ABSTRACT
A value chain framework for guiding the financial firms in their credit decisions is urgent, as the current COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted, but missing in the extant literature, particularly for those that lend to industries sensitive to value and supply chain bottlenecks. This study creates knowledge in value chain finance, a big untapped and un-researched market. It constructs, confirms, and validates a value chain framework for assessing risks in lending to Agro and Food Processing firms in which value chain risks are major business concerns globally. To pursue the objectives of the study, we use a novel methodology that integrates the Modified Delphi technique, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and discriminant analysis. Based on testing and analysis of primary data, including loan data, a framework comprising six factors is proposed for use in conjunction with existing risk assessment models of finance companies to improve the quality of their credit decisions, contributing to their performance sustainability. © 2022 ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
ABSTRACT
The covid-19 pandemic has emerged as the most severe health challenge since the end of the 1918 Spanish flu. With the social distancing norms and travel restrictions in place, the education sector has radically changed. The students have continued their studies in virtual mode for the past two years. But after the pandemic, the pupils must return to their old lives. The objective of this paper is to find out how this change affects the students mentally and whether attending classes offline is taking a toll on them. Are they feeling more stressed compared to when they were online, and is the change affecting their academic performance? This paper will analyse the psychological effects of a change in the environment of a student's life and try to answer what will be the best solution to the problems caused therein. Copyright © 2022, Anka Publishers. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: There are lot of challenges involved in studying the multiorgan manifestations and sequelae of acute Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), that too in face of fighting the pandemic, which has led to fall short of resources and restriction in activities for prevention of transmission. The literature on persisting manifestations and sequelae of COVID-19 in the patients recovered in the first and second waves is scarce. Aim: To study the presenting and persistent manifestations after acute COVID-19 illness in first and second wave among Nursing Officers (NOs) of a tertiary care medical institute. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India, from 15th May 2021 to 31st October 2021. Total 103 nurses, who had recovered after testing positive for COVID-19 in the first and second wave were followed-up for persisting symptoms. Statistical analysis was done using Pearson Chi-square test. Results: Total of 103 subjects were recruited in the study, 36 in the first wave and 67 in the second. Fever (72.82%), body ache (67.96%) and fatigue (66.99%) were found to be the most common presenting manifestations in the study subjects having mild to moderate COVID-19 infection. Body ache (p-value=0.048), headache (p-value=0.044) and fatigue (p-value=0.025) were seen in significantly more subjects in second wave as compared to first wave. Persistence of symptoms for more than 4 weeks was seen in 45.63% subjects. There was no statistically significant difference between persisting symptoms in the two waves, except sleep disturbances which were found to be persisting in significantly more subjects in second wave than those in first wave. Conclusion: The data of current study will add to the literature of presenting signs and sequelae of coronavirus, and pave the way for more elaborate and multispecialty studies for enhanced understanding of the disease.
ABSTRACT
Although the importance of supply chain management in the construction sector has been recognized in recent years, its implementation still faces significant challenges. For the long-term evaluation of this creative sector, numerous intricate sustainability components, such as environmental, social, and financial, are necessary. The study focuses on longterm sustainability considerations in the supply chain in the construction sector. This work aims to address this information and examine sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) research in the construction sector in this manner. More than 95 publications were studied from the beginning of 2017 to the end of 2021 using both in-depth content analysis and bibliometric methodologies. Several issues of SSCM in construction have been found including environmental, economic and social patterns which are most commonly known as the triple bottom line, typically enhanced by artificial intelligence. Many challenges were discovered including inefficiencies in the logistics system and a shortage of funding, environmental issues in demolition procedures and difficulties in applying sustainability measures due to high skill, data, and time requirements. The article offers a broad list of potentials for improving the current situation in the construction sector by using various types of supply chains such as increasing investment in energy conservation and emission reduction technologies to drive sustainable development, establishing strong green supply chain relationships, and forming a Covid-19 financial support group for small construction companies among other things. The study's findings suggested that due to the significance of long-term relationships between construction companies, suppliers and customers, smart technology could make it simpler to reach every supply chain link. After an exhaustive literature review 59 research questions were formulated for the future research. In the future, the importance of these questions could be determined using expert questionnaires and multi-criteria evaluation.
