International Journal of Business Excellence (119 papers in press)

Regular Issues

• 'Application of MQL for Developing Sustainable EDM and Process Parameter Optimization using ANN and GRA Method'  
  by Srinivas Viswanth, R. Ramanujam, Rajyalakshmi Gajjela 
  Abstract: This paper addresses the experimental-based optimisation of near dry EDM process on duplex stainless steel 2,205 grade material under minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) for improving the sustainability. Taguchi's L9 orthogonal array experimental design has been executed for varying input parameters like pulse-on time, pulse-off time, current and voltage. The machining performance is analysed by measuring the material removal rate (MRR), electrode wear rate (EWR) and surface roughness (SR). The obtained results are analysed by the artificial neural network (ANN) and grey relational analysis (GRA) for the multi-response optimisation. In multi-response optimisation, the optimum combination of parameters derived using GRA lead to the improvement of material removal rate at 6.1287 mm3/min and reduced electrode wear rate 0.0698 mm3/min at optimal parameters levels (TON = 450
  Keywords: Minimum Quantity Lubrication; Sustainability; Electrical Discharge Machining; Grey Relational Analysis; Multi-response optimization.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10016334
   
  
• Improvement in Procurement through Energy Resource Planning for Manufacturing Organization  
  by Iram Naim, Ashraf Rahman Idrisi, Tripti Mahara 
  Abstract: A manufacturing organisation performs planning for optimal utilisation of their resources. Energy resource planning plays a key role for energy intensive organisations to manage their energy resources efficiently. In India, procurement of energy resource especially for natural gas requires procurement contract from supplier. The imbalances between the upcoming future requirements predicted by buyer and its actual consumption always attract additional charges in form of penalty. This paper focuses on how energy resource planning combined with procurement can benefit a manufacturing organisation through effective forecast mechanism in order to decide the critical level for procurement of natural gas. Furthermore, the realisation of energy resource planning benefits during procurement of natural gas by deciding the optimal value of gas purchase is also illustrated through a case study of CFFP, BHEL Haridwar, a manufacturing organisation in India.
  Keywords: Manufacturing Organization; Energy Resource Planning; Procurement; Forecasting; Time series; Cross-validation; ARIMA; Natural gas; Penalty; Contract Agreement.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10018659
   
  
• Quality-Satisfaction-Loyalty Linkage and Switching Costs: Findings in the Context of Online Life Insurance  
  by Garima Gupta, Preeti Viswanathan 
  Abstract: The emergence of online life insurance in recent years has provided consumers with flexibility and ease of taking an insurance policy besides making it imperative for firms to consistently formulate strategies to ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty in future. In this respect, the present study examines the linkages between service quality, satisfaction, loyalty and switching costs in the context of online life insurance. Using survey methodology, responses pertaining to the aforesaid constructs are obtained from a sample of 128 customers. Though significant variations are not revealed in customers’ perceptions across demographic groups, but it establishes mediating role of satisfaction and the moderating role of switching costs along with the significant impact of service quality in influencing loyalty behaviour. It provides theoretical as well as practical implications for the service providers. The paper ends with acknowledging the limitations and outlines the directions for undertaking further research in this pertinent domain.
  Keywords: Online life insurance; Service quality; Customer satisfaction; Switching costs; Loyalty; Moderating effect; e-loyalty; e-service quality.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10019482
   
  
• Impact of Referrals on Buying Decisions and Cognitive Behaviour among Aging Consumers  
  by Rajagopal . 
  Abstract: This study attempts to explore the consumer decision process among aging consumers through referral marketing like interpersonal communications, corporate referral programs, advertising, and word-of-mouth. The study has been conducted in Mexico City by administering the semi-structured research questionnaire among 114 elderly consumers, who represented C+ and C socio-economic demographic segments. By analysing the key variables on brand communication, social media, brand attributes, consumption experience, quality of referrals, trust, value for money, and perceived consumer value, the study reveals that face-to-face interactions with fellow consumers serve as more effective referrals than knowledge for making purchase decisions among elderly consumers. The results of the study emphasise that the quality of referrals on brands are built around brand promise, value for money, and perceived consumer values. Quality of referrals develops trust on brands, and influences upstream marketing values among elderly consumers. Accordingly, consumers steer cognitive process to develop emotions and brand attachment, which augment their perceived value.
  Keywords: Consumer referrals; decision making; aging consumers; consumer emotions; brand attraction; Mexico.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10019631
   
  
• The Importance of Aligning Lean with Organizational Strategy.  
  by Brent Opall, Kristy Lauver, Abraham Nahm, James Keyes 
  Abstract: This study explores how strategic direction of firms may affect salient factors that were found in prior research to be conducive for lean implementation success. We use Venkatraman’s (1989a) categorisation of strategy and examine their correlation with workers’ perceived job security, perceived personal benefits of lean, and level of training on lean (Nahm et al., 2012). We apply intraclass correlations, ANOVA analyses, and regression analysis within the study. Lean success factors were affected differently by each type of organisational strategy examined (proactiveness, defensiveness, analysis and futurity). Workers perceived their jobs to be secure in all four types of strategies. They also perceived personal benefits of lean positively under futurity strategy, but were negative about it under proactiveness and defensiveness strategies. Training on lean concepts and techniques was actively carried out in firms with analysis and futurity strategies but significantly less training was done in firms adopting a proactiveness strategy.
  Keywords: Lean Implementation; Strategy; Perceived Job Security; Perceived Personal Benefits of Lean; Training on Lean,.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10019637
   
  
• The alignment between business strategy and project strategy and its effects on the dimensions of project success using PLS-SEM  
  by Saeed Zolfaghari, Alireza Aliahmadi, Mohammad Mahdavi Mazdeh, Javid Zare 
  Abstract: Increasing the companies’ dependence on new product development (NPD) projects, as a way to carry out strategies, makes the alignment of these projects with organisational objectives more crucial. Utilising partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), this study sheds light on the process and logic of alignment between project strategy and business strategy and how the alignment affects different dimensions of project success of 91 NPD projects in 30 companies in Iran. This study elucidates the critical importance of alignment and prioritises the elements of project strategy in alignment with business strategy to achieve the specific dimensions of project success.
  Keywords: Strategic Project Management; Business Strategy; Project Strategy; Alignment; Project Success; NPD Projects; PLS-SEM.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10020228
   
  
• THE INFLUENCE OF TECHNOLOGIC PAYMENT ADOPTION IN SATISFACTION: A STUDY WITH RESTAURANT COSTUMERS  
  by NILTON GOMES FURTADO, JULIA VASCONCELOS FURTADO, LAURO CESAR VIEIRA, RODRIGO CUNHA D.A. SILVA 
  Abstract: This study analyses the relationship between the perceptions about technology payment use and consumers’ satisfaction in food and beverage industry. Observing the phenomenon of technology implementation in the catering industry, the present study sought to review the existing literature and describe the state of the art on the matter, articulating experiences of studies held domestically and internationally. A survey had been applied seeking to understand this global phenomenon of technology payment and its impact on customer perception. We analysed data collected through 950 questionnaires and categorised influencing factors that affect the perception and satisfaction of using mobile payment technologies in restaurants. The quantitative study allowed an understanding on which factors are more relevant on perception and use of mobile payment technologies, identifying a set of influencing factors, as well as finding out the advantages and disadvantages perceived by consumers in the use of mobile payment technologies.
  Keywords: mobile payment; mobile technology; customer perception; smartphone; technology; NFC; smartphone payment; app; payment restaurant.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10020420
   
  
• Relationship between Forgiveness at Work and Life Satisfaction: Indian Manufacturing Organizations  
  by Rinki Dahiya, Santosh Rangnekar 
  Abstract: Researchers have strived to comprehend the essentials of a happy and satisfied life - a fundamental question - for decades, which has gained popularity in organisations, academics and policy circles in contemporary times, when occupational discord is inevitable. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the relationship between forgiveness at work (self, others and situations) and life satisfaction, and also to examine the moderating role of age in the relationship between forgiveness at work and life satisfaction. Data were collected from 352 employees working in Indian manufacturing organisations and analysed using hierarchical multiple regression. The results show that indicators of forgiveness significantly influence life satisfaction. Moreover, it was found that age moderates the relationship between forgiveness (self and others) and life satisfaction in such a way that it becomes stronger for older employees than younger employees. Based on the findings, the present study posits that HR professionals and practitioners should develop and implement psychological interventions and practices aimed at fostering forgiveness and cultivating life satisfaction among employees.
  Keywords: Age; forgiveness; life satisfaction; employees; India; manufacturing organizations.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10020518
   
  
• ONLINE SHOPPING EXPERIENCE IN INDIA: AN EXAMINATION OF CONSUMERS WORLD  
  by Maani Dutt, Anurupa Singh, Ambrish Joshi 
  Abstract: In a gradually increasing competitive atmosphere, more examination is required by companies to understand determinants of the success of their online shopping in terms of website effectiveness, brand experience and their influence on building trust in the context of online footwear retailing. This paper analyses the relationship between e-service quality and effects of brand experience, role of website effectiveness, and their effect on trust. Online survey using a convenience sample capturing the above constructs was verified for validity and reliability prior to distribution. SEM multigroup analysis is done to test the hypothesized relations and the role of trust as a moderating variable. Most of the data being collected from Delhi/NCR, India. This study may help retailers in focussing on the areas to create trust towards the brand and online platform. The model would also help prevailing online retailers to tune their business conferring to the findings of research. Our model considers the role of brand experience together with online platform for the effective role of trust.
  Keywords: e-Commerce; online shopping; trust; brand experience; website; e-service quality.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10020519
   
  
• Enhancing proactivity among hospital employees: A Serial Mediation Model  
  by Abhishek Singh 
  Abstract: This research article aims to investigate the mechanism by which employees’ proactivity can be enhanced in the healthcare context. This study examined the direct impact of empowering leadership on employee proactivity by investigating the sequentially mediating effect through goal orientation, and commitment to managers and company. In serial mediation model, direct and indirect effects were examined through regression analysis, structure equation modelling and PROCESS. To test hypothesis of serial mediation model, data was collected from 252 employees of three National Accreditation Board for Healthcare Service Providers (NABH) accredited hospitals Uttarakhand, India. The results of statistical analysis revealed that empowering leadership has direct positive and significant impact on employee proactivity and indirect significant impact through goal orientation and commitment to managers and company.
  Keywords: Empowering leadership; Goal Orientation; Commitment to managers and company; Employee proactivity; Indian NABH accredited Hospitals.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10020860
   
  
• Barriers to Six Sigma Implementation in Chinese Small and Medium Steel Enterprises  
  by Ghaith M. Al-Abdallah, Chew V. Lic 
  Abstract: Six Sigma initiative has been in place for many years now and proven to be an effective methodology that serves to help enterprises achieve bottom-line improvements. Many large enterprises implement Six Sigma successfully and achieve cost saving of millions USD per year, however, it is a rare case that small and medium size enterprise employ Six Sigma methodology. This paper aims to identify the barriers to Six Sigma implementation in Chinese small and medium manufacturing enterprises in the steel industry. Interpretive paradigm was applied utilising qualitative research design, in which Interviews were carried out on a convenience sample of small and medium steel enterprises in China. The results show that the there are five main barriers to Six Sigma implementation for Chinese small and medium steel enterprise arranged in ascending order: conflict between Six Sigma culture and enterprise culture, the perception of Six Sigma is inefficient, lack of resources to implement Six Sigma, difficult to train or obtain enterprise-wide Six Sigma knowledge, high enterprise quality management system foundations requirements. The discussion, managerial implications and further research recommendations are provided based on the results of the study.
  Keywords: Six Sigma; SMEs; Steel Industry; China.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10020861
   
  
• Board Diversity and Corporate Performance: The Jordanian Industrial Corporations Case  
  by Asem Tahtamouni, Alaa Abu Mallouh, Tawfeq Tahtamouni 
  Abstract: This paper aims to explore the relationship between board diversity and corporate performance in Jordanian Industrial Corporations during the year (2014). This will be explored through examining the impact of the board diversity in terms of (independence, educational level, and age) on the corporate financial performance in the latter companies. The paper also aims to identify the impact of board size, and corporate size on the corporate financial performance in the latter companies. The study's sample consists of 49 Jordanian Industrial Corporations listed on Amman Stock Exchange. The paper will analyse the annual financial reports of the selected companies. It will also conduct the multiple regression analysis in order to explore the relationship between the study's variables. It was found that there is a statistically significant relationship between the board diversity in terms of (independence, and age) and the corporate financial performance in Jordanian Industrial Corporations.
  Keywords: Board Diversity; Corporate Performance; Jordanian Industrial Corporations; Amman Stock Exchange.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10020893
   
  
• EVALUATING PERFORMANCE OF APPAREL RETAIL STORES USING DATA ENVELOPMENT ANALYSIS  
  by Smriti Pande, Ruby Sengar, Narendra Singh Chaudhary 
  Abstract: The purpose of this research paper is to evaluate the performance of chain of organised apparel retail stores and also to benchmark their performance at company as well as store level considering both discretionary as well as non-discretionary variables. The paper aims to use data envelopment analysis firstly, for calculating the efficiency score and secondly for calculating projections for each of the retail store in order to understand the excess in discretionary inputs and shortfalls in output. Results show that most of the retail stores are performing well but there is a scope for improvement in several cases. The study provides a framework for performance evaluation and also assists in identifying the areas of improvement.
  Keywords: Retail; Apparel; DEA; Discretionary; Non-discretionary; India.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10021020
   
  
• Specificities of SMEs Relevant to Knowledge Management: a Systematic Literature Review  
  by Jeanfrank T. D. Sartori, Guilherme F. Frederico, Maria Do Carmo Duarte Freitas, Ricardo Mendes Júnior 
  Abstract: The various positive impacts that knowledge management (KM) offers to organisations that effectively apply it are fully consolidated in the literature. Nonetheless, even large enterprises, although usually abundant of human, financial and technological resources, are not always expressively successful on applying that concept. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) present numerous additional characteristics, challenges and obstacles to the implantation of KM. To contribute to change that reality, it is clear from the scientific perspective the importance of the effort to consolidate the state of art of knowledge on this field, especially because the last similar work dates to 2012 and significant research in different countries has been produced since then. In addition, just a few of previous works have their main goal like what is here presented. Thus, the present article is a systematic review of the literature of the relevant specificities of SMEs for KM in a global perspective.
  Keywords: Knowledge Management; SME; systematic literature review; global perspective; specificities; knowledge; challenges; practices.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10021243
   
