pharmaceutical equipment industry. This industry is notable for its high levels of pressure and complexity. Sales personnel must undertake product demonstrations, manage institutional customers, cope with long sales cycles, and carry out after-sales with an additional pressure of targets. The research used a quantitative methodology. A systematic questionnaire was used to gather data. The research looked at remuneration for recruiting and keeping people, compensation for performance, incentive alignment with sales objectives, motivating structure of compensation, compensation competition, non-financial appreciation, and sales staff performance. SmartPLS and SPSS were used to analyse the data. The results showed that the sales staff polled had a favourable opinion of the incentive and pay policies. The measuring model demonstrated the validity and reliability of the study components for further examination. The structural model stated that incentive and pay policies addressed sales staff performance. Within the studied variables, non-financial appreciation and compensation competitiveness were the strongest predictors of sales personnel performance. The study recommends that a balanced reward system, comprised of fair and competitive compensation, performance-based compensation, recognition, career advancement opportunities, and supportive practices be implemented to improve the effectiveness of the sales force in the pharmaceutical equipment industry.
CONSCIOUS OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE: INTEGRATING THE INNER ENGINE WITH LEAN, SIX SIGMA, AGILE AND TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT
Operational excellence models such as Lean, Six Sigma, Agile, and Total Quality Management have significantly improved process discipline, defect reduction, responsiveness, and quality culture. Yet organizations with mature process systems continue to experience avoidable failures caused by communication overload, false urgency, weak escalation, ambiguous directives, blame-oriented reviews and poor decision timing. This conceptual article develops Conscious Operational Excellence (COE) as an integrative framework that combines operational-excellence traditions with the Inner Engine disciplines of decision stillness, strategic silence, structured reflection, timing discipline, governed speech and institutional consequence. Using conceptual synthesis, the paper maps Lean to communication-waste reduction, Six Sigma to mental-variance reduction, Agile to timing discipline and TQM to leadership speech as a quality input. The article contributes to business and management scholarship by distinguishing process defects from leadership-origin defects and by theorizing how leadership cognition and communication influence operational performance. Six testable propositions are developed to guide future empirical research. The framework has practical relevance for operations leaders, HR professionals, quality managers, and digitally enabled organizations that rely on dashboards, AI alerts, and real-time performance data but require reflective human interpretation before action.
Quality Administrative Workload And Documentation Burden, Burnout, And Job Satisfaction Among Emergency Department Physicians: A Healthcare Management Perspective On Workforce Well-Being And Operational Performance
Quality documentation is essential in healthcare management for ensuring patient safety, supporting accreditation standards, facilitating quality improvement initiatives, and maintaining organisational accountability. Its importance, increasing documentation requirements can impose additional administrative responsibilities on physicians, potentially affecting their well-being and work experience. This study aimed to evaluate the perceived quality Administrative workload and documentation burden, Employee strain and burnout-related symptoms, and job satisfaction among Emergency Department doctors. A quantitative cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 80 physicians working in the Emergency Department of a tertiary care hospital. Data were collected using a structured self-administered questionnaire consisting of 15 items grouped into three domains: quality Administrative workload and documentation burden, Employee strain and burnout-related symptoms, and job satisfaction. Responses were recorded on a five-point Likert scale and analysed using descriptive statistics, including frequencies, percentages, mean scores, and standard deviations. The findings indicated a high level of Administrative workload and documentation burden, with most respondents reporting that documentation consumed substantial working time and increased workload through accreditation and audit-related activities. Employee strain and burnout-related symptoms, particularly mental fatigue and reduced motivation, were also reported by many participants. Overall job satisfaction remained high among respondents. The study concludes that Administrative workload and documentation burden contributes to workload pressure and Employee strain and burnout-related symptoms, while supportive organisational practices may help sustain physician job satisfaction, engagement, and overall professional well-being.
Quality Administrative workload and documentation burden
Employee strain and burnout-related symptoms