ABSTRACT
Purpose Mobile-based payment is increasing exponentially but in the developing country like India, consumers' perception is highly positive in daily cash transaction. The purpose of this research is to identify and examine the important challenges for mobile wallet (m-wallet) implementation in India. In the wake of COVID-19, one of the transmission mechanisms of this virus has been the coins and paper money passed between a buyer and a seller. As such m-wallet considered as a convenience of payment has become a necessity in light of the pandemic. Design/methodology/approach The authors explored 19 unique sets of challenges selected from the literature and collected data from 14 experts from private sector, multinational corporations and mixed private and public partnership who have significant knowledge and experience of mobile payment implementation and use in their respective organisations. Also, the authors have used Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) methodology in developing a hierarchal model for the identified challenges. The authors implemented Cross-Impact Matrix Multiplication Applied to Classification (MICMAC) analysis to classify the identified challenges. Findings The ISM-based framework is divided into nine different hierarchical levels. "Lack of strong regulatory compliance (Ch6)" has been recognised as the most important challenge, which inhibited the mobile wallet implementation, whereas "Perception of customers about the value of using mobile wallets (Ch11)" is the most dependent critical challenge. There are seven hierarchical layers in between the top and the bottom level with the varied number of challenges based on their driving and dependence power. Originality/value This is the first research to the best of our knowledge that has not only comprehensively reviewed the m-wallet literature but also employed a unique ISM-MICMAC-based approach to develop a framework of challenges for the m-wallet implementation.
ABSTRACT
Globally, COVID-19 pandemic has affected more than 214 countries across the world, creating uncertainty and affecting every institution and individual. The organisations recognise the need of agile projects that may offer several benefits including faster deployments, adaptability and best fit alignment to fulfill the customer needs. Implementing agile projects is the key to survive in the post pandemic situation, but emerging economies have limited scope for implementation. The present study determines the critical factors that restricts implementation of agile projects in emerging economies. The critical factors are identified from literature and validated by experts. The validated critical factors are further assessed to identify the cause-and-effect relationship using Fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Laboratory (F-DEMATEL) method. The results of the study posit ‘Skepticism towards the new way of working’ is the most significant causal factor affecting other factors. This study is an attempt to help project managers to consider the significant factors for agile project implementation in post pandemic situation. The project managers may be benefitted from this study by considering these factors to manage challenges for agile project implementation in emerging economies. This study contributes to assess the influencing and the influenced challenging factors for agile project implementation. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
ABSTRACT
The threats like increasing pollution level and scarcity of natural resources are showing that Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) is one of the key solutions and the main contributor driver of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Eventually, a mysterious disease named as COVID-19 started spreading very fast around the globe and it was declared a pandemic. To protect citizens from this pandemic, the government announced complete lockdown in the country. This lockdown due to COVID-19 has put its impact on every aspect of life. In this research study, the e®orts have been made to identify various impacts of COVID-19 on SCP practices and propose various solutions to overcome these impacts of COVID-19. In the Indian perspective, a total ¯fteen impacts of COVID-19 under ¯ve di®erent heads along with eighteen solutions to overcome these impacts have been identi¯ed with the help of literature, various reports and experts' inputs. All these impacts and solutions were analyzed using a hybrid framework. Results revealed that COVID-19 majorly put its impact on nation, business and behavior followed by the impact on society and environment. All these impacts can be overcome by adopting solutions like strong and clear policies formation and its implementation, ¯nancial packages to industries to boost up the economy, ¯rm determination of top management, safety of the workforce and tax reduction on sustainable products. The ¯nal results will be very helpful for all the actors focused on SCP. °c World Scienti¯c Publishing Company
ABSTRACT
Purpose: The prime aim of this paper is the identification and prioritization of performance indicators, which motivate the development of an Internet of Things (IoT)-based traceability system for the agriculture supply chain (ASC). Also, this research aims for checking the robustness of obtained results. Design/methodology/approach: Ten performance indicators have been identified based on the five “criteria in the IoT-based traceable system”. Further, based on five criteria, performance indicators were ranked by using grey-based “Additive Ratio Assessment”. Findings: Sustainable practices obtained first rank, and certification of agri-products obtained worst ranking. Further, based on sensitivity analysis, tracking of agri-products and stakeholders' behavior have found high sensitivity. Also, information sharing and global distribution networks have found the least sensitive performance indicators. Research limitations/implications: This research has some limitations of taking only a few criteria and alternatives. This study may also contribute as a practical insight to the practitioners and managers in decision-making in the adoption of an IoT-based traceable system within the ASC. Originality/value: This research may motivate the implementation of an IoT-based efficient traceability mechanism that improved the sustainability and consumer's trust in the ASC during different types of hazardous activities and other outbreaks (COVID-19). Also, this research has provided a theoretical insight based on the dynamic capability theory (DCT). © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited.
ABSTRACT
Society is facing many challenges, including, climate change, COVID, inequity and human population growth. Some researchers suggest that integration of Circular Economy (CE) and Industry 4.0 (I4.0) concepts and approaches can help us to make progress towards sustainable societies. Integrated implementation can help to improve the design of product-service systems focused on prevention and reduction of wastage of materials, energy, human health, and ecosystems. The CE practices enable consumers to return products after use and to reuse the products with more value. Will integrated adoption of CE and I4.0 practices help society to be more sustainable? What is known about the climate change benefits of integration of I4.0 and CEs to reduce energy and resource usage? The authors sought to answer these questions, via a systematic bibliometric literature review, and network analysis of literature on I4.0 and CE for logistics and supply chain applications. The review was performed by searching the SCOPUS database for literature about I4.0 and CE. A total of 165 articles were shortlisted for in-depth review. The literature review was complimented by bibliometric and network analyses. The review provided insights into the present and future trends in integration of I4.0 and related Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in CE's. Based on the findings, a framework for integrating I4.0 and CE, was developed to guide CE decision-making that will help researchers and industrialists, integrate I4.0 tools within CEs to improve logistics, resource efficiency, safety, product quality and reduce fossil-carbon footprints.
ABSTRACT
Purpose: In this paper, the authors emphasize that COVID-19 pandemic is a serious pandemic as it continues to cause deaths and long-term health effects, followed by the most prolonged crisis in the 21st century and has disrupted supply chains globally. This study questions “can technological inputs such as big data analytics help to restore strength and resilience to supply chains post COVID-19 pandemic?”;toward which authors identified risks associated with purchasing and supply chain management by using a hypothetical model to achieve supply chain resilience through big data analytics. Design/methodology/approach: The hypothetical model is tested by using the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique on the primary data collected from the manufacturing industries. Findings: It is found that big data analytics tools can be used to help to restore and to increase resilience to supply chains. Internal risk management capabilities were developed during the COVID-19 pandemic that increased the company's external risk management capabilities. Practical implications: The findings provide valuable insights in ways to achieve improved competitive advantage and to build internal and external capabilities and competencies for developing more resilient and viable supply chains. Originality/value: To the best of authors' knowledge, the model is unique and this work advances literature on supply chain resilience. © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited.
ABSTRACT
Purpose: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has disrupted global supply chains, revealing dreadful gaps and exposing vulnerabilities. Retailers are challenged to tackle risks and organise themselves to fit into the “new normal” scenario. This global outbreak has established a volatile environment for supply chains;it has raised the question of survival in the market, forcing companies to rethink resilient strategies to be adopted for the post-pandemic situation to mitigate the long-term effects of this virus. This study explores the priorities for retail supply chains (RSCs) to align their business operations and strategies for the post-pandemic world. Design/methodology/approach: This study has utilised integrated full consistency model (FUCOM) – best–worst method (BWM) for assessment of RSCs to enhance their business performance irrespective of pandemic disruptions. The FUCOM has been employed to identify the priorities of determinants enhancing business performance, whereas RSC strategies are evaluated using the BWM method. Findings: The current study identifies “Collaboration Efficiency” as the main criterion for accelerating the performance of RSCs in a dynamic social environment. Also, the study concludes that “Order Fulfilment” and “Digital RSCs” are the most appropriate resilient business strategies to mitigate the long-term effects. Research limitations/implications: Supply-demand balancing is a challenging task at the moment, but highly significant for the future. The pandemic disruptions have placed intense pressure on retailers to deliver products as per consumers' changing behaviours towards the purchase of essentials and other products. Hence, “Order Fulfilment” and “Digital RSCs” should be adopted for meeting customer requirements and to ensure sustainability in the post-pandemic business world. Originality/value: This work sets out a comprehensive framework which will be helpful for accelerating RSCs performance against pandemic disruption by adopting resilient strategies to mitigate the long-term effects. © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited.