Modelling the predictors of young consumers' sustainable consumption intention

Sustainable consumption refers to consumers' socially and environmentally responsible consumption practices. The present study is the first to investigate possible individual, behavioural, and situational factors that predict sustainable consumption intention among young consumers in India. A survey was carried out on 325 young consumers. Structural equation modelling was applied to check the extent to which the considered variables predicted sustainable consumption. The results determined drive for environmental responsibility, subjective norm, and attitude towards sustainable consumption as key predictors of consumers' sustainable consumption intention. The paper offers a better understanding of the main predictors of consumers' sustainable consumption intention. Such understanding may enable managers to design effective marketing strategies to encourage sustainable consumption intention and behaviour.     

Soft power analysis in alienated borderline tourism

This study uses a combined content-semiotic analysis technique to identify visual representations of an alienated frontier between India and Pakistan. Additionally, narratives of tourism marketers, articles from leading newspapers, and online visitor reviews are analyzed to gain an insight into the manner the ‘closing of border gates’ ceremony is orchestrated and experienced. It is found that most tourism marketers offer distorted images of the border to some extent as most travel reviews flag aggressive orchestrations of war heritage at the border. A soft power analysis of content suggests that the tourism organizations can help foster peace relations between the two countries by actively working with the government agencies to tone down war/conflict memories and aggressive display of hard power.     

On Ethical Violations in Microfinance Backed Small Businesses: Family and Household Welfare

Journal of Business Ethics - The microfinance business model focuses largely on lending to the woman in the household, rather than the man. The belief is that women are more trustworthy borrowers...     

Understanding Indian Online Clothing Shopper Loyalty and Disloyalty: The Impact of E-Lifestyles and Website Quality

Understanding loyalty and disloyalty in conjunction can ensure comprehensive understanding of loyalty which is important for sustained profitability of online retailers. This study examines the simultaneous impact of consumer-related (e-lifestyles) and technology-related (website quality) dimensions on loyalty and disloyalty of Indian online clothing shoppers. Two survey-based samples of data were collected from 217 (Sample 1) and 644 (Sample 2) experienced online shoppers. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis techniques were used to validate e-lifestyle (three dimensions) and website quality dimensions (four dimensions). Sample 2 was divided into loyal and disloyal groups (based on loyalty scores) which were subject to logistic regression. While both e-lifestyle and website quality dimensions are significant in discriminating between the loyal and disloyal groups, the effect of website quality dimensions is more pronounced with website visual-engagement having the highest positive impact on loyalty. The study draws on conclusions for marketers and suggestions for future research.     

By Land or by Sea,the Merchant shall Inherit the Earth

Richard Rosecrance, The Rise of the Trading State: Commerce and Conquest in the Modern World Howard M. Wachtel. The Money Mandarins: the Making of a Supranational Economic Order     

India: the Land of Unfulfilled Promise

THE CHANGING WORLD OF THE EXECUTIVE, by Peter Drucker THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY ECONOMY AND THE THIRD WORLD, by George Macesich RESTRICTIVE BUSINESS PRACTICES, TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT: A SURVEY, by Frank Long THE POLITICAL ECONOMICS OF INTERNATIONAL BANK LENDING, by David Gisselquist DEVELOPING COUNTRIES IN A TURBULENT WORLD: PATTERNS OF ADJUSTMENT SINCE THE OIL CRISIS, by Ching-yuan Lin IMPORT COMPETITION AND RESPONSE, edited by Jagdish N. Bhagwati THE PROMISE OF PEACE: ECONOMIC COOPERATION BETWEEN EGYPT AND ISRAEL, by Henry J. Bruton, Staff Paper NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN PRODUCTIVITY MEASUREMENT AND ANALYSIS, edited by John W. Kendrick and Beatrice N. Vaccara     

Industry structure and CEO characteristics: an empirical study of succession events

Based on 134 CEO succession events in nondiversified, manufacturing firms, this study examines the relationships between industry structure and the characteristics of CEO successors. The paper also explores the performance implications of the fit between industry structure and CEO successors. Results indicate that industry structure plays an important, but not pervasive, role in explaining variations in newly selected CEOs. Specifically, the higher the level of industry product differentiation, the lower the organizational tenure, the higher the educational level and the greater the likelihood of a nonthroughput background in the CEO successor; the higher the industry growth rate, the lower the organizational tenure and age of the CEO successor. However, findings provide very limited support for the normative view that firms which match CEO successor characteristics to industry structure realize better postsuccession performance than those with lower levels of fit. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Corporate strategy,executive selection,and firm performance

This article investigates three related questions: (1) Is corporate diversification strategy associated with the level of firm-specific experience (tenure) of selected CEOs? (2) Are tenure levels of selected CEOs related to subsequent organizational performance? and (3) Does diversification strategy influence the impact that CEO firm-specific experience has on subsequent organizational performance? Results indicate that while diversification levels do not relate to extent of tenure, the selection of CEOs with lower levels of firm-specific experience results in significantly improved performance among nondiversified firms. No such relationship is observed in more diversified firms.¹ © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Will digital technologies transform agriculture in developing countries?

Mobile phones and the internet have significantly affected practically all sectors of the economy and agriculture is no exception. Building on a recent World Bank flagship report, this article introduces a concise framework for describing the main benefits from new information and communication technologies. They promote greater inclusion in the broader economy, raise efficiency by complementing other production factors, and foster innovation by dramatically reducing transaction costs. The article reviews the recent literature on corresponding technology impacts in the rural sector in developing countries. Digital technologies overcome information problems that hinder market access for many small‐scale farmers, increase knowledge through new ways of providing extension services, and they provide novel ways for improving agricultural supply chain management. While there are many promising examples of positive impacts on rural livelihoods—or “digital dividends”—these have often not scaled up to the extent expected. The main reason is that technology can always only address some, but not all of the barriers faced by farmers in poorer countries.     

On the Viability of Fixing Leaky Supply Chains for the Poor Through Benefit Transfers: A Call for Joint Distribution

Supply chain managers have yet to solve the conundrum of profitably distributing and selling to the poorest consumers. Most prevailing methods of addressing this problem take one of two contrasting approaches—that is, (1) price subsidization or (2) benefits/cash transfers. The former has been heavily studied in the literature with the consensus being that it is highly inefficient and prone to leaks. We investigate the viability of the latter by focusing on how branching out to reach the poorest customers impacts the performance of banks. Results indicate that the impacts of this approach are deleterious, thereby questioning its commercial scalability. Therefore, we argue that this approach may also have only limited potential in terms of being an effective, large‐scale solution to the problem of access for the poor. Instead, a third approach to achieve scalable Bottom of the Pyramid growth and development needs to be considered—cultivating partnerships through joint distribution.