  
• Designing and Testing the Success Model of Shopping Centers in Iran  
  by Gholamhosein Ahmadi, Ali Kazemi, Bahram Ranjbarian 
  Abstract: The aim of this research is to identify the key factors of success of shopping centres in Iran. It will help investors, especially banks, reduce their investment risk. This research is a developmental study in terms of objective and descriptive-survey in terms of method. The tool to collect the data included interview and questionnaire based on Likert scale. Qualitative data were analyzed by using thematic analysis techniques and quantitative data were analyzed using SEM. The results revealed that six key factors play role in the success of shopping centres: 1) factors related to location; 2) factors related to administration of the shopping centres; 3) factors related to ownership and tenants; 4) factors related to goods and services; 5) factors related to marketing; 6) factors related to architecture and design. In addition, the moderating variable of the size of the shopping centre can change the effect of each of these factors.
  Keywords: Shopping center; success index; people visiting the shopping centers; shopping mall.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10021855
   
  
• Export Country Selection with Fuzzy AHP and PROMETHEE  
  by Elia Oey, Yu Sekiguchi, Yunanto Adi Nugroho 
  Abstract: With the advancement of technology and communication, international business gives opportunity for firms to expand its coverage beyond its domestic markets. The research is a case study of a shoe sole manufacturer in Indonesia sought to expand its business to international market. Seven potential countries were shortlisted, and 15 sub-criteria were identified for the export market selection of the studied company. The study employed combination of fuzzy AHP and PROMETHEE for its analysis. Fuzzy AHP was used to calculate weight of (sub)-criteria, whilst PROMETHEE was used for ranking the alternatives. Two scenarios were performed using different preference functions in PROMETHEE to gain insights and ensure stability of the recommendation. Using PROMETHEE’s stability interval, sensitivity analysis was also performed and recommended two stages of export plan. As the first stage it recommended three countries (Italy, China and Thailand) as the starting export countries for the studied company.
  Keywords: Fuzzy; AHP; PROMETHEE; Export; Country Selection.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10021856
   
  
• Acceptance of Mobile Banking in Islamic Banks: Integration of DeLone & McLean IS model and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology  
  by Majeed Mansour 
  Abstract: The aim of this study is to investigate the factors that influence on user intention to adopt Islamic mobile banking. Islamic mobile banking is relatively new area of research when compared with other traditional online banking services such as internet banking and conventional mobile banking. Thus, understanding the determinants that influence on Islamic banking user intention is important. The present study integrates two well-known theories; the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology and DeLone and McLean IS success model in order to investigate user’s behaviour towards adoption of Islamic mobile banking in Palestine. Findings of the structural equation modelling depicted that factors underpinned UTAUT and D&M model explained R2 61.3% variance in user intention to adopt Islamic mobile banking. IPMA analysis suggested that managers and policy makers should focus on system quality in order to boost Islamic mobile banking adoption among customers of Islamic banks.
  Keywords: : DeLone & McLean IS success model; UTAUT; Islamic Mobile Banking; System Quality; Information Quality; Service Quality; Structural equation modeling.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10021858
   
  
• Identification and prioritization the critical activities of the emergency department using business continuity management concept  
  by Bakhtiar Ostadi, Mehdi Alibakhshi, Mohammad Mehdi Sepehri 
  Abstract: Supporting critical activities and key process in the unmoral situation is important success factor to any organisations and emergency department (ED) as one of the most important parts of the hospital. The aim of this paper is to identify and prioritise ED critical activities by using business continuity management (BCM) approach. For this purpose, preliminary ten main activities in ED were identified based on the patient flow mapping through using BPMN standard and literature review and experts judgement. Then, analytical hierarchy process (AHP) has been used to assess the identified ten activities of ED and to find their priorities in according to major criteria of criticality of an activity. Ten preliminary activity were refined and validated through interviews with ED experts. The findings of the study can be used by EDs as an important achievement in taking strategic decisions regarding BCM and resources allocation.
  Keywords: Emergency department; Critical activities; Business continuity management; Analytical Hierarchy Process; Patients flow.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10021859
   
  
• A Mixed System of Network Data Envelopment Analysis to Evaluate the Performance of Bank Branches: An illustration with Iranian Banks  
  by Sajad Akbari, Jafar Heydari, Abbas Keramati, Mohammadali Keramati 
  Abstract: Performance evaluation in the banking industry is important for managers, customers, investors, and stakeholders. Measuring and improving efficiency in banks are among the most important applications of the data envelopment analysis technique and numerous studies have been done in this area. This study is aimed to investigate and design a mixed structure in accordance with the conditions of Iranian banks. Since we want to obtain performance of different divisions of the new structure, an envelopment form of the NDEA model had to be used. Therefore, a slack-based NDEA model was selected to solve its mathematical model. The study sample consisted of 31 branches of a large commercial bank in Iran. The advantage of this research to previous studies is that the result will be more realistic considering the inputs and outputs consistent with Iran’s banking conditions. The interesting result of this research can be mentioned as follows: there is no need to allocate high inputs in order to obtain the maximum efficiency of the branches.
  Keywords: Data envelopment analysis (DEA); Mixed System; Network; Efficiency; Banking industry; Performance evaluation; Iranian banks.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10021947
   
  
• Work-family Conflict of Women Entrepreneurs in the Informal sector in India.  
  by SHOBHANA NARAYANAN, ANNETTE BARNABAS 
  Abstract: The objective of the study is to investigate the work-family conflict of women entrepreneurs in the informal sector in India. It considers the impact of demographic variables on the work-family conflict. It also focuses on the obstacles, namely, the economic and legal factors along with family-related factors, gender-related issues and technical factors, faced by women entrepreneurs, and their impact on work-family conflict. The study used a survey instrument to collect data from 245 women entrepreneurs from Tamil Nadu, India. The findings of the study depict that among the demographic variables, the time spent at home had the highest impact on the work-family conflict. The overall findings conclude that lack of spousal support, one of the family related factors is the best predictor of work-family conflict among the various obstacles faced by women entrepreneurs.
  Keywords: women entrepreneurs; informal sector; obstacles; work-family conflict; India.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10022191
   
  
• DOES PROFIT SHARING ENHANCE PRODUCTIVITY: EVIDENCE FROM THE RETAIL FOOD INDUSTRY IN CANADA  
  by Mahmoud Askari, Ghaleb A. El Refae 
  Abstract: In this paper, we provide further support for using profit sharing to enhance productivity and profitability from the retail food industry in Canada. The overall gross profit percentage (GP%) of a retail store was used as a measure of productivity and profitability for the store. In addition, and as another measure of productivity, the study compared the performance of one of the most sensitive departments in a food retail store, and that is the GP% of the produce department. Results show that the overall actual GP% of the studied location has increased by 1.74% in the first quarter of using profit sharing, when compared with the previous quarter. Results also show an actual GP% increase of 1.12% for the profit sharing quarter when compared with the previous year that preceded the shift to profit sharing compensation system.
  Keywords: Profit Sharing; Productivity; Motivation; Performance; Incentives.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10022198
   
  
• Operational Excellence in the Value Stream of Electricity Distribution  
  by Bahman Jamshidieini 
  Abstract: Sustainable success is the ultimate aim of electricity distribution companies. However, it cannot be achieved without an efficient supply chain that rigorously creates value for customers. Operational excellence (OPEX) is a holistic discipline which can help electricity distribution companies to pursue this path by focusing on waste minimisation and improve the service continuity. In the current study, the value stream of electricity distribution and its processes were studied and for the first time, an integrated OPEX framework for this business was developed. This framework is comprised of both technical and organisational aspects such as business intelligence, integrated asset management, and resilient supply chain.
  Keywords: Operational Excellence (OPEX); electricity distribution companies; value stream; business process management; continuous improvement; sustainable success.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10022212
   
  
• Assessment of Liquidity Risk Management in Islamic and Conventional Banks - An Empirical Study  
  by Suleiman Mohammad, Asma Hussein Khalaf Al-znaimat, Abdullah Aldaas, Asem Tahtamouni 
  Abstract: The aim of this study was to assess liquidity risk management (LRM) practices in Jordanian Islamic and conventional banks during the period (2013-2017). Data used were comprised from six banks, which consisted of three Islamic and three conventional banks in Jordan. Data from the banks financial annual reports covering from 2013-2017 were used to calculate the ratios used as a substitute for liquidity risk in conventional banking as well as Islamic banking in Jordan. The study found the relationship of the size of financial institution, return on asset, return on equity, and capital adequacy ratio with liquidity risk measurement is positive and important both in Islamic banks and conventional banks. Researchers found the practices of LRM are not optimal, yet were based on some considerations explained in this study. Further, progressive actions needs to be taken by the regulators and the banking players to improve the LRM practices.
  Keywords: Liquidity risk; risk management; Islamic banks; conventional banks; Jordan; and financial ratios.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10022353
   
  
• Determinants of Consumer's Buying Behavior for digital products in Trade Fair  
  by Navneet Gera, Davide Di Fatta 
  Abstract: The purpose of this study is to examine the factors which have an effect on the intention to shop digital products at the India International Trade Fair. The study comprises both qualitative and quantitative analysis of the buying behaviour of consumers who visit trade fair. For this, a sample of 160 respondents has been taken by using non-random convenience sampling method. The key factors, i.e., value for money (price and quality), brand awareness and service utility were identified and analysed through the use of factor analysis. Findings point out that value for money and brand awareness are the most important variables that influence decision of consumers to shop at trade fair. The study also suggests that sellers of digital products can leverage the above factors to influence consumers to buy at the trade fair. This research is exploratory and causal with potential to be confirmed in the different trade fairs in future. Trade fairs also provide an opportunity for networking and thus relationship marketing plays an important role. Further, the research has opened up the areas of research in Indian context and has concluded with managerial implications.
  Keywords: consumer buying behaviour; digital products; trade fair; value for money.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10022500
   
  
• Reducing Costs in Manufacturing Firms by Using Target Costing Technique  
  by Hamood Mohd Al-Hattami, Jawahar D. Kabra, Murlidhar Lokhande 
  Abstract: The main study purpose is to explore: 1) whether the use of traditional methods leads to higher costs; 2) whether the use of target costing technique leads to lowering costs and increasing the profit margin of the firm. This paper is based on case study data, collected at one manufacturing firm (furniture). Target costing is a relatively simple technique and easy to understand and apply, although it has a significant impact on the profitability and competitive advantage of firms. The major study results include the following: 1) cost-based pricing in the factory leads to higher prices and an inability to compete; 2) the application of the target costing technique led to achieving a reduction in costs to the target reduction using tear-down analysis and value engineering. Moreover, it is also possible to confront local and foreign competition in a clear and orderly manner. The study also concluded that this technique has succeeded in lowering costs when applied in the factory (the study sample).
  Keywords: target costing; target costing technique; cost reduction.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10023005
   
  
• Harnessing Demographical Differences in Life Satisfaction: Indian Manufacturing Sector  
  by Rinki Dahiya, Santosh Rangnekar 
  Abstract: With the advent of research on employee demographics, organisational researchers have re-illuminated the importance of life satisfaction in working adults. With this precept in mind, the purpose of the present study is to test the demographically-based perceptions of life satisfaction. The data were collected through the survey method from 404 full-time employees working in the manufacturing sector organisations in India and analysed with the help of the T-test and ANOVA technique. The results showed that perception of life satisfaction in employees significantly differ according to age, gender, education and income level. Further, the results revealed that male employees perceive higher life satisfaction than female employees and elderly employees perceive more life satisfaction than younger and middle aged employees. Also, more educated an employee is higher the perception of life satisfaction. Furthermore, the perceptions of life satisfaction increases with higher income level. These findings attempt to provide the HR professionals and practitioners with some knowledge that how the employees perceive their life satisfaction based on demographics and posit a more sensitive attitude towards employee's life satisfaction. The study also highlights that due attention should be given to demographical diversity while transfiguring human resource practices in the organisations.
  Keywords: Life satisfaction; employees; gender; education; income; Indian organisations.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10023030
   
  
• CHANGING POVERTY LINE- INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION OF POOR IN INDIAN STATES  
  by BALAJI MURUGESAN 
  Abstract: The Tendulkar committee and the Rangarajan committee had provided different poverty estimates for India in the past. It is necessary to appreciate the consequences of changing poverty estimates in identification of poor and non-poor households. This paper seeks to examine the sensitivity of the distributional profile in eight developed and under developed Indian states to a unit change in Tendulkar poverty line by applying kernel density function for the consumer expenditure distribution from the National Sample Survey Organization's 55th, 61st, 66th and 68th quinquennial rounds. The developed states have exhibited higher sensitivity compared to neo-patrimonial states to a unit change in poverty line. It is ascertained that the inclusion error will decline and exclusion error will increase if we move down the poverty line over a period of time as the poor people in the poverty zone are escaping at varied rates across space and time.
  Keywords: POVERTY;POOR; POVERTY LINE;POVERTY MEASUREMENT.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10023037
   
  
• Empowering Leadership to Performance Excellence: The role of Knowledge Sharing and Self Efficacy  
  by Sunu Widianto 
  Abstract: Leadership style is known as a prominent factor of employee performance in the organisation. Very few studies have examined the link between empowering leadership style and performance among health workers especially in South East Asia country such as Indonesia. The aim of this study is investigate the link between empowering leadership, self-efficacy, knowledge sharing and job performance of professional health workers in Indonesia. We surveyed 103 nurses in a large private hospital in Indonesia using self-administered questionnaires. The employees assessed empowering leadership style of their immediate manager and self-perception of their level self-efficacy, knowledge sharing and job performance. To test the hypotheses, we used partial least square. The finding shows that empowering leadership styles significantly relates to job performance through self-efficacy. Surprisingly, empowering leadership does not relate to knowledge sharing and link to the job performance.
  Keywords: Empowering leadership; Self-efficacy; Knowledge sharing; Hospital; Job performance excellence.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10023144
   
  
• Bank-group wise Comparison of Loan Recovery Performance of Commercial Banks in India  
  by ROBIN THOMAS, Shailesh Singh Thakur 
  Abstract: In scholarly banking literature, the non-performing loans are associated with bank runs, bank failure and eventual management quality of banks. Non-performing loans have both exogenous and endogenous attributions in banking literature. However, macroeconomic conditions in an economy being ceteris paribus, empirical literature finds support for the
  Keywords: Loan Recovery; Nonperforming Loans; Bank Management; Panel Data Regression; Dummy Variable Regression.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10023278
   
  
• The Relationship between Personality Traits and Individual Performance: A Case Study in Malaysian Hotel Industry  
  by Javad Shahreki 
  Abstract: Performance management is an essential factor for the continued success of any organisation. A good individual performance leads to good organisational performance and success, or vice-versa it could lead to unfavourable stress and tension for employees and poor performance of the organisation. In the hotel industry particularly, positive personality traits in general managers (GMs) and assistant general managers (asst. GMs) performance can improve the performance of employees and hotel. Therefore, investigating the relationship between personality traits and individual performance is highly concern of current researches. This study aims to investigate the relationships between GM and asst. GM of the hotel industry in Malaysia by conducting interviews on personality traits and individual performance. Among five personality traits, which are openness to experience, conscientiousness, agreeableness, extraversion, and neuroticism, the findings revealed that conscientiousness and agreeableness are the most significant ones in GM and asst. GM performance. The study also discusses further on the individual performance of GM and asst. GM as well as the personality traits characteristics.
  Keywords: Personality traits; Individual performance; Tourism industry; Hotel industry.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10023279
   
  
• An empirical study on the influence of Customers’ Banking Operational Characteristics [Banking Habits] towards the adoption of Internet Banking  
  by Saravanan Perumal 
  Abstract: The focal point of the study is the impact of customers’ socio-economic and banking operational characteristics on adoption of internet banking (IB) in Chennai Metropolitan city with specific reference to Indian bank. The findings of the study will benefit one of the reputed public sector bank in India directly and also the other public sector banks indirectly by providing the statistics on the influence of
  Keywords: Internet Banking; Adoption; Banking Habits; Socio-economic; Banking Operational Characteristics.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10023281
   
  
• Determining the foreign market potential for Iranian sporting goods  
  by Geoff Dickson, Mohammad Rasoul Khodadadi, Adel Shomali, Roghayeh Sarlab 
  Abstract: The selection of export markets is a difficult choice. There is a plethora of international markets, but some will be more attractive than others. This study determines the foreign market potential for Iranian sporting goods. Using secondary data obtained from the United Nations, we used both screening and numerical taxonomy approaches. The two approaches produced divergent findings. The screening approach identified China, Bulgaria, the USA, Canada and Panama as the best export target markets. In contrast, the numerical taxonomy approaches indicated Panama, Australia, Macao and Singapore as the best export markets. Given the size and likely growth of the global sporting goods industry, there is a potential for Iran to access more of this global demand. However, to do this Iran must overcome economic sanctions, inflation, a poor national brand, fluctuating exchange rates, and political instability.
  Keywords: international market selection; foreign market selection; numerical taxonomy; screening; foreign markets; export markets.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10023283
   
  
• Perceived Awareness and Practiced Level of Soft Skills among Personnel in the Telecom Industry of Bangladesh  
  by Tamanna Eva, Rumana Afroze 
  Abstract: Presently, organisations are emphasising on employees’ soft skills to gain a competitive advantage. This study aims to explore the awareness level and practices of soft skills among managers and non-managerial employees in the telecom industry of Bangladesh. It also attempts to measure the correlation among various skills, discover the central role player in developing soft skills and identify the availability of training facilities in the workplace to improve those skills. A structured questionnaire has been administered to collect data from 75 respondents of five telecom companies with adopting a convenience sampling method. The quantitative approach has been followed to complete this paper. Collected data have been analysed through descriptive statistics: mean score, ANOVA and correlation analysis. The result reveals that respondents are well aware of soft skills and they are practicing the maximum number of contents in a similar way except effective action taking ability, integrity, experience in organising programs and being friendly. The study also discovers significant and positive relationships among several of soft skills. Moreover, self-motivation plays the central role to develop employees’ soft skills which later organisations try to enrich through training. Findings would be beneficial for enhancing employees’ soft skills practices to achieve competency.
  Keywords: Soft Skills Awareness; Role player; Training; Organizational performance; Telecom Industry.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10023284
   
  
• ELEMENTS IMPACTING THE ADOPTION OF M-APP AMONG THE TRAVEL COMPANIES IN INDIA  
  by Debarun Chakraborty 
  Abstract: Nowadays, adoption of various mobile apps through smartphone is a common practice. Throughout the world, smartphone users are exposed to various apps. The purpose of the study is to find the factors impacting when the consumers are adopting the mobile apps amongst various travel organisations. Simple random sampling has been used to collect the samples from all the four metro cities of India. One hundred eighty-two responses have been collected from various areas of Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai. Multiple regression analysis has been used to conduct the study through SPSS v. 21. The findings of the study revealed that technological, organisational, environmental, perceived cost and perceived trust significantly affected the adoption of mobile applications by tourism organisations in India.
  Keywords: M-app; Travel companies; Adoption; Cost; Security.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10023288
   
  
• A systematic review of the integration of best practices for world class manufacturing  
  by Abhijeet K. Digalwar, Anirudh Tusnial 
  Abstract: Manufacturing organisations are trying to become world class by integrating best practices. While multiple authors have studied world class manufacturing (WCM), no paper consolidates these results. Further certain inconsistencies are found in existing WCM frameworks. A need was therefore felt to clearly identify and define the scope of best manufacturing practices identified from different countries and industries. 173 research papers on WCM were collected from different online databases and reviewed for the purpose of this study. A descriptive analysis was performed to understand the timeline, geographic, author and journal related trends of the papers. Papers were also classified based on content and industry settings. The best practices identified were defined and the popularity of each best practice was evaluated on the basis of number of mentions. The paper finally proposes a new framework for WCM, inspired from the functioning of the human body.
  Keywords: World class manufacturing; manufacturing excellence; manufacturing best practices; literature review.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10023289
   
  
• Sustainable Development: Gender Equality as Corporate Social Responsibility by Mining Companies  
  by Nattavud Pimpa 
  Abstract: The gendered impacts of mining industry on women is critical for mining companies. A key challenge for the management of sustainable development programs for gender equality is the need to develop sophisticated approaches that work at the local and international levels. In this paper, the researcher investigates the impact of CSR programs on women through the perceptions and life experiences of female workers and various members of the mining community in La PDRs. The results show that CSR programs on women employment, social roles of women in the organisation, health promotion, and vocational training can influence the likelihood of sustainable development by mining companies. However, the extent to which mining companies can be considered focus and accountable development agents remains limited due to the instrumental nature of development-oriented CSR programs.
  Keywords: Gender; Women and Work; CSR; Sustainable Development.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10023290
   
  
• Developing a Brand Performance Model Based on Customer-based Brand Equity in the Market of Iran’s Banking Services  
  by Azarnoush Ansari, Ali Kazemi, Seyed Reza Jalalzadeh 
  Abstract: Awareness of banking brand performance and its evaluation is one of the main goals and success indicators of an organisation in achieving its aims and missions. Meanwhile, performance assessment indicators in different areas and the factors influencing it are different from one organisation to another. In the current research, based on theoretical and quantitative research, we tried to present a conceptual model for explaining different dimensions of each of the variables of research. The present study is an applied research in nature and were conducted with the aim of explanation in two stages. First, after reviewing the subject literature, the basic model was designed and then the initial conceptual model was completed using the Delphi method and confirmed by experts. Eventually, the final model was analysed by data analysis and structural equation modelling and SmartPLS software. The results of the research show that customer-based brand equity directly affects market performance. It also indirectly affects market performance through customer relationship equity. Also, among the constructs that constitute brand equity and customer relationship equity, all dimensions, except brand differentiation and brand awareness, affect the constructs constituting customer relationship equity.
  Keywords: customer-based brand equity; customer relationship equity; brand performance; Delphi method; Banking Services; Brand identity.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10023291
   
  
• Sources entrusted by the economically poor: Evidences from India, the largest poor consumer base in the world  
  by Arvind Kumar 
  Abstract: With a market value of US$570.1 billion, fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs) industry is propounded to be the world’s fourth largest industry and a very significant part of its rank comes from the consumptions made by poor. Poor, by necessity, spend a substantial part of their income on FMCGs and their population is a better half of the world’s population. It evokes poor as a significant market for the FMCGs but still the purchase behaviour of poor for FMCGs still stands at a very nascent stage, especially in developing countries’ context. Present research bridges the gap on one of the largely untouched but a very important aspect of consumer behaviour of poor. Specifically, it evaluates sources of product information entrusted by poor for their FMCGs purchases in the context of India, a developing country domiciling the world’s largest part of poor inhabitants. It interviews three hundred sixty poor (below poverty line) families of Delhi, India through multi stage cluster sampling and reveals that poor in Delhi, India entrusts TV and their families as the main marketer dominated and non marketer dominated sources for their FMCG purchases respectively.
  Keywords: FMCG; economically poor; marketer dominated sources of product information; non marketer dominated sources of product information.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10023292
   
  
• A Comparative Analysis of the Performance of Islamic and Conventional Banks: Does Corporate Governance Matter?  
  by Ejaz Aslam, Razali Haron, Salman Ahmad 
  Abstract: The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of corporate governance (CG) internal structure on the performance of Islamic and conventional banking system in Pakistan. To account for the problem of heteroscedasticity, this study used GLS estimation technique by using a sample of five fully fledged Islamic and 15 conventional banks for the period from 2006 to 2015. The study finds that board size and its composition largely contribute to the Islamic and conventional banking performance. However, board committees have an insignificant relationship with the performance of conventional and Islamic banks that demands further investigation into the structure and powers of the board committees. In short, this study provides evidence that corporate governance does matter for the performance of Islamic and conventional banking. The current findings are useful for the policymakers and regulators to improve the existing governance structure for achieving better performance in the financial sector.
  Keywords: Corporate Governance; Islamic and Conventional Banks; Operational Performance; Financial Performance; Stock Performance; GLS.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10023297
   
  
• What makes students choose a career? An exploratory study among students of management education  
  by Mahesh Prabhu H, Sriram K. V 
  Abstract: Students in India have a fascination for management education, which is indicated by the exponential increase in the number of B Schools in the recent years. A study of reasons for students preferring management as a career choice will help us in understanding their decision-making process. An exploratory study was conducted to identify and rank the factors individuals consider before making a career decision. The important factors that emerged during the study were individual’s family background, financial position, decision-making autonomy and many more. These factors were ranked based on their relative importance for individuals who were pursuing a full-time post-graduate program in management education at a reputed university in India. A group discussion was conducted amongst the students to record their views on the various factors and the type of relationship between the factors that influence their career choice. The factors identified were ranked by using interpretive structural equation modelling (ISM). Among the various factors identified, the quality of life associated with a career was ranked as the most important factor in making a career choice and thus making it the most significant variable in the system.
  Keywords: Career choice; Students; Delphi technique; Interpretive Structural Equation Modeling (ISM); Quality of life; Management education.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10023299
   
  
• SEM approach to determine factors affecting e-government success in Jordan  
  by Abbas Al-Refaie, Abeer Mahmoud Ramadna 
  Abstract: This research aims at identifying the effects regulation, website quality, relationship, employee’s skill, and worth on the success of e-government in Jordan from the perspectives users and employees using structural equation modelling (SEM). Initially, a structural model is proposed. A total of 1100 surveys were distributed to employees and government services users. The multicollinearity and consistency in the item measures were checked. Then, the validity of the measurement and structural models is assessed. The results revealed the important factors that affect e-government success. Further, the structural model is evaluated in four major organisations that provide e-government services from both user and employee perspectives. Results showed variations in e-government success among organisations and the level of e-government success still lags behind meeting users and employee expectations in most organisations. In conclusions, Jordanian organisations should deliver high-quality demand driven services, ensure public sector transparency and accountability, reduce indirect cost of obtaining services, increase ease of interacting with government, promote development of Jordan’s ICT sector, develop skills within the public sector, boost e-commerce activities, improve information security and end user privacy, and mitigate the risk through a coordinated approach involving technology tools, policy guidance, and training.
  Keywords: E-government; SEM; Regulation; Website quality; Relationship;Worth.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10023300
   
  
• Generating and Quantifying Consumer Preferences using Kansei and Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchical Process  
  by Elia Oey, Bennet Rheza Paleva, Jimmy Weijaya, Billy Bongara 
  Abstract: Understanding what consumers want is essential for firms to remain competitive. With more fragmented market, product development nowadays searches more to consumer feeling instead of product functionality. The research is a case study in a medium size apparel manufacturer for their male premium t-shirt. The study covered identification and hierarchisation of consumer preferences using Kansei engineering technique, and quantification of the weight of each Kansei words using fuzzy analytical hierarchical process method. The study identified 19 cleansed Kansei words hierarchised under five groups. The result showed
  Keywords: Kansei; Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchical Process; Consumer Preferences.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10023303
   
  
• Lean Strategies for Scheduled Maintenance Operations  
  by W.E.I. LU, Malini Natarajarathinam, Aparajit Koshal, Chris Chandler 
  Abstract: As the E-6B airframe ages, it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain the minimum requirements for fleet ready for tasking (RFT) aircraft assets. The research conducted in this project has the primary focus of finding solutions to this problem that will ultimately increase the number of RFT aircraft in the E-6B community. The E-6B operates in support of United States Strategic Command, providing a survivable airborne nuclear communication platform in support of nuclear deterrence. This paper evaluates lean strategies in relation to the scheduled maintenance program of the E-6B and details the results of a manpower study and potential manpower solution utilising lean principles with relation to manpower.
  Keywords: Lean scheduled maintenance; phase inspection; manpower management; manpower utilization; ready for tasking; process improvement; human capital; Lean production; creating value.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10023304
   
  
• The Relationship between Organisational Ambidexterity and Organisational Performance: The Mediating Role of Innovation  
  by Rateb Sweis, Israa Alamayreh, Bader Yousef Obeidat 
  Abstract: The impetus of this study is to examine the mediating role of innovation on the relationship between organisational ambidexterity and organisational performance in Jordanian pharmaceutical organisations. The data was collected using questionnaires that were distributed to the managerial levels employees of 14 Jordanian pharmaceutical organisations. The findings reveal that organisational ambidexterity is significantly related to innovation and organisational performance. As well as, there is a significant effect of innovation on organisational performance. Furthermore, the findings confirm that innovation mediate the relationship between organisational ambidexterity and organisational performance. This study is limited in terms of small sample size and solo industry. One clear implication is the need for managers to become more conscious of the necessity to allocate resources between ambidexterity capabilities. They also need to employ their organisations ambidexterity capabilities in favour of innovativeness with the purpose to enhance the organisational performance. This is the first study examining the role of innovation on the relationship between organisational ambidexterity and organisational.
  Keywords: Organisational ambidexterity; Innovation; Organisational performance; Jordanian pharmaceutical organisations.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10023305
   
  
• The Relationship between Employee Self-Concept, Brand Identity, Brand Pride and Brand Citizenship Behavior and Customer Satisfaction  
  by Ali Rezaei, Sara Jahan Abadi, Zahra Mahdavipour, Fateme Nazari 
  Abstract: The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between employee self-concept, brand identity, brand pride and brand citizenship behaviour and customer satisfaction. This study uses data from the service employees and customers in the hotel industry in Isfahan in 2016. The 357 customer-employee pairs filled out a questionnaire. A structural equation modelling technique using SPSS and AMOS software was used to analyse data of the questionnaire. The results of this study show consistency of brand and actual self and ideal self of employees had a positive and significant effect on brand identification and brand pride. Moreover, brand identification had a positive and significant effect on brand pride. Brand identification and brand pride had a positive and significant effect on brand citizenship behaviour which led to customer satisfaction.
  Keywords: employee self-concept; brand identity; brand pride; brand citizenship behavior; customer satisfaction.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10023306
   
  
• Intellectual Property Rights Practices and Its Influence on Firms Performance: An Empirical Study across Indian Software Product Firms  
  by Sumukh Hungund 
  Abstract: Studies on innovation have drawn the attention of the researchers. This paper discusses intellectual property rights as an innovation approach adopted by software product firms and its influence on the performance of these firms. The objective of the paper is to examine the influence of intellectual property rights practices on firm performance. The methodology comprises two steps. First, all the variables relevant to practices of open innovation with respect to IPR are identified. Subsequently, primary data is gathered from decision makers of 213 SMEs. IBM SPSS is the statistical tool employed and robust statistical technique such as ordinal logistic regression analysis is performed to test the hypothesis. The result shows that purchasing of intellectual property rights influences firm performance with respect to overall performance and more product development.
  Keywords: Intellectual Property Rights; Innovation Practices; Licensing; Purchase; Sell-out; SME; and Firm Performance.
  
  
• Political Connections and Cash Holdings in Financially Constrained Firms: Evidence from Top 500 Firms in Malaysia  
  by Norazlin Ahmad, Irene Wei Kiong Ting, Noor Azlinna Azizan, Qian Long Kweh 
  Abstract: This study examined the association between political connections and corporate cash holdings, with a focus on financially-constrained firms. Using a unique dataset of the top 500 publicly listed firms in Malaysia as determined by market capitalisation for the years 20012004, this study measured political connections based on informal ties and government supports. The empirical results of this study show that firms with financial constraints have a lower level of cash holdings, while politically connected firms hold more cash. However, politically connected firms with financial constraints hold more cash. Taken together, this study shows that financially constrained firms are relatively conservative in their cash holdings when they are politically connected even though they are generally perceived as risky by investors, consistent with precautionary motives. The outcome of this study should prove useful in assessing the potential economic consequences to the business environment of politically connected firms, especially in shaping corporate policy.
  Keywords: cash holdings; political connections; financial constraint; publicly listed firms.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10023518
   
  
• Factors propelling use of Islamic Banking Services: The moderating role of Customer Intimacy  
  by Majeed Mansour 
  Abstract: This study investigates factors propelling use of Islamic banking products and services. The present study develops an amalgamated model with the help of cognitive and emotional factors to investigate customer satisfaction and loyalty towards use of Islamic banking services. Data was collected from Islamic banking customers and empirically tested using structural equation modelling (SEM). Findings reveal that customer satisfaction was jointly predicted by awareness, reputation, compatibility, complexity, trust and commitment and explained R2 78.7% variance in Islamic banking customer satisfaction. On the flipside customer loyalty was predicted by customer satisfaction and customer intimacy and depicted R2 20.6% variance in customer loyalty. Extending to this, the present study confirmed the moderating role of customer intimacy wherein positive relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty will be stronger when customer intimacy is higher. Finally, research limitations and future research direction are discussed.
  Keywords: Customer Intimacy; Awareness; Reputation; Trust; Commitment; Compatibility; Complexity; Customer Satisfaction; Customer Loyalty; Structural Equation Modeling.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10023519
   
  
• Role of Sacrifice and Service Quality in the Indian Restaurant Industry  
  by Prabhat Kumar Singh Kushwah, Pankaj Singh 
  Abstract: The present study attempts to investigate the role of sacrifice and service quality in Indian restaurants. Responses were collected from 420 respondents using a convenience sampling approach and analysed with the help of confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. The data were collected using convenience study which was intended to point out the influence of service quality, sacrifice, service value, customer satisfaction, and behavioural intentions of 420 respondents of the metropolitan cities of India. Data analysis tools used in this research were EFA, CFA, and SEM the results disclosed that the service quality influenced sacrifice, service value, customer satisfaction, and behavioural intentions. for future study the research can focus on to identify antecedents of the sacrifice, service value and satisfaction relationship was not included in the model of the study in future research researchers can include this relationship in their model and sacrifice was not used as a mediator among service quality and service value in future research researchers can find out a mediating role of sacrifice.
  Keywords: service quality; service value; customer satisfaction; sacrifice and behavioural intentions.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10023520
   
  
• Perspectives of Performance Management with holistic views: Revisiting Baldrige Excellence Framework.  
  by Mohan Karambelkar, Shubhasheesh Bhattacharya 
  Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to develop holistic views of organisation-wide performance management (OWPM) using the Baldrige Excellence Framework (BEF). The research papers, selected from Scopus database based on a holistic approach and BEF criteria, are reviewed and presented in a narrative format. The narratives are organised in five perspectives organisation-wide processes, organisation-wide information, organisation-wide training, overall stakeholders, and hierarchical relationship. Practitioners can utilise these views and holistic approach for a deeper understanding of BEF for successful implementation. Researchers can explore different options or paths to explain or predict the high performance that leads to business excellence. Practitioners and researchers can utilise kaleidoscope thinking to discover innovative prospects for performance management.
  Keywords: Baldrige Excellence Framework; Organization-wide Performance management; holistic approach; business excellence.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10023545
   
  
• Organizational performance and growth in start-up enterprises: Analysis of leadership patterns and functional perceptions  
  by Ananya Rajagopal, Fernando Moya 
  Abstract: This study aims at analysing perceptions of entrepreneurial leaders to determine leadership patterns in start-up enterprises (SUEs). Perceptions of entrepreneurial leaders in reference to employee openness, administrative controls, innovations, and spatial expansions of SUEs have been critically examined in the study. This study has been conducted using qualitative research method, by applying in-depth interviews to the entrepreneurial leaders. In-depth interviews from entrepreneurial leaders of 32 start-up enterprises have been conducted within metropolitan area of Mexico City, which accounts for 10.25% of the top ranked start-ups, selected using convenience sampling method. Research instrument has been developed based on two focus group discussions. This study reveals that leadership in SUEs is centralised, which offers low flexibility and employee openness while exercising high administrative controls. However, in some SUEs, leadership is transforming by delegating autonomy to teams for specific functions. Innovations in SUEs are partially driven by employees and entrepreneurial leaders.
  Keywords: Leadership; employee openness; administrative control; organizational growth; start-up enterprises.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10023770
   
  
• Capacity Management Strategies in Supply Chains  
  by Githa Heggde, Renu Rajani 
  Abstract: This paper presents a thorough review of research in the areas of capacity management strategies (CMS), based on product-based and services-based supply chains, as applicable to services industry. Research efforts highlight CMS as a neglected discipline in supply chains (SCs), especially with emerging shift from goods to services supply chains (SSCs). 133 papers were analysed in detail for review after four levels of filtering of 6,328 records of citations and reading of 664 papers. The review context includes both goods and services, cross-geographies, across all elements of exchanges (assets, information, knowledge and relationships), across supply chain structures and covers research carried out involving various methodologies. The findings indicate research gaps in developing economies, for evolving network-based supply chain structures, and need to integrate research from disciplines of services marketing, manufacturing supply chains, industrial engineering, and operations management to provide methodical approaches to capacity management in SSCs. A value delivery framework is arrived at for use of CMS to address supply chain risks (SCRs) and to improve company performance.
  Keywords: Supply Chain Management (SCM); Services Supply Chain Management (SSCM); Capacity management Options; (CMOs); Supply Chain (SC); Capacity Management Strategies (CMS); Supply Chain Risk (SCR).
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10023878
   
  
• META-RELQUAL in Business Relationships: A Sales Perspective  
  by Nils M. Høgevold, Göran Svensson, Pierre Mostert, Mariëtte Zietsman 
  Abstract: The objective is to use insights gained from studies that have tested and retested META-RELQUAL based on a buyer business relationships to establish whether META-RELQUAL is valid and reliable within a business sales' context. A survey based on a cross-industrial sample of salespeople in Norwegian companies yielded a valid response rate of 40.7%. The results from this study indicate that META-RELQUAL is also valid under Norwegian salespeople within business relationships. The construct of META-RELQUAL tested in this study enables the corporate verification of both the buyer and sales perspectives in ongoing business relationships. Suggestions for further research are provided. This study contributes by successfully testing META-RELQUAL within a sales context as opposed to multiple previous studies focusing on a buyer perspective.
  Keywords: Relationship marketing; relationship quality; META-RELQUAL; social exchange theory (SET); transaction cost analysis (TCA); business relationships; sales perspective.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10023980
   
  
• The Impact of Digital Transformation Strategy on Customers Satisfaction in the Palestinian Telecom Industry  
  by Raed Iriqat, Ahmad Jaradat 
  Abstract: This paper aims to identify the impact of digital transformation strategy on customer satisfaction in the Palestinian telecom industry. One of the major roles of digital transformation strategies is to enlighten business ventures on finding new ways to sell and promote products, which will eventually lead to better meeting customers' needs and expectations. The findings show that there is a significant impact of digital transformation strategy on Customers' Satisfaction in Palestinian telecom industry. In addition, it found that perception of digital transformation strategy dimensions are significantly correlated to customers' satisfaction in Palestinian telecom industry. Study recommended telecommunications companies in Palestine to modify their business models and adopt new models that focus on customers and new digital products, also they were advised to adopt new technologies that can expand their business such as adopting internet of things (IoT) technologies and to engage customers in the process of product development.
  Keywords: Digital Transformation Strategy; Customers Satisfaction; Telecom Industry.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10023981
   
  
• SSTQUAL Model: Assessment of ATM Service Quality in an Emerging Economy  
  by Mohd Adil, Mohd Nasir, Mohd Sadiq, Kumkum Bharti 
  Abstract: This study aims to identify the key dimensions of automated teller machine (ATM) service quality and attempts to analyse the dynamic relationships among service quality, e-satisfaction and e-loyalty in Indian bank industry. Items were drawn from well-known SSTQUAL model, with cultural adjustment and industry specific modifications. A structured questionnaire in English language was used to collect the data from 360 ATM users. Research findings show that security/privacy and enjoyments have emerged as key dimensions that concern ATM users in India. The relative importance of the SSTQUAL dimensions identified in this study provides bank managers with a handbook as to which issues are critical in order of importance. Because of the limited sample size, the research results may lack generalisability. More replicative works are needed to enhance the generalisability.
  Keywords: SSTQUAL; ATM; service quality; banking; India.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10024031
   
  
• Effective Factors on Human Capital Retention in Less Prosperous Regions: An Empirical Study  
  by Nour Mohammad Yaghoubi  
  Abstract: Human resources are the key element in development and excellence of an organisation. As large global organisations owe their international success to committed knowledge labour force, adoption of sound policies and proper management is very important in survival and retention of human resources. Currently, human resources leave the organisations in less prosperous areas due to lack of attention to needs and proper management. This study tends to investigate effective factors on retention of human resources in less prosperous areas (Zahedan Payame Noor University). These factors are identified based on literature, and classified into four groups of environmental, organisational, managerial and individual factors. Statistical population of the study consists of 70 university staff and professors. Considering finite population of the study, a questionnaire is distributed among all people. The results showed that the factors studied in this study are effective on retention of human resources. Meanwhile, managerial factor has the greatest effect on human resource retention.
  Keywords: human resource retention; environmental factors; organizational factors; managerial factors; individual factors.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10024059
   
  
• Hedging Strategies and Performance of the U.S. Financial Holding Companies: A Dynamic Frontier Analysis  
  by Mohammad Nourani, Fu-Chiang Chen, Ikhlaas Gurrib, Qian Long Chen Kweh, Yun-Hao Wu 
  Abstract: Globalisation led to dynamic developments in the area of financial innovation. The main object of this study is to shed light into the relationship between hedging strategies and operational performance. We initially employed a dynamic data envelopment analysis model to incorporate carry-over items in order to assess the long-term operating performance of the top 50 US financial holding companies (FHCs) over the period 2005 to 2009. We then evaluated the operating performance of the US FHCs, as the financial situation changes over time. Empirically, we also provide evidence that the choice of an appropriate hedging strategy is crucial for FHCs even after a series of structural reforms following the latest global financial crisis.
  Keywords: hedging strategies; long-term performance; data envelopment analysis; dynamic slack-based measures; financial holding companies; U.S.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10024099
   
  
• Strategy code: indicators of organisational alignment for obtaining strategy implementation effectiveness  
  by Luís A. Monteiro De Barros, Adalberto Fischmann 
  Abstract: This study aimed to investigate whether organisational strategy implementation is effective given the alignment of certain strategic systems. The method used to achieve the proposed objective basically consisted of applying logistic regression to fit a model to the data collected, which allows the values of the dependent variable (effectiveness of strategy implementation) to be estimated from the values of the predictor variables (level of strategic alignment). The originality of this study lies in its systemic approach to the problem of strategy implementation and its final propositions represent a step forward in understanding the key code of strategy, suggesting that the alignment of some strategic systems is more important than other alignments and that, to be effective, firms must align their strategies with the necessary resources and planned initiatives to implement them, with their strategic controls, as well as with the organisational design.
  Keywords: strategy code; indicators; organisational alignment; strategy implementation; strategic effectiveness; strategic systems; resources; initiatives; controls; organisational design.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10024140
   
  
• Development and Deployment of Organizational Culture Maturity Model (TMKC) for the Business Excellence Success  
  by Nandkumar Mishra 
  Abstract: The paper describes the development of the maturity-based organisational culture model (TMKC team bonding-motivation-knowledge management-commitment for improvement). Each level of the model has practices for the improvements. The model deployment in 11 different organisations indicates the earnings before interest, depreciation, taxes and amortisation (EBITDA) are significantly higher. Delphi method-based survey, dipstick survey and correlation analysis were applied to discover the extent of the problem. The cluster analysis, principal components analysis and artificial neural network were used to prioritise organisation-based cultural factors from 13 to 4. The impact of TMKC model was validated through pilots and statistical tests. The higher maturity levels of 4 and 5 have significantly increased business excellence (BE) initiative goal achievement rate from 34% to 86%. The successful TMKC model deployment positively impacts % EBITDA change. The model has been piloted in 11 cases and its finding can change with deployments in varied instances.
  Keywords: Team bonding- Motivation- Knowledge management- Commitment for the improvement (TMKC); Business Excellence; Maturity Models; Principal Components Analysis; Cluster Analysis; Artificial Neural Network.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10024141
   
  
• Measuring performance in Education: a cross-country analysis  
  by Leonardo Flach, Luisa Karam De Mattos, Marcelo Machado De Freitas, David Hammes Junior 
  Abstract: This research aims to identify and analyse the variables that affect the efficiency of public spending in secondary education, in a cross-country perspective. Applying the methods of data envelopment analysis, Malmquist index, and panel data regression, we analysed data from 65 countries that undertook the PISA examination. The results demonstrate that Brazil was the most inefficient in applying its resources over the period and achieved only 84.3% of its potential outputs. Finally, the significant variables in explaining the efficiency were the natural logarithm of the GDP per capita, the curriculum autonomy of schools, financial autonomy, and the level of corruption and the socioeconomic backgrounds of students.
  Keywords: Performance Measurement; Efficiency; Education; Panel Data Analysis; Malmquist Index; Cross-country Analysis.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10024142
   
  
• Audit report lag determinants: a panel data regression model with all companies listed on the Dow Jones Stock Index  
  by Leonardo Flach, David Hammes Junior, Luisa Karam De Mattos 
  Abstract: This study aims to analyse the determinants of audit report lag (ARL) in companies listed on the Dow Jones Stock Index and identify whether the companies audited by an auditing firm with expertise in the audited sector have a lower ARL than the others. We applied a panel data regression model with all companies listed on the Dow Jones Stock Index. We collected data from several variables, during the years from 2013 to 2017. We collected the data at the website of each company, in the reference forms and in the standardised financial statements. Other data we collected at the website Edgar Online. We started with the hypothesis that companies audited by expert auditors have a lower ARL than the other companies. The importance of this research lies in the fact that reducing the ARL enables the disclosure of financial statements in time and facilitates the investors' decision-making process.
  Keywords: Auditing; Business intelligence; Audit firm; Audit Report Lag (ARL); Expertise.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10024143
   
  
• Investigating the relationship between Age and Smart Phone Usage Patterns: Evidences from Indian Smart phone Users  
  by Sakkthivel Annamalai Manickam, Moovendhan V, Githa Heggde 
  Abstract: This study intended to develop new categories of smart phone usage patterns in to three types such as professional, social and personal centric usage and tested the same among different age groups, i.e., young, middle, old, etc. with reference to finding the intentions of usage patterns among the selected age groups. The survey had been conducted among 150 Indian smart phone users belong to different age groups and the results revealed: 1) all age groups intended to use smart phones for personal usage; 2) young age group users intended to use smart phones for professional usage; 3) whereas middle age group and old age group users intended to use smart phones for social and personal usage, respectively. The implications of the outcomes were discussed.
  Keywords: smart phones; usage pattern; personal; social; professional; young; middle; old; age groups; Growing smart phone market; structural equation modeling.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10024144
   
  
• DISCOVERING CONSUMER PREFERENCE AND THEIR SATISFACTION LEVEL TOWARDS BRANDED & UNBRANDED PAINTS.  
  by SHIVAM GUPTA, Charu Bisaria, Suneel Gupta 
  Abstract: Consumer preference is the study which involves in depth analysis of the attitude of buyers related with buying. The paint industry of India is bifurcated as the organised and unorganised sector. The units which are large and medium-sized form the organised sector while the small scale units come under the unorganised sector. By and by, development of the paint industry of India can be seen from the increase in requirements of the paints, particularly in urban communities. Paint gives the platform that makes the human life colourful and adds beauty to live a life with peace and tranquillity. This exploration has been directed on 50 respondents of Gomti Nagar in Lucknow City. Questionnaire survey technique has been utilised to lead the exploration. The questionnaire was shaped with the close-ended questions. The principle goal of this paper is to discover the consumer’s preference and their satisfaction level while acquiring branded and unbranded paints and to explore the factors that help customers to select paints.
  Keywords: Consumer Preference; Indian Paint Industry; Organized & Unorganized Sectors.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10024145
   
  
• STRATEGY TOOLS AND ENTERPRISE PERFORMANCE: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE  
  by Albana Berisha Qehaja, Enver Kutllovci 
  Abstract: The conceptual framework of this study is based on the resource-based theory and model which is deemed as one of the widely accepted theories of strategic management, and one that has stimulated new research in order to validate and support its tenets. This paper is the first study to investigate the mediating role of competitive advantage in the relationship between strategic management tools and techniques and enterprise performance. Consequently, a conceptual framework has been proposed and tested empirically in a sample of 314 enterprises in the Republic of Kosova as a transitional economy. Results indicate that competitive advantage does play a mediating role between strategic management tools and techniques and enterprise performance. Accordingly, this study contributes to the field of strategic management because it establishes relationships among the use of strategic management tools and techniques, competitive advantage and enterprise performance, by stressing the mediating role of competitive advantage in the resource/capability and enterprise performance relation.
  Keywords: Resource-based view; strategic management tools and techniques; competitive advantage; enterprise performance; mediation; transition economy.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10024152
   
  
• Process enhancement in a wet grinder manufacturing company through Lean implementation framework  
  by V. Raja Sreedharan, Sivananda Devi K 
  Abstract: During the past two decades, lean production (LP) has been finding wide adoption for improving the processes. Despite its widespread adoption, LP is yet to find application in household appliances manufacturing industry. In order to overcome this deficiency partially, the research reported in this paper was carried out. This research was carried out in two phases. In the first phase, a model called conceptualisation lean implementation (CLIM) phase, inculcating, monitoring and controlling, manufacturing system transformation was designed to implement LP in wet grinder manufacturing industry. During the second phase, an investigation was conducted to examine the effect of implementing LP through CLIM model in wet grinder manufacturing industry. The outcome of this research indicated that CLIM model acts as a vehicle to successfully implement LP in wet grinder manufacturing industry. After reporting these activities, this paper is concluded with suggestions to conduct many more such investigations on implementing CLIM.
  Keywords: Value Stream Mapping; Lean Production; 5S; Takt time; Current state map; Cycle time; Productivity.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10024153
   
  
• Modelling the barriers to implement SSCM in Indian Plastic Manufacturing Sector  
  by Chitranshu Khandelwal, Mukesh Kumar Barua 
  Abstract: The plastic manufacturing sector is facing extreme pressure to become sustainable in the wake of growing consciousness towards the harmful effects of its supply chain operations on nature and society. However, the adoption of sustainability in the plastic supply chain is an arduous task because of the presence of several impediments. This paper provides a roadmap to Indian plastic manufacturing organisations for smooth adoption of sustainable supply chain practices by identifying 12 prominent barriers. These barriers were selected through literature review and views of specialists known to be working in the field for the past ten years. The mutual impacts between the barriers were found out using ISM-MICMAC method. The study reveals that lack of support and commitment from top management and lack of government interventions addressing sustainable practices are the most dominant barriers. The findings will assist the decision makers in making their firms sustainable by curbing the significant barriers.
  Keywords: Sustainable supply chain management; SSCM; barriers; plastic manufacturing; ISM; MICMAC; India.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10024154
   
  
• A systematic literature review ofLean Six Sigma in financial services: Key finding and analysis  
  by V. Raja Sreedharan 
  Abstract: The paper intends to analyse the impact of LSS in financial services through systematic literature review and identify current research gaps. It focuses more on exploring the different concepts in the area of financial services by performing a systematic literature review along with data visualisation techniques. The literature review of articles that are published in peer-reviewed scholarly journals from 1993 to 2017 was collected for performing the content analysis. Based, on the descriptive analysis performed on the collected materials, many results about the articles trend in the selected areas were found. Further, the content analysis revealed many research inferences like the role of e-banking, success factors, barriers in the context of LSS. Further, proposed work for future researchers in this field. The paper presents a systematic and unique application to detect the various opportunities for LSS in the financial domain.
  Keywords: Lean Six Sigma; financial institutions; financial services.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10024155
   
  
• The impact of ownership concentration on firm sustainability: Evidence from Malaysian top 200 public listed firms.  
  by Norazlin Ahmad, Irene Wei Kiong Ting, Mohd. Ridzuan Darun 
  Abstract: Larger companies cannot escape from facing financial distress, which eventually leads to insolvency and unsustainability. In this regard, this study examined the relationship between ownership concentration and firm sustainability of top 200 Malaysian public listed companies for the period between the years 2009 and 2015. The two-stage least squares regression results of this study showed that ownership concentration was significantly and negatively related to firm sustainability. This finding remained the same when different proxies of ownership concentration and firm sustainability were used. Generally, this finding indicated that excessive concentrated ownership may lead to decisions that did not satisfy all key shareholders, and may reduce the level of firm sustainability.
  Keywords: Ownership concentration; Firm sustainability; Malaysian public listed firms; Agency theory.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10024156
   
  
• Study on Sales Promotion for Female Customers on Select Durable Goods with Special Reference to Erode District, Tamilnadu State, India  
  by Karthikeyan Parthasarathy, Renuka Devi, VETRIVEL T 
  Abstract: In this competitive world, female customers' buying behaviour decides the success of durable goods. The aim of this study is to investigate the impacts of various promotions of sales tools used on female customers buying behaviour towards selected durable goods. 750 set of the questionnaire were used for this analysis. Random sampling technique was adopted towards selecting the respondents. The reliability was measured through the Cronbach's alpha and these results reveal that it indirectly represents the most reliable part of the questionnaire. Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis have been used to analyse the relation between the independent and dependent variables. Multiple regression analysis reveals that, the major sales promotion tools namely advertisement, free offer and price reduction, exchange offer and extended warranty period have a significant impact on customer's buying behaviour. The results of this study would help manufacturers and marketers to choose the types of promotion tool that significantly influence on the buying behaviour of female customers.
  Keywords: Female; Buying behaviour; Free offer; Price discount; Promotion; Regression.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10024158
   
  
• Emerging Perspectives on Business Model Typologies  
  by Dinesh Panchal, Bala Krishnamoorthy 
  Abstract: This study evaluates the available business model typologies with reference to the characteristics of a good classification scheme. The evaluation was done in two stages. In the first stage, business model typologies were checked for the availability of dimensions for classification and generalisability of dimensions to different industry sectors. Four business model typologies were shortlisted at the end of the first stage. Subsequently, the shortlisted typologies were evaluated using analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS). The second stage evaluation indicated the highest preference for typology with dimensions
  Keywords: Business model; Business model elements; Business model typology; AHP; TOPSIS.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10024159
   
  
• Exploring the nexus between Job Design and Work Engagement: Mediating role of Meaning in Work  
  by Parul Malik, Pooja Garg, Ki-Soon Han 
  Abstract: The present study examines the nexus between job design and work engagement and test the mediating effect of meaning in work on the relationship between job design and work engagement. Data were collected using a survey method and comprised of 300 employees working in manufacturing firms based in India. The results revealed that when employees are offered well-designed jobs, they are more likely to experience meaning in work, which has as a spill over effect on the positive behavioural pattern of employees in terms of work engagement. The study results revealed that an effective job design can be a resounding aspect of the organisations, where employees experience meaning in work and work engagement.
  Keywords: Job Design; Meaning in Work; Work Engagement.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10024162
   
  
• The Mismatch between Labor Market Needs and Education: The example of Jordan  
  by Mohammad Alawamleh, Loiy Bani Ismail, Kamal Alawamleh, Saro Giacaman 
  Abstract: This paper seeks to explore the relationship between education and labour market needs in Jordan, in addition to how this relationship is affecting the unemployment rate. This study uses a regression on data collected from the Jordanian Department of Statistics and analyses the data through the SPSS Program. The result shows the relationship between university graduates' unemployment and Jordanian universities booming enrolment, yearly growth rate of GDP is also counted as a factor. This paper demonstrates how the aforementioned gap affects the unemployment rate for bachelor degree holders, in addition to the national unemployment rate. Moreover, the research recommends some solutions and methods that the government and universities should implement, in order to reduce the rate of unemployment so as to close the gap between education and labour market needs.
  Keywords: Unemployment; Education; Universities; Graduates;Labor Market; Majors; Industries; Economy; Saturated major.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10024166
   
  
• Investigating Employee creative performance with integration of DeLone and McLean Information system success model and Technology acceptance model: The moderating role of Creative self-efficacy  
  by Mohammad Ali Yamin, Mohammad Swaiess 
  Abstract: Internet usage has rapidly become an indispensable adjunct in organisations operations and has improved individuals' daily life. Therefore, the present study develops an integrated model with combination of DeLone and McLean IS model, creative self-efficacy and technology acceptance model in order to investigate employees' actual usage of internet in organisations and its impact on employees' creative performance. This study extends the body of knowledge in this subject and examined the moderating effect of creative self-efficacy between actual use of internet and employee creative performance. For data analysis structural equation modelling (SEM) approach was used. Results indicate that DeLone and McLean and technology acceptance model constructs jointly explained R2 72.0% variance in actual use of internet. Moreover, findings confirmed that creative self-efficacy moderate the relationship between actual use of internet and employee creative performance. The importance level of the constructs was assessed with (f2) effect size and IPMA analysis.
  Keywords: DeLone & McLean IS model; Technology Acceptance Model; Creative Self-efficacy; Employee creative performance; Moderating analysis; Structural equation modeling.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10024168
   
  
• A 4-Stage Framework for Disruptive Innovation  
  by CHAKUNNATH MADHUSUDAN 
  Abstract: The theory of disruptive innovation propounded by Clayton Christensen has been successful in explaining why some seemingly well managed companies fail under the onslaught of some new entrants. Keeping close to Christensen's definition of disruptive innovation, which is termed as 'Christensen disruption' here to highlight its uniqueness, a simple four-stage disruption framework is proposed for the evolution of incumbents and entrants in this special form of disruption. The proposed four-stage disruption framework offers a new and simple insight into understanding the process of Christensen disruption. Applying the framework to the evolution of the Indian domestic low cost carrier (LCC) aviation industry over a 15 year period, it is found that Christensen’s theory of disruptive innovation provides a coherent explanation for not only the disruption of the Indian incumbent airlines but also the subsequent evolution of the surviving LCCs.
  Keywords: Disruptive Innovation; Christensen Disruption; 4-Stage Disruption Framework; Disruption Matrix; Low Cost Carriers.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10024194
   
  
• Assessment of implementation of Lean Manufacturing in manufacturing unit-A case study  
  by Jagdeep Singh, Surjit Kumar Gandhi, Harwinder Singh 
  Abstract: Lean manufacturing is a performance-based strategy for maximising customer value by elimination of waste, while improving profitable growth of the organisation. The present study has been carried out at recliner assembly shop of an automobile manufacturing industry in North India with an aim to develop and implement lean manufacturing program in a systematic manner. The systematic procedure has been adopted to identify wastes, their reasons of occurrence and selection of suitable methods adopted for their removal. The recommendations of experts have been implemented by conducting a tack time study of recliner assembly process which reduced inventory by 14% by line balancing. The divisions of customers monthly requirements into week plans has improved the tool setup time by 29% and reduced working delay. Administrative controls have been implemented to conduct in house training sessions of workers that had reduced absenteeism by 15%.
  Keywords: lean manufacturing; manufacturing industry; rejection rate.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10024526
   
  
• Healthcare Access and Socio-Economic Conditions in Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome: Evidence from 2015 BRFSS Study  
  by Praphul Joshi, Kaushik Ghosh, Vivek S. Natarajan, Purnendu Mandal 
  Abstract: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a major public health challenge in the USA and elsewhere. MetS generates high costs to national healthcare system, as well as causing deteriorating health condition in individuals. Studies indicate that MetS may be influenced by demography, race, income, education level and access to healthcare system. Using 2015 national survey data Behavioural Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) this article analyses the prevalence of MetS across ethnic and socio-economic sections of population. The analysis supports the prevailing knowledge that MetS is influenced by access to healthcare, race, income and education level of population. An interesting finding of this work is that those who reported not having any kind of health coverage had a significantly lower prevalence of MetS compared to those who reported having health coverage.
  Keywords: national healthcare system; public health challenge; BRFSS; health coverage; national survey; metabolic syndrome; MetS.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10024527
   
  
• Macro and socio-economic determinants of firms' financial performance: empirical evidence from Indian states  
  by Faozi Almaqtari, Najib H. S. Farhan, Ali Thabit, Eissa A. Al-Homaidi 
  Abstract: This study aims to investigate the impact of macro and socio-economic determinants on firms' financial performance using data of 1,770 firms from 19 Indian states over a period from 2008 to 2015. Firms' performance is considered as the dependent variable and is measured by profit after tax, return on asset and returns on net worth. Macroeconomic determinants include net state value added, capital invested, capital expenditures, per capita income, number of factories and working capital of the selected states. Further, socio-economic determinants contain state's population, level of education, rate of violence, number of workers, per capita power and highways length. The findings reveal that macroeconomic determinants namely; per capita income, capital invested, and number of factories and socio-economic determinants particularly; population, education rate and rate of violence in a state have the major significant impact on firms' performance. However, the other variables are related to some proxies of firms' performance.
  Keywords: Financial performance; macro-economic; socio-economic; Indian States.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10024529
   
  
• Investigating Employee Performance Impact with Integration of Task Technology Fit and Technology Acceptance Model: The moderating role of self-efficacy  
  by Hussain Awad 
  Abstract: This study sheds light on the relationship between technology factors and employee performance impact. The current study develops an integrated technology model underpinned task technology fit (TTF) and technology acceptance model (TAM) to investigate employee performance impact in Saudi public organisations. This study goes a step further and examined the moderating effect of self-efficacy between internet usage and employee satisfaction. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used for statistical analysis. Findings revealed that altogether technology acceptance model and task technology fit explained R2 54.7% variance in internet usage and R2 60.9% variance in employee performance. Results also confirmed that self-efficacy moderate the relationship between internet usage and employee satisfaction. This study is unique as it contributes to information system literature and confirmed two-well known technology theories (TTF and TAM) with relation to employee performance impact.
  Keywords: Task Technology Fit; Technology Acceptance Model; Satisfaction; Internet Usage; Performance Impact; Structural equation modeling.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10024532
   
  
• Gender-based behavioral segmenting of the cellphone youth market  
  by Matti Haverila, Kai Haverila, Caitlin McLaughlin 
  Abstract: The purpose of this study is to investigate the existence of behavioural segments (clusters) among youth regarding the cellphone communication market in Finland. Specific cellphone behaviours are used as a cluster variate. The cellphone behaviours used are: 'necessity of modern times', 'cost efficiency', 'safety/security', 'dependency', 'negatives' and 'functionality', per Aoki and Downes's (2003) research on cellphone use. Separate behavioural clusters were devised for both males and females on the basis of the behaviours. Four unique behavioural clusters among the male respondents ('middle of the road', 'feature freaks', 'all important', and 'minimalists') and three unique behavioural clusters among the female respondents ('dependents', 'advanced users', and 'cost matters') were detected. Each cluster had a unique group of benefits sought, with no overlapping clusters between genders. After these clusters were identified they were then profiled using age, gender and the behavioural variables as profilers. This research serves to help market researchers and cellphone producers alike better understand how and why cellphones are used in the youth marketplace.
  Keywords: Behavioral clusters; cell phone product-market; youth; gender differences.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10024535
   
  
• Understanding organizational change implementation with integration of self-determination theory and knowledge management strategies: The mediating role of employee readiness to change  
  by Tayseer Zatar 
  Abstract: Expanding competitive business markets, restructuring, rightsizing, privatisation and government legislation are increasing the pressure for organisation change (OC) to stay alive. Therefore, dynamic organisations need to focus on fostering employee motivation and knowledge management strategies to implement successful organisational change. We advance the body of knowledge on this subject by proposing a motivational research model that combines two well-known theories: self-determination theory and knowledge management strategy. The research model was empirically tested using 350 responses collected from government employees of Saudi Arabia. Data was analysed using the structural equation modelling (SEM). Findings revealed that newly developed integrated model had significant influence on employee readiness and explained 59.5% variance in employee readiness to change. The importance performance matrix analysis (IPMA) suggested that manager and policy makers should pay attention on personalisation knowledge and employee readiness to change in order to bring successful organisational change implementation.
  Keywords: Self-determination theory; Knowledge management strategy; Employee readiness to change; Organizational change implementation; Structural equation modeling.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10024537
   
  
• Performance Excellence through Spirituality, Emotional Labour and Customer Orientation in Insurance Industry  
  by Majid Mohammad Shafiee, Reihaneh Alsadat Tabaeeian, Mastoure Mehri 
  Abstract: The purpose of the present study is to investigate the effect of spirituality and emotional labour of insurance agents and sellers on their customer orientation and performance excellence. In this research, spirituality and performance are uni-dimensional, while emotional labour and customer orientation have been introduced as multi-dimensional variables. The dimensions of emotional labour were deep acting and surface acting and the dimensions of customer orientation were customer sensing and customer responsiveness. The representatives of insurance companies in Iran were considered as the statistical population of this study. A questionnaire was used to collect the data. The validity of the questionnaire was examined by experts in this field and its reliability was confirmed using Cronbach's alpha method. Structural equation modelling with PLS approach was used to test the hypotheses. According to the results, spirituality and emotional labour were antecedents of customer sensing and customer responsiveness. Moreover, the performance has been influenced by customer sensing and responsiveness. This study helps policy makers and insurers seek excellence strategies through spirituality and emotional labour.
  Keywords: spirituality; emotional labour; customer orientation; responsiveness; customer sensing; performance excellence.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10024541
   
  
• BENCHMARKING CURRENCY RISK MANAGEMENT PRACTICES OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES  
  by Vasumathy S. Hariharan  
  Abstract: The burgeoning growth of small businesses in the Indian export industry warrants studies that depict the best practices in currency risk management. This study redresses the gap by developing such scale. The key variables of risk management system, exposure management, hedging decisions, derivative management and residual risk management have been identified from the literature. Residual risk management is a totally new dimension to foreign exchange risk management. Firms’ uses of these variables have been tested in the form of a structured questionnaire, and a test-retest method has been used to assess reliability. A model using the main variables was constructed and tested for acceptance among the three subsectors of manufacturing, services, and trading. The study found that these variables represent the best-use practices of successful Indian exporters. The scale that was developed aids both nascent and matured firms equally with respect to understanding peer practices.
  Keywords: BENCHMARKING; CURRENCY RISK; RISK MANAGEMENT; SMES; DERIVATIVES; RESIDUAL RISK; HEDGING; RISK MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS;.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10024919
   
  
• Analysing the Barriers to Successful Implementation of Total Quality Management in Indian Manufacturing Organizations Using Best-Worst Method  
  by Rajesh Attri, Noor Zaman Khan, Arshad Noor Siddiquee, Zahid A. Khan 
  Abstract: In the current era of intensive competition, the application of total quality management (TQM) has gained tremendous attention of the manufacturing organisations across the globe. Manufacturing organisations are deploying their resources for the prosperous implementation of TQM. TQM implementation has become a matter of great concern for the manufacturing organisations as a consequence of various barriers impeding its implementation process. In view of this, there is utmost need for the manufacturing organisations to know the significance and importance of these barriers. In this paper, an endeavour has been carried out to prioritise the different barriers of TQM using a relatively new, simple and effective multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method, i.e., best-worst method (BWM). Results of the present research work can be utilised by the manufacturing organisations for developing the proper strategies for tackling the TQM barriers in order to successfully implement TQM to derive its prolific benefits.
  Keywords: TQM; Barriers; Prioritization; Best-Worst Method (BWM); Manufacturing Organizations.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10024927
   
  
• ORGANISATIONAL JUSTICE AND JOB ENGAGEMENT PREDICATING WORK PERFORMANCE  
  by Rateb Sweis, Taghrid Suifan, Niveen Alsayed, Basheer Kilani, Majed Juaid 
  Abstract: This paper aims to determine the predicating roles that organisational justice and job engagement in the workplace play in improving work performance. The study utilised a mixed methodology that encompassed factor analysis, and analysis of variance using simple and multiple regressions aiming to test the research hypotheses and to explore the nature of relationship among the research variables. This study's findings reveal that both job engagement and organisational justice have a significant positive effect on work performance. They also show that both organisational justice and job engagement establish employees' work performance and that job engagement significantly mediates the effect of justice on the employee's performance level. The chosen sample of 328 employees was markedly small to be considered an accurate representation of the entire airline industry in Jordan. In addition, because the items in the survey questionnaire were fixed, some important pieces of information might not have been captured for analysis.
  Keywords: organisational justice; work performance; job engagement; job satisfaction; competitive advantage; organisational citizenship behaviour; organisational support; Jordan airlines industry.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10024930
   
  
• Does customer satisfaction exist in purchasing and usage of Electronic Home Appliances in Bangladesh through interaction effects of Social Media?  
  by Md Uzir Hossain Uzir, Abu Bakar Abdul Hamid, AHMAD SHAHARUDIN ABDUL LATIFF 
  Abstract: The objective of the study was to investigate the impact of product quality, quality of service and perceived value on customer satisfaction with the intensity of social media effect. The study was conducted based on quantitative research methodology for which a structured questionnaire was developed to collect data from 323 households in Bangladesh. A judgmental sampling technique was adopted for data collection by using the social media. Collected data was analysed using SEM-AMOS and SPSS. The result revealed that product quality, quality of service and perceived value have positive and significant effects on customer satisfaction with usage level of social media. The outcomes of this study will help managers promote their brands through social media to build a strong customer base. This study also contributes to the body of knowledge by providing some evidence of relationships among product quality, quality of service, perceived value and customer satisfaction.
  Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Product Quality; Service quality; Perceived Value; Social Media; SEM; Electronic Home Appliance.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10024965
   
  
• High Involvement HR Practices as a precursor to Innovation Performance: A Study of the Indian IT Firms  
  by NOOPUR SINGH 
  Abstract: The present paper is an attempt to understand as to how high involvement HR practices help strengthen innovation performance in IT employees. The study has also tried to interrogate work engagement as a connecting medium between the two and the role of resource commitment in influencing the interactions between work engagement and innovation performance. The methodology used for data collection was through survey questionnaires from the superior as well as subordinates of the managerial cadre of the IT firms in the Pune region, India. For a good model fit confirmatory factor analysis was done on the available dataset eliminating the outliers and SPSS macro, PROCESS was used for further analysis. Results showed that HIHRP has an influence on innovation performance and work engagement mediates the relationship between HIHRP and innovation performance, additionally resource commitment positively mitigates the interaction between work engagement and innovation performance. The present study is the first of its kind which has empirically examined the mediation/moderation interactions between HIHRP, work engagement, resource commitment and innovation performance.
  Keywords: High Involvement HR Practices (HIHRP); Work Engagement (WE); Resource Commitment (RC); Innovation Performance (IP); Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM); HR Practices (Human Resource Practices),.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10024977
   
  
• Marketing measurement: the traditional and the modern - way forward  
  by Piyush Pranjal, Soumya Sarkar 
  Abstract: Since the advent of the C-OAR-SE procedure for the development of measures in marketing, there has been a renewed interest in improving marketing measurement. For long, marketing academics have adhered to the traditional scale development approach. However, C-OAR-SE has brought freshness in the marketing measurement literature. It has highlighted loopholes in the time-tested traditional approach but, not without facing its fair share of criticism. This article briefly describes the traditional approach and the C-OAR-SE procedure followed by a brief review of selected papers focusing on debates elicited by the C-OAR-SE procedure. As the outcome of the review, a discussion is provided highlighting the key insights concerning generalisability; content and construct validity; use of single-item measures and predictive validity; and developing optimal standard measures in marketing. The discussion leads to the suggestion of a prospective course of action for developing measures in marketing with the objective of improving marketing measurement.
  Keywords: marketing measurement; C-OAR-SE; marketing science.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10025354
   
  
• Linking the emotional maturity factors and personal effectiveness: A study of cement and power manufacturing organizations in India  
  by Nagendra Singh Nehra, Santosh Rangnekar 
  Abstract: This paper discusses a cross-sectional survey, carried out by the authors, of 410 employees employed in cement and power manufacturing organisations in North India, to determine if emotional maturity factors have positive relationship with personal effectiveness in Indian context. This study uses broaden-and-build theory as theoretical framework to investigate the proposed relationship. The sample data was collected through convenience sampling method and a cross-sectional survey-based research design was employed. A paper-pencil survey was administered for this purpose by distributing a total of 476 questionnaires during office hours. However, only 410 responses were considered for final analysis using confirmatory factor analysis and multiple hierarchical regression analysis. Results reveal that emotional maturity factors (i.e., emotional stability, social adjustment and personality integration) are positively associated with personal effectiveness. This study fully supports the applicability of broaden-and-build theory in explaining the proposed relationships in Indian context. This study offers advanced insights on the proposed relationship that has not been examined till now, and serves as a potential policy guideline for personal effectiveness in understudied non-US cultures like India. The findings of this study enrich the literature on personal effectiveness from broaden-and-build theory perspective.
  Keywords: Emotional maturity; emotional stability; social adjustment; personality integration; emotional progression; independence; personal effectiveness.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10025357
   
  
• Attitude as a mediator between antecedents of mobile banking adoption and user intention  
  by Deepak Chawla, Himanshu Joshi 
  Abstract: India is the fastest growing mobile phone market in the world after China and has witnessed a phenomenal growth in mobile banking transactions. The objectives of this research are: 1) to identify the important factors which influence user attitude and intention; 2) to test the mediating role of attitude. A systematic review of literature, FDG and interviews has been used to propose a research model and develop relevant hypotheses. Using a sample of 367 respondents, SEM was used to analyse the relationship between antecedents of mobile banking with attitude and intention. The findings clearly show that lifestyle is the most important factor influencing attitude followed by efficiency, convenience, trust and perceived ease of use (PEOU). Mediation analysis supported a full mediation effect of attitude on the relationship between convenience and lifestyle on intention, while partial mediation effect of attitude was found in the relationship between trust and efficiency on intention.
  Keywords: Ease of use; convenience; efficiency; trust; attitude; intention; mediation; mobile banking; India.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10025371
   
  
• INTERRELATIONSHIPS AMONG RETAIL CUSTOMER-BASED BRAND-EQUITY DIMENSIONS: A STUDY FROM INDONESIA  
  by Hotniar Siringoringo, Neltje F. Katuuk 
  Abstract: The objective of this study was to examine interrelationships among the dimensions of brand equity, using three validated models. A questionnaire was developed, tested for validity and reliability, and then distributed for data collection. Questionnaire was distributed to retailing consumers in Jakarta and neighbours area. In all, 411 valid questionnaires were collected out of 500 distributed, and obtained a response rate of 82.2%. The results show that perceived quality (PQ), brand awareness (BA) and brand trust (BT) affect switching behaviour (SB) significantly and directly. SB, in turn, influences brand loyalty (BL) significantly and directly. Thus, the effects of PQ, BA, and BT on BL are mediated by SB. Further, evidence was also found for the direct and significant effects of PQ, BA, and BT on BL, as well as for a direct and significant effect of BA on PQ and BT. Finally, BL affects SB significantly and directly.
  Keywords: brand equity; brand loyalty; brand trust; brand awareness; perceived quality; switching behaviour; retailing.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10025380
   
  
• Internal Marketing of Indian Retail Banks and the Impact on Employee Job Satisfaction.  
  by Venkata Sai Srinivasa Rao Muramalla  
  Abstract: This paper statistically signified the impact of internal marketing factors on employee job satisfaction in retail banks. It answered the question that is there any significant impact of IM factors on EJS? The population of this study is the employees of retail banks in southern India. A sample of 183 employees surveyed for the purpose and the results indicate that the IM factors such as internal communication and employee reward have a significant positive impact on employee job satisfaction while supervision has an insignificant positive impact whereas employee commitment, training, and feedback has an antagonistic relationship with employee job satisfaction. Employees by gender, position, work experience, and bank sector has no significant difference in their opinions, but they have a significant difference in their opinions on individual IM factors. However, employees are highly favourable on IM practices of the banks. This study has recommendations on IM practices for the continuous improvement of employee commitment, supervision, training, and feedback in the retail banks. The implications of this study would prompt further research to signify the impact of work culture, work environment, workplace ethics, and other IM factors on employee job satisfaction in retail banking.
  Keywords: frontline service employees; internal customers; internal marketing; job satisfaction; quality services; retail banks; service recovery; services marketing.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10025384
   
  
• Adapting Appreciative Inquiry for Agile Higher Education Institute  
  by Nikhil K. Mehta, Karuna Jain 
  Abstract: With increasing global and competitive pressure, Indian higher education institutions need to take initiatives to revamp themselves into organisations that have performance-oriented work and an agile culture. This study presents how one of the higher education institutes in India has initiated its journey towards agility. The appreciative inquiry was undertaken to initiate its journey of being agile. The study uses grounded theory to explore positive core life-giving strengths and skits performed to identify dreams of the faculty members. Underlining principles of projective test skits were analysed to set the norms for organisational agility. The study presents how members of the organisation have aligned themselves in the endeavours of value capture, value creation and value protection to deliver their performance on various fronts such as academic and research excellence, quality assurance of processes, capacity building, infrastructure, and global reachability and collaboration. The study holds immense social and practical implications.
  Keywords: Appreciative Inquiry; Agility; Higher Education; Achievement Motivation; Performance.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10025391
   
  
• Identification and prioritisation of challenges to Industry 4.0 adoption in Indian Manufacturing Industry  
  by Aniruddha Anil Wagire, Ajay Pal Singh Rathore, Rakesh Jain 
  Abstract: Industry 4.0 initiative has gathered the momentum and set a tone of discussion among the stakeholders, not only in the developed nations but also in other countries as well. Currently, this concept is motivating India to embrace innovative technologies to leapfrog into Industry 4.0. However, there are several potential challenges on the path to Industry 4.0. To address this issue, it is imperative to discern the potential barriers in its adoption. Therefore, the present study aims to identify and prioritise the barriers existing in Industry 4.0 adoption in the Indian manufacturing industry. Among the prioritised barriers,
  Keywords: Industry 4.0; barriers; Industry 4.0 challenges; AHP; Analytical hierarchy process; India; manufacturing industry.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10025397
   
  
• Literacy is power and transforms lives: Channelling the relationship between financial literacy and satisfaction  
  by Navaneethakrishnan Kengatharan, Kengatharan Lingesiya, Muthucumaraswamy Thileepan 
  Abstract: Anchored in the behavioural life-cycle model, the life-cycle consumption model and the utility theory, we propose a new model that examines the channel through which financial literacy impacts on financial satisfaction. The data were gleaned with a self-administrated questionnaire from individual investors in Sri Lanka. The results disclose that financial planning mediates the relationship between financial literacy and financial satisfaction and further, reveal that the moderating role of gender on the relationship between financial planning and financial satisfaction. Our study contributes to the frontiers of the extant literature and proffers many useful practical implications and thus, from a policy perspective our findings are crucial.
  Keywords: financial literacy; financial planning; financial satisfaction; utility theory.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10025697
   
  
• A HYBRID MCDM APPROACH FOR EVALUATING THE FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF PUBLIC SECTOR BANKS IN INDIA  
  by SANJAY GUPTA, MANOJ MATHEW, GINNI SYAL, JINESH JAIN 
  Abstract: Sustainability and development of banking system results in stable and efficient economic performance of the country. Accurate utilisation of financial resources aids in maintaining a smooth flow of finances across the countries. Therefore, it becomes mandatory to measure the financial performance of the banks under public sector in order to ensure transparent working and flow of money within as well as across the countries. In this study, it has been aimed to evaluate the financial performance of public sector undertaking (PSU) banks, forming part of PSU bank nifty index, those who operate in the Indian capital market between the years 2013 and 2014 and 2017 to 2018.
  Keywords: Financial Performance; CRITIC-TOPSIS; MCDM; PSU Banks.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10025809
   
  
• Does Mobile Marketing Affect Customer Loyalty in Jordan  
  by Sulieman Al-hawary 
  Abstract: This study aimed to identify the impact of mobile marketing on the customers' loyalty in Jordan. The dimensions of mobile marketing were interactivity, personalisation, localisation, and convenience. The study population consisted of the customers shopping via mobiles in Jordan; samples of 403 customers were taken. Their responses were investigated using a questionnaire designed for this purpose. The results were collected, entered into the computer and the hypotheses were tested, using the SPSS program. The study results showed a statistically significant effect of mobile marketing (interactivity, personalisation, and convenience) on customers' loyalty, and there is a statistically insignificant effect of localisation on customers' loyalty. Based on the results, the researchers came up with some recommendations related to the fields of mobile content design, sharing information, benefit from the experiences, and solving customers' problems.
  Keywords: Mobile; Marketing; Customer; Loyalty; Jordan.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10025818
   
  
• Cultivating society’s environmental concern through green advertising: an empirical analysis among Jaipur citizens  
  by Jugal Kishor 
  Abstract: The current study examines the society's response toward green advertising through measuring its impact on customers' intent to act for a specific brand associated with environmental concern. The contemporary research enriches the understanding of green advertising and the role of green advertising in the development of consumers' various intent toward environmental fortification. A total of 517 dataset incorporated to examine the consumers' response toward green advertising on the ground of various variable. The hypothesised model delivers the excellent fit of the dataset and results depict that consumer shared the positive intentions toward the green advertising based on the brand image, environment concern, purchase intention, claims credibility and customer relation. This research assignment verifies the role of green advertising as its effect on the consumer in educating the green concerns of the environment.
  Keywords: Green Advertising; Purchase Intention; Environmental Concern; Brand Image.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10025826
   
  
• How Can Green Marketing Lead to Customer Trust and Green Intention? Evidences from Automobile Industry  
  by Majid Mohammad Shafiee, Arash Shahin 
  Abstract: Today, the environment and its protection have become critically important for business excellence. Since automobile companies can have a significant impact on the improvement of energy consumption and environmental protection, the aim of this study is to evaluate green marketing in the automobile industry and its impact on customer trust. For this purpose, a questionnaire has been developed and used for data collection. The variables of green marketing included price, product, promotion, and place and the variables of customer trust included competency, benevolence, and honesty. Findings indicated a positive and significant influence of green marketing on customer trust and green purchase intention. Among the elements of marketing mix, price had the strongest influence on customer trust and green purchase intention; and among the customer trust variables, honesty had the strongest influence on customer green purchase intention.
  Keywords: Costumer trust; Green marketing; Green Purchase intention; Green consumer; Environmental effect; Automobile industry.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10025827
   
  
• Destination Brand Personality and Brand Experience in the Tourism Management of a Mid-Sized City  
  by Paula Rodrigues, Ana Pinto Borges, Elvira Vieira 
  Abstract: Increasing the attractiveness of mid-sized cities is a cross-cutting challenge within the context of the European Union, and specifically for Portugal. In this sense, we evaluate the mediating effect of brand experience between the brand personality and brand attitude applied to the city of Guimar
  Keywords: Brand Experience; Destination Brand Personality; Brand Attitude; City Branding; Consumer Behavior; Tourism Management.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10026170
   
  
• Repatriation of academics: Re-socialization and adjustment  
  by Robinson James, Theophilus Azungah 
  Abstract: Despite a large and growing body of literature that has investigated the return of corporate repatriates, the repatriation of academics has not been sufficiently discussed in the literature. The literature on repatriation of corporate employees has identified several antecedent conditions that facilitate or hamper the process of repatriation adjustment and its implications for corporate organisations and repatriates. But, it is not clear whether the antecedents and consequences of repatriation adjustment are the same for both corporate and academic repatriates. This study applies the extant literature on repatriation and three socialisation theories: organisational socialisation theory (OST), socialisation resources theory (SRT), and uncertainty reduction theory (URT) to identify and examine the role of organisation, individual and group in the process of adjustment and the influence of adjustment on repatriates' work engagement and retention. We particularly identified and discussed the repatriation adjustment of academic repatriates, consequences of unsuccessful adjustment and how universities and repatriates can effectively manage the repatriation transition.
  Keywords: repatriates repatriation adjustment socialization theory academics.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10026225
   
  
• Achieving business excellence through workplace conflict resolution: using Emotional Intelligence (EI) as an effective tool  
  by Mohit Kumar, Kuldeep Singh, Vijaishri Tewari, Madhvendra Misra 
  Abstract: The purpose of the present study is to gain a conceptual understanding of the role of emotions and emotional intelligence in conflict formation and resolution at the workplace. Organisational environment is such a place where individuals are jointly performing tasks and achieve organisational and personal goals. Many times it has found in situations where individuals arise from conflicts, even working with shared objectives. Individuals own attitude, values, beliefs, and behaviour guided by emotions may become the reasons for conflicts to take place. Workers with a high or low level of emotional intelligence (EI) deal with conflicts accordingly. The present study, with theoretical understanding and findings, would explore the extent of the relationship between EI and conflicts in an organisational setup and achieving overall business excellence.
  Keywords: Business excellence; Emotions; Emotional Intelligence (EI); Conflict resolution.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10026226
   
  
• Determinants Affecting Customer Perceived E-Service Quality (PeSQ) Towards E-Retailing Shopping Site in Malaysia  
  by Mohammed Hariri Bakri, Nor Azah Abdul Aziz, Nurul Fadly Habidin, N.O.R. RATNA MASROM, L.I.M. P.E.I. SIAN 
  Abstract: In the new era of digital nowadays, e-commerce platform has been growth rapidly. Thus, this research aimed to study the determinants that affecting customer perceived e-service quality (PeSQ) towards e-retailing shopping site in Malaysia and examine the most significant determinants of e-service quality towards customer PeSQ from e-retailing shopping site in Malaysia . In order to study this, the researcher has selected 384 respondents as sample framework with google form questionnaire distributed online. From finding analysis, the researcher used SPSS software with explanatory factor analysis test of the data and it depicts that there is exactly five factors have been extracted in the research and use multiple regression test to find the most significant factor and results shows that privacy as the most significant predictor but reliability are not significant in the research
  Keywords: E-Retailing; E Service Quality; Customer Perception; Shopping Site; Malaysia.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10026392
   
  
• Development of a multi-item scale for measuring Blue Ocean leadership  
  by Wael Mohamad Subhi Idris, Taher Mohsin Mansoor Al-Galibi, Mohammed Hussein Manhal Al-Eesa, Zaina Mustafa Mahmoud Hamad 
  Abstract: This study aims to develop and validate a scale to measure Blue Ocean leadership within five-star hotels in Jordan. A quantitative approach through a questionnaire-based survey of all the employees working within five-star hotels in Amman is used. A sample of 207 employees within the three administrative levels in hotels under study is selected. A structural equation modelling is conducted through both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to assess construct validity and reliability. Findings confirm validity and reliability of the developed scale consisting of four Blue Ocean leadership dimensions. This paper develops a multi-item measurement instrument for current multi-dimensional construct, and offers professionals and practitioners at all management levels a valid and reliable tool for evaluating and implementing this construct within their organisations, which will affect positively all stakeholders and allow organisations to achieve higher performance and manage organisational change with less effort and time.
  Keywords: Blue Ocean leadership; multi-item measurement scale; scale development; structural equation modelling; exploratory factor analysis;confirmatory analysis; hospitality industry; five-star hotels; Jordan.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10027312
   
  
• LINKING UNLEARNING WITH LEARNING FOR PERFORMANCE IN AN ERA OF DISRUPTION  
  by Meeta Dasgupta 
  Abstract: In a knowledge-based economy, it is an accepted fact that learning and innovation are important ingredients for global competitiveness. It is also true that old assumptions, beliefs, and routines need to be unlearnt and replaced. Given the exponential rate of disruption, should unlearning be valued more than learning? Insights from interviews with senior executives, from companies operating in India, have been integrated with literature. The proposed framework explores the interplay between learning and intentional and spontaneous unlearning. The study reveals that even during times of disruption learning continues to be the focus of most organisations. But the magnitude of disruption and time span within which individuals and organisations want to witness change influences the choice between intentional and spontaneous unlearning.
  Keywords: learning; unlearning ; spontaneous unlearning; intentional unlearning; disruption;organisational performance.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10027355
   
  
• Do Alliance Capabilities Matter in Tourism Dynamic Capabilities Development? An Examination through Agility and Resilience Lens  
  by Santanu Mandal, Shri Vishnu, Maria Roshini 
  Abstract: While existing studies on tourism have undersigned various resources and capabilities instrumental in developing tourism supply chain (SC) agility (TAGL) and resilience (TREL), the importance of alliance capabilities are yet to be addressed. Sensing this gap, our study classified alliance capabilities as alliance management, learning and integrating capabilities and explored their role in TAGL and TREL development. Perceptual responses were collected from 122 hotel and tour managers and are analysed using structural equation modelling. Results suggest alliance management and learning as prominent enablers for TAGL. Also, they suggested alliance learning and integration as key enablers for TREL. Furthermore, the results suggested alliance learning capability as a key enabler for alliance management and integration capabilities. Implications for theory and managers were also provided. The study is the foremost to address the importance of alliance capabilities in the development of tourism SC agility and resilience.
  Keywords: alliance; capability; tourism; services; supply chain; technology.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10027359
   
  
• Manufacturing enterprise performance using Network DEA: A profitability and marketability framework  
  by Syarifa Hanoum 
  Abstract: Despite providing a holistic view of a company's progress, existing performance measurement system (PMS) models report performance separately for every single measure and leaves the overall performance of the corporate untouched. The concept of vertical and horizontal alignment has been described theoretically in PMS literature. However, the existing PMSs do not provide a mechanism for how to link each organisational level in a PMS. This study aims to promote the use of network data envelopment analysis (NDEA) for measuring manufacturing enterprises' performance. NDEA can deliver a single composite index, derived from multidimensional measures, which can represent the overall manufacturing performance. An alignment concept as a prerequisite of an integrated PMS is explained using the NDEA technical properties. The proposed NDEA-based PMS is tested in a pharmaceutical company to illustrate how it works in evaluating profitability and marketability. We modify an existing profitability and marketability framework into a three-stage model: production acquisition, profit earning, and marketability, to capture the complexity in manufacturing operations. The proposed NDEA-based PMS is useful for conducting a performance review to seek the sources of inefficiency and determine improvement target.
  Keywords: Performance measurement; Network data envelopment analysis; NDEA; Manufacturing; Profitability; Marketability.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10027362
   
  
• Repurchase behaviour and positive word of mouth. Role of hedonic shopping motives.  
  by Sunil Atulkar 
  Abstract: In view of changing consumer behaviour towards organised retail, present study focused on departmental stores of Delhi and neighbouring cities, as the shoppers in these cities are highly motivated by hedonic shopping dimensions. Study tries to identify the influence of five different variables of hedonic motives on repurchase behaviour and positive word of mouth. Focusing on 536 customer responses collected with the help of structured questionnaire, the proposed research framework were analysed and validated through confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis. Result supports the previous research findings and displayed significant positive relationship of adventure, gratification and role shopping with repurchase behaviour and positive word of mouth, while the social and idea shopping shows diverse results. Therefore, the research paper would help organised retailers to focus on these hedonic motives effectively and efficiently for gaining added advantage in this competitive current retail scenario.
  Keywords: Departmental store; Hedonic shopping motives; Repurchase behaviour; Positive word of mouth.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10027599
   
  
• Dynamic Capabilities in public sector: Theoretical insights and research agenda  
  by Ruben Loureiro, João José Matos Ferreira, Jorge Simões 
  Abstract: The theme of Dynamic Capabilities (DC), although it has recently demonstrated a growing interest on the part of the academy, in the scope of the public sector its applicability is still incipient. Thus, this study aims to identify, through a systematic review of the literature, the CDS in the context of public sector organizations and contribute to a broader and more systematic knowledge in this field. A survey was conducted in the Web of Science (WoS) and SCOPUS, and 82 documents were obtained dated between 1997 and 2018. The results point to three large dimensions around the CD in the public sector, which are: i) Innovation and Entrepreneurship; ii) Intellectual capital and knowledge and learning management; and iii) Supply Chain and Information Technology.
  Keywords: Dynamic Capabilities; public sector; Innovation; Entrepreneurship; Intellectual capital; Supply Chain; Information Technology; knowledge; learning management.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10027607
   
  
• A Meta-Analysis of Research on Entrepreneur Inclination in Small and Medium Enterprises In Global Scenario  
  by Divya Pathak, J.P. Sharma, Susmita Patnaik 
  Abstract: The purpose of this study is to provide a meta analysis of the research on entrepreneurship in small business with special focus to Entrepreneurial inclination from 2000 to 2018. Using the Scopus database, this study analyses a total of 1,393 papers published from the year 2000 to 2018. The information about these papers is provided on the basis of significant journals, publication years, maximum cited papers, important authors, and most prolific countries and institutions. Then, the co-authorship network map, inter-country co-authorship network map and keyword co-occurrences network maps are provided by using the VOSviewer software. The results of this study indicate that in the year 2017, the maximum papers have been published, the most significant journal is International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business and the most cited paper is about competing models of entrepreneurial intentions. Furthermore, the most prominent author is Francisco Linan, and the most prolific country and institution are USA and the University of Seville, respectively.
  Keywords: Entrepreneurial Intentions; Bibliometric Analysis; VOSviewer; Review.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10027737
   
  
• Identification and Prioritization of Key Managerial Competencies in the General Directorate of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare: An Integrated SEM and ANP Approach  
  by Nour Mohammad Yaghoubi, Sajjad Balali Shahvari, Milad Vafadar 
  Abstract: The main purpose of this study was to identify and prioritise key managerial competencies in the General Directorate of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare. In order to validate the model, the first questionnaire was designed and distributed among the statistical population. Structural equations and confirmatory factor analysis with Smart PLS software were used to analyse the data. According to findings, competencies identified in this model were categorised in three dimensions: personal (attitude and behaviour), social (social awareness and social skills) and professional (management, planning and knowledge); personal, social and professional competencies explained 87%, 84% and 91% of variance in key managerial competencies model. The second questionnaire was designed by analytic network process (ANP) to prioritise dimensions and components of competency and given to experts. According to the results, effective communications, decision-making, and planning ranked first to third, respectively.
  Keywords: managerial competency; competency model; competency dimensions; competency development; SEM; ANP.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10027872
   
  
• How does Relationship Quality (RQ) translate into better organizational performance: An empiricial check  
  by WASEEM JOHN 
  Abstract: This paper examines the impact of Relationship Quality on organizational performance by testing the Relationship Quality-Relationship Outcome conceptual model. Organizational performance is measured in terms of Relationship outcomes. A survey was used to collect data from pharmaceutical companies in India. Relationship Quality is comprised of Trust, Commitment, communication Quality, and, Relationship Satisfaction. Relationship Outcomes conceived as a dependent variable for this study was also measured using suitable non-financial & relationship-centered measures. The research instruments were refined and validated. The data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling. The results indicate that in the only Communication Quality and Relationship satisfaction emerge as significant predictors of Relationship outcomes in the current research context. This study provides valuable insights into the importance of Communication Quality and Relationship satisfaction in sustaining the relationships and deriving required benefits from it. It advocates the use of non-financial measures as indicators of organizational performance.
  Keywords: Relationship Quality; Business-to-business; Organizational Performance; Relationship Outcomes; SEM.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10027971
   
  
• The Impact of Effective Organizational Communications on Financial Performance  
  by Hamidreza Abootalebi Jahromi  
  Abstract: Since effective communications can create a sense of trust between employees and increase customers’ satisfaction the purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of organizational communications on financial performance. Since this study seeks to determine the type and extent of correlation between variables thus the descriptive-correlative method is used in this study. This study is an applied research in terms of its goals and is a cross-sectional research in terms of time. The statistical society of this research includes all employees in the finance department of Jahrom University of Medical Sciences and its colleges, which consists of 51 employees. A total of 45 questionnaires were collected. The questionnaire used in this study was composed of two financial organizational questionnaires (21 items) and Robbins Effective Organizational Communication Questionnaire (24 items). After analyzing the data using statistical software, all the research hypotheses were accepted.
  Keywords: Effectiveness; Organizational Communication; Financial Performance; Finance Department; Employees; Customers’ Satisfaction; Budgeting; Planning; Listening; Excitation Control; Feedback.
  
  
• Analysis of marketing capabilities, service differentiation and performance of executive hotels in the State of Santa Catarina, Brazil  
  by Deosir Flavio Lobo De Castro Junior, Elvis Silveira-Martins, Marcio Nakayama Miura, Jean Carlos De Abreu 
  Abstract: This research aims to understand the predictors of hotel performance. The research by Carvalho (2011) and Morgan and Katsikeas (2012) ground future empirical studies of marketing capabilities regarding hotel performance. The study collected data from a sample of 153 Brazilian executive hotels. For the data analysis, exploratory and confirmatory factorial analysis were used. The work adopted structural equations modelling as a set of techniques to conduct the analysis of the data obtained through the survey. Among the research outcomes, it is worth stressing the methodological results such as the validation of scales and the hypothesis tests, which revealed that: marketing capabilities have a positive relationship with performance; marketing capabilities are predictors of service differentiation; marketing capabilities are positively related to service differentiation; service differentiation, in two dimensions, is positively related to performance, and the service differentiation, in its three dimensions, mediates the relationship of marketing capability and hotel performance.
  Keywords: hospitality; strategy; marketing capability; service differentiation; performance; competitivity; Brazil.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10019054
   
  
• Quality management and business excellence studies from an Islamic-culture perspective: a literature review  
  by Souraj Salah, Abdussalam A. Alhabeeb 
  Abstract: The foundation of quality management (QM) and business excellence (BE) was mainly advocated by Western scholars criticised for their focus on tangible aspects of performance. The Japanese added non-tangible aspects by emphasising a quality culture of loyalty and social responsibility. Spiritual and religious teachings are among top influential values in various societies. There is limited research done on their relation to the concepts of QM and BE. This paper provides an insight into what has been realised so far in QM and BE studies related to Islamic-culture through a comprehensive review of literature to identify the main concentration areas and contributions. Two thirds of the relevant articles were published recently in the field of Islamic worldview and practice. Studying Islamic worldview concepts is significant to understand their implication on individual and organisational performance. In the future, it is recommended to conduct studies on the proposal of new Islamic frameworks or quality culture and their impact on contemporary quality studies, in comparison to other frameworks.
  Keywords: business excellence; quality culture; quality management; Islamic worldview; Islamic perspective.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10024545
   
  
• Supplier selection and performance evaluation for formulating supplier selection strategy by MCDM-based approach  
  by Rakesh D. Raut, Bhaskar B. Gardas, Balkrishna Eknath Narkhede, Linda L. Zhang 
  Abstract: Effective supplier-base management demands many resources. The purchasing departments of many organisations believe that having more suppliers requires a higher cost. This investigation aims to evaluate the performance of existing suppliers to rationalise the supplier-base and find out top strategic suppliers who can ensure the full supply of products per the market demand. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was employed for evaluating the selection criteria and ranking the shortlisted suppliers. The technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) was adopted as well for ranking suppliers based on the weights of the criteria obtained from the AHP evaluation approach. Both methodologies were compared and top performing suppliers were identified. Finally, gap analysis was carried out to determine the effective ranking tool between AHP and TOPSIS methodologies. The results of the study highlighted that volume flexibility is found to be the most significant evaluation criterion and supplier 'VA' is the best amongst all. This study is intended to guide the policy and decision makers in formulating the strategies for the effective supplier selection in highly competitive environments.
  Keywords: supplier selection; performance evaluation; multi-criteria decision making; MCDM; procurement strategy.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2020.10028057
   
  
• ISM-MICMAC approach for evaluating the critical success factors of 5S implementation in manufacturing organisations  
  by Rajesh Attri, Ashishpal, Noor Zaman Khan, Arshad Noor Siddiquee, Zahid A. Khan 
  Abstract: The objective of this paper is to ascertain and evaluate the critical success factors (CSFs) that affect the fruitful implementation of 5S in manufacturing organisations. 20 CSFs of 5S has been recognised through extensive literature survey and experts' views. Subsequently, interpretive structural modelling (ISM) approach has been applied for instituting inter-relationship between identified CSFs. Further, MICMAC analysis was applied to classify the CSFs into different groups. From ISM-MICMAC analysis, it was found that effective top management contribution, education and training, proper leadership, establishment of role and responsibility, cognition of 5S, integration with the organisational objectives, integration with quality improvement approaches, proper implementation plan and financial resources are the key CSFs. These CSFs were found to exhibit a significant role in successful implementation of 5S.
  Keywords: 5S; critical success factors; CSFs; MICMAC; interpretive structural modelling; ISM; hierarchy.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10019296
   
  
• Electricity prices determinants: India's perspective  
  by Sonal Gupta, Deepankar Chakrabarti, Hiranmoy Roy 
  Abstract: A robust trading system is vital to promote competition in the Indian electricity market. In India, the exchange trading market is still at an incipient stage, despite being the best option for innovation, due to the presence of high volatility huge losses are incurred by the power market participants such as power generators and distribution companies. Hence, a descriptive research was conducted to identify the major factors leading to the periods of spikes and jumps in the Indian energy exchange's day-ahead market (DAM) prices of all the regions (north, south, east, west and north east) from August 2008 until June 2017. It was found that the major factors affecting DAMs prices are regulatory, weather, fuel supply, transmission congestion; power plant outages/new plants operational, frequency and reservoir levels. This study will encourage the stakeholders to further model and forecast prices devising profit maximisation techniques thereon.
  Keywords: electricity price; volatility; determinants; day-ahead market; DAM; Indian Energy Exchange; IEX; India.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10019286
   
  
• Improving business process by predicting customer needs based on seasonal analysis: the role of big data in e-commerce  
  by K. Moorthi, K. Srihari, S. Karthik 
  Abstract: Many e-commerce sites give item recommendations to buyers while they navigate the site. This study aims to identify the ways to predict the customer demands based on different seasonal in India and improving the business process of a new e-commerce seller by giving recommendations. We focus on textile and we categorised the seasonal in to three winter season, summer season and rainy season. In this study we analyse historical sale record of a new e-commerce seller Esteavo International based on these three seasonal. Using these analyses, we aim to determine the purchase patterns of the customers and the factors affecting the changes in sale on different seasons. Also, we developed new big data architecture it guides the e-commerce seller for taking effective decisions to improve their business process.
  Keywords: big data analytics; seasonal analysis; textile; e-commerce; recommendations.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10019461
   
  
• Mapping organisational competences: case study on a franchise in the food industry in Brazil  
  by José Jaconias Da Silva, Claudia Brito Silva Cirani, Joseane Laura Pereira De Amorim 
  Abstract: This study aimed to map empirically organisational, functional and individual competences in a unit of a large franchise network in the food industry in Brazil. The objective was to assess activities previously established and based on the theme of competence. A case study was presented on a company located in Cuiabá, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, and to achieve the goals, we used a specific methodology for mapping competences in a qualitative approach. Among the organisational competences (OCs) identified are 'product quality, along with efficient delivery, leaves the customer satisfied', 'well prepared menu and particular flavour of dishes that pleases the customer', 'skilled professionals in the production, sales and delivery processes' and 'the franchise brand name that stands out for quality and positive associations to the product/service and the organisation itself, which translate into intangible results, such as acceptance, satisfaction and benefits'. The model tested was adequate to identify organisational competences as well as functional and individual competences.
  Keywords: competences; organisational; functional; individual; case study.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.10019493