This investigation took an attempt to solve the cluster traveling salesman problem (CTSP) by the heuristic approach. In this problem, nodes are clustered with given a set of vertices (nodes). Given the set of vertices is divided into a prespecified number of clusters. The size of each cluster is also pre-specified. The main aim is to find the least cost Hamiltonian tour based on the given vertices. Here vertices of each cluster visited contiguously, and the clusters are visited in a specific order. Standard GA is used to find a Hamiltonian path for each cluster. The performance of the algorithm has been examined against two existing algorithms for some symmetric TSPLIB instances of various sizes. The computational results show the proposed algorithm works well among the studied metaheuristics regarding the best result and computational time. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020.

Order of addition (OofA) experiments have found wide applications. Each order (run) of an OofA experiment is a permutation of m(≥2) components. It is typically infeasible to compare all the m! possible runs, especially when m is large. This calls for experimentation with a subset or fraction of these m! runs. However, only a few systematic results are available on the construction of such fractions ensuring optimality. We employ block designs to propose a systematic combinatorial construction method for optimal fractional OofA designs, and extend the method to construct highly efficient OofA designs, both in much smaller run sizes than the currently available optimal fractions. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.

Most e-commerce platforms have been developed as sales and marketing channels, offering artisans of all skill levels equal opportunities for growth and provide very low-cost worldwide visibility. These strategies never allow any artisans to give opinions about willingness to accept/reject orders due to personal inconvenience, wages, item shipping deadlines, etc. Extant exogenous approaches undertaken to provide rural producers with direct access to market have mostly done so sporadically, by incorporating measures that are not designed in accordance with rural context and needs. In this context, this paper attempts to securing active participation of rural producers in the process of production by considering the opinion and purposive collaboration between relevant rural-urban agents by allocating an order to the rural artisans. This paper will propose a Community-driven Information System for Rural Artisans (CISRA) which identifies the selection of artisans in fairness manner as a strategy to boost market opportunities of rural producers. We used a simulator called AnyLogic to ensure fairness and scalability in the artisan selection method and to measure the efficiency of our allocation model. The simulator will optimize the allocation policies of a job to the artisans based on the opinion value. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020.

The study seeks to further advance our understanding of the complexities and challenges facing international managers when conducting business in an Indian context. Drawing on survey data from managers in over 300 companies, the study suggests that in-order to enhance performance in a business-to-business context within India, there is a need to nurture satisfactory business relationships through the practice of Jaan – pehchaan. Specifically, the study revealed that relationship satisfaction and long-term orientation are driven by three behavioral constructs associated with Jaan – pehchaan, i.e., Pehchaan, Len-den and Bharosa and these serve to positively drive business performance. Several managerial and theoretical implications are extracted from the study along with directions for future research. © 2020 Elsevier Inc.

The paper perceived the moderating role of gender on professional attributes with professional-life conflict (PLC). The study was drawn with a sample of 319 techie employees working in different IT sectors across India. Professional attributes were found as important elements that influence PLC. Gender, as a moderator in this relationship, showed the influence of interaction with few professional attributes only. The findings in the study suggested that there was a relationship between professional attributes and PLC and they influenced PLC based on time, strain, and behavior. Irrespective of the gender (male/female) in the IT sector, it affected on the relationship between the attributes and conflict. The implications of the study were discussed and the need forfurther research was also highlighted in the study. © 2019, Associated Management Consultants Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved.

Purpose: The growing market for organic products presents a tremendous opportunity for marketers to extend their existing brands. However, there is hardly any research that investigates the factors extension from an organic parent brand is preferred over extension into same product category for success of such brand extensions. This paper investigates the role of two different bases consumers may use to evaluate the extension into organic product – organic status of the parent brand and its similarity to the extended product category. Design/methodology/approach: The study involved a 2 × 2 (organic versus regular parent brand and same versus different product category) between-subjects factorial design. Data collected from 164 postgraduate students presented with one of the four scenarios were analysed using ANOVA. Findings: The results reveal that extensions from organic parent brand versus regular brand, and in the same product category versus different category, are evaluated more favourably. Moreover, extension from an organic parent brand is preferred over extension into same product category. Originality/value: The research contributes to the extant literature on branding and retailing by building on categorisation theory to explain consumer preference for brand extension when launching a new organic product. The findings provide valuable insights to practitioners to launch a new organic product using brand extension. © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Digital social networking (DSN) sites have attracted users pervading geographical, cultural, demographic, social and economic boundaries. DSN adoption has by far surpassed other information systems implementations and introduced novel opportunities to users in communication, information exchange, and human interaction as an individual, in a group, in communities and organizational networks. DSN offers unique features and opportunities compared to offline social networking. In consequence, the size of social network and the quality of network ties formed on DSN are different from those on offline social networks. The findings of this exploratory research upset the established bridging/bonding social capital factors based on network tie strength which served as the basis for academic studies and introduces factors on the functional view of social capital. It establishes the notion that DSN has introduced novel opportunities compared to previous instances of information systems which necessitated a revisit of established information systems theories and epistemology. © 40th International Conference on Information Systems, ICIS 2019. All rights reserved.

The 2020 Union Budget has announced several small steps that could give some fillip to the financial sector in the short run, but the lack of a long-term vision for reviving an economy in downswing remains most conspicuous. © 2020 Economic and Political Weekly. All rights reserved.

An empirical understanding of countrywide diffusion of third (3G) or/and fourth (4G) generations of Mobile Broadband Services (MBSs) has proven implications for both business and policy of the country. However, extant literature lacks in explanation for the diffusion and forecast of these services in India. We address this gap by analyzing both individual and multigenerational diffusions of 3G and 4G services in India, using Bass, Gompertz, Logistic and Norton-Bass models that utilize a mix of linear and non-linear regression techniques. Additionally, we evaluate the influence of several exogenous variables on the diffusion of those MBSs in India. Our analyses reveal that, firstly in case of diffusion, Bass model estimates are quite sensitive to both 3G and 4G historical data, whereas Gompertz and Logistic models fit well with the same dataset. As expected, Norton-Bass model - encompassing all the successive generations of 2G, 3G and 4G - provides more reliable estimates of the diffusion parameters. Secondly, as far as 3G forecast is concerned, Bass model works better with fixed assumptions of ultimate market potential, whereas Gompertz and Logistic models seem to be more suited for ‘optimistic’ long-range forecasts and ‘conservative’ short-term forecasts, respectively. Our results also show that 4G is diffusing at 6.1 times the speed of 3G diffusion in India, when the total MBS subscription in India is likely to reach 410 million by 2026. Finally, we notice that, among the notable external sources of influence, National Telecom Policy 2012, average revenue per user, and aggregate income variables have significant positive impacts on the diffusion of MBSs in India. © 2019 Elsevier Inc.

This study explores how sudden disruptive changes lead to changes in institutional logic and associated consumption practices. The empirical context is provided by the demonetization of high-denomination currency in India in 2016. The findings reveal that micro-level consumption practices are embedded within macro-level social structures and institutions. Therefore, institutional changes lead to corresponding changes in the material, competence, and meaning dimensions of consumption practices. This study examines the neglected dimension of the delegitimation of consumption practices and markets. The study points to artifactual spatialization and indirect identification as important mechanisms of change in materiality, and sheds light on the microfoundations of institutions. It explores the sensemaking work of adjusting, adapting, adopting, and advocating by micro-actors and the sensegiving work of problematizing, enrolling, and facilitating by macro-actors. Thus, sensemaking and sensegiving enactments are conceptualized as institutional work. © 2020 Elsevier Inc.

Performance based contract (PBC) is an innovative advanced service strategy for offering product service solutions. PBC aims at increasing customer value and reducing the costs of operations. However, manufacturers incur unquantifiable “hidden costs” while implementing PBC. This paper uses agency theory and service-dominant logic to build a theoretical framework to study the hidden costs of PBCs. The research uses a multiple exploratory case study approach to unravel the drivers of hidden costs during the design, delivery and adaptation phases of PBC. This paper derives findings from five PBCs from the UK defence industry. The analysis reveals four major hidden cost drivers (supplier relations, contract complexity, customer relations, and cost estimation problems) of PBC. The research refines the theoretical framework by linking the hidden cost drivers, PBC life cycle stages and engagement of the service network partners. It develops a set of propositions for guiding future research and managerial practices. © 2020 Elsevier Inc.

Purpose: The study explores career shocks in the Indian context and examines their impact on the career development of people with MBAs. Design/methodology/approach: In-depth, semi-structured interviews with 41 Indian MBA graduates were thematically analysed to identify career shocks that resulted in different types of transitions. Eight themes were identified based on ongoing and iterative comparison of these instances. Findings: Outcomes relating to competitive examinations that determined entry into various occupations were the first career shock experienced by participants. Geographical considerations were salient in the deliberations involving events relating to marriage, eldercare and spouse relocation. Events at the workplace that signalled uncertainty, a fall-out with one's boss or a request to relocate, prompted participants to switch employers. Some of the observed differences were gender based. While female MBA graduates adapted to handle both spousal and parental responsibilities, male MBA graduates did the same to shoulder eldercare responsibilities. Research limitations/implications: The study's retrospective design could have led to concerns regarding memory recall. The use of open-ended questions partially mitigated this, by giving participants the freedom to recount their experiences, to the extent that they could remember. Practical implications: Organisations in India could customise and strengthen policies to support employees who have maternity and eldercare responsibilities. Managers should make greater efforts to have open communication with their subordinates to overcome the challenges of operating in a culture with high power distance and indirect communication styles. Originality/value: This study explored different types of career shocks and associated transitions. The Indian context, with its growing economy, large population, collectivistic culture and strong influence of family on careers, enabled a deeper examination of novel career shocks. The study also highlighted the dissimilar impact of career shocks for men and women and people at different career stages. © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Augmented Reality (AR) is an immersive technology that is increasingly becoming popular in e-commerce. This technology is transforming the traditional way of product presentations in online stores. However, online retailers are keen to know if an AR-based product presentation is impacting consumers differently from traditional product presentations. In this study, we investigate the influence of immersive user interfaces on consumers' perceptions. We conduct an experiment in a university setting with subjects who test a mobile app enabled with AR, interactive three-dimensional (3D) and traditional representation for products of different complexities. We find that an immersive interface reduces the perceived risk and enhances satisfaction of the consumer, but increases the cognitive load. The first two effects are found to be higher for a more complex product. This study provides guidance to retailers who are planning to adopt immersive technologies for online product presentations about their possible impact on target consumers. © 40th International Conference on Information Systems, ICIS 2019. All rights reserved.

Device-to-device (D2D) communication or Proximity Service (ProSe) is a proposed technique to increase the network capacity in a dense 5G network. This enables a base station (aka eNB) to perform in-band offloading of traffic between two ProSe enabled user equipments (UEs) so that the UEs can communicate directly over a side-link (SL) channel switching from conventional Infrastructure Mode (IM). However, such a mode-switching during an ongoing session may potentially degrade the Quality of Experience (QoE) for the end-consumer due to possible loss of packets in flight during the mode-switching instance. This paper presents, based on simulation of realistic conditions, a unique observation on how mode-switching affects a voice over IP (VoIP) session between two moving vehicles crossing each other from a distance. Observations reveal how a potential smart mode-switching decision, combining application context and instantaneous channel parameters, can improve performance both in terms of QoE as well as network capacity. To best of our understanding, this paper is a stepping stone towards a generic predictive model based scheduling policy to intelligently trigger mode-switch keeping the application context in consideration. © 2020 IEEE.

“Showrooming”, a practice where consumers visit a brick-and-mortar store to examine and research a product before buying it online, is being increasingly observed in recent times. This not only adversely affects the physical store but also the manufacturer in the long run. Showrooming leads to reduced sales efforts on the part of the brick-and-mortar retailer which leads to a decline in showcasing of the product to consumers. This affects the overall demand for the product in the market. In this paper, we analyze the effect of wholesale prices set by the manufacturer on the retail prices of the products in a multi-channel environment affected by showrooming. To combat the adverse impact of showrooming, we further investigate the feasibility of a manufacturer-driven alliance with the brick-and-mortar retailer so that it expends adequate sales effort that leads to higher demand and a dedicated consumer base. We derive a three-parameter contract that can coordinate the channel and arrive at a win-win situation for the manufacturer and the brick-and-mortar retailer. Our analysis shows that the contract is more beneficial for a brick-and-mortar retailer with lower relative market potential. Additionally, we find that the contract brings down the retail price of the product which benefits the end consumers. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.

We study the impact of marketplace literacy education on marketplace coping behaviors in the face of systemic shock due to demonetization, deriving important implications for consumer affairs from this radically distinct context. We study whether and how such education can have positive impact even in the face of such macrolevel disruption that disproportionately affects those with the least resources and renders them even more vulnerable. Marketplace literacy education encompasses awareness and knowledge about marketing as well as self-confidence and awareness of rights as buyers and sellers. We examine the influence of marketplace literacy in urban and rural areas on coping behaviors of low-income women consumer–entrepreneurs during demonetization in India, using a retrospective survey. We derive implications to mitigate the effect of future shocks on consumers and entrepreneurs at the vulnerable end of the income spectrum. Copyright 2020 by The American Council on Consumer Interests

Most of the extant studies on social enterprises have taken a static view of institutional complexity and assumed conflict between social and market logics as given. In this study, by taking a dynamic perspective and examining the conflict between social and professional logics, we examine the process of their hybridization and how institutional complexity evolves as they grow and professionalize. Based on our study of a hospital in India, we find that social enterprises operating in highly professionalized fields pass through phases of hybridization and professionals play a crucial role as carriers of alternative logics to social enterprises. © 2020, International Society for Third-Sector Research.

[No abstract available]

Along with being critical performance indicators as well as a rich source of information for potential customers, the overall rating and recommendation behavior also work as a crucial information source for managers of airlines for customer segmentation, service design, and post-purchase evaluation management. In this study, we explore how customer preferences, behavior and post-purchase evaluations differ for travelers depending on their respective travel goals, travel class, and the culture of their native country. Based on the frameworks of the construal level theory and expectation disconfirmation theory, we provide a psychological explanation of why specific service attributes, categorized in process-outcome and tangible—intangible dimensions, get higher importance than others for a particular set of customers. We analyzed consumer review data of 28,341 reviews for 345 airlines by customers from 132 countries. The results yielded critical theoretical contributions to extant literature on airline evaluations and recommendations, construal levels, airline customer segmentation, etc. Moreover, the results also helped managers of an airline to package design, segment customers, enhance targeted communication, and customer relationship management overall. The limitations and future scope of the study have also been discussed. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd

Purpose: This paper delineates the distinctive nature of appraisal politics perceptions (referenced to organizational politics) experienced by appraisees (APAP) as a form of hindrance work stressor that is more episodic than chronic, salient during the PA rating and reward decisions. The study argues and attempts to establish empirically that due to its distinct nature, it causes both short-term episodic strain and long-term chronic strain. Further, the study investigates the distinctive role played by appraisee's hard and soft influence behaviour as a coping mechanism moderating the influence of APAP as a stressor on strain variables in Indian organizational context that ferments politics. Design/methodology/approach: The data was collected using self-reports from 407 employees in Indian organizations using survey method. Multivariate analyses including moderating tests were used for testing the hypotheses. Findings: Only the episodic components of the APAP-appraiser's rating politics and pay and promotion politics were significantly related to anxiety felt by appraisees during PA – an episodic measure of strain. All three APAP components were significantly related to the chronic strain measure of dissatisfaction. There was modest support for the role of influence tactics (IT) as a coping mechanism attenuating the negative relation of APAP with the dissatisfaction variables as chronic strain measures. Contrary to the hypothesis, softer tactics exacerbated the APAP–PA anxiety relation, indicating the episodic nature of stressor and strain. Originality/value: The study contributes significantly to enhance the understanding about the nature of Appraisal politics. © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited.