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Supply chain vulnerability (SCV) analysis is vital for manufacturers globally because it creates a pathway for building resilient supply chains in uncertain environments. This study aims to identify drivers of SCV in the Indian manufacturing sector.

Sixteen drivers were identified from the literature review and followed by expert interviews. Interpretive structural modeling was used to determine the hierarchical structural relationship among identified SCV factors.

It was found that risk is not a board room agenda. Misaligned performance measures with incentives and lack of risk dashboard are the causal factors of SCV. Supply chain security, centralized production and distribution and lack of trust in the supply chain were driven factors.

This provides new insights to assess and prioritize initiatives for supply chain sustainability in terms of continuing business operations. The structural model provides a systemic view of SCV and helps reduce vulnerability.

The efficiency and effectiveness of reverse logistics (RL) is dependent on collection methods as the collection activities are critical in determining the economic viability of the entire recovery chain. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the various collection methods used in RL under uncertain environment.

An integrated fuzzy multi-criteria decision model has been developed for the evaluation of various collection methods. The evaluation has been done based on the criteria of initial investment, value added recovery, return volume, operating cost, degree of supply chain control, and level of customer satisfaction. The three alternatives used in the study are collection by the manufacturer directly from the customer, collection by the retailer, and collection by the third party. The fuzzy analytical hierarchy process has been used to compute the criteria weights and fuzzy technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution has been used to rank the alternative collection methods. Fuzzy mathematics has been used to take care of uncertainties in the RL.

Selection and evaluation of alternative collection methods is affected by multiple criteria like initial investment, value added recovery, return volume, operating cost, degree of supply chain control, and level of customer satisfaction. The utility of the proposed evaluation methodology has been validated by solving a case example from automotive company.

The proposed methodology will provide a useful tool to the decision maker for the evaluation and selection of the alternative collection methods in RL. This will help companies in strategic decision making to prioritize and develop collection facilities accordingly.

The purpose of this paper is to study the performance measures of world class manufacturing (WCM) and to establish relationship among them using interpretive structural modeling (ISM).

The research paper presents a blend of theoretical framework and practical applications. In the paper, 16 performance measures are identified from literature survey and experts’ opinion, and then these are validated by questionnaire survey in India. Finally, ISM is used to obtain structural relationship among these performance measures of WCM.

The results of the survey and the ISM methodology have been used to evolve the mutual relationships among these performance measures.

The adoption of such an ISM-based model on WCM performance measures in manufacturing organizations would help managers, decision-makers and practitioners of WCM in better understanding of these performance measures and to focus on appropriate performance measures while implementing WCM in their organizations.

Performance measures are of paramount importance for the implementation of WCM practices. Knowing the key performance measures and relationship among them can help many organizations to implement WCM practices. It is one of the foremost attempts to model performance measures of WCM. The paper provides useful insights into the WCM practitioners, consultants and researchers.

The present situation is marked by the threat of COVID-19 pandemic on entire humankind and researchers across the globe are looking forward to vaccines or medicines to tackle COVID-19. However, according to the scholars and health-care agencies, vaccines alone would not be of much help and in the longer run adhering to the physical distancing policy along with sanitation could be the only solution. Moreover, extant studies across different areas have noted a positive association between various human psychological factors and prosocial behaviours. Additionally, an empirical study undertaken in the western context has tried exploring the association between human psychological factors and physical distancing behaviour (a kind of prosocial behaviour) in the COVID-19 context. The results of the extant study seem intriguing and encouraging enough to undertake a more robust exploratory study in this developing area. Against this background, this study aims to explore the relationship between individuals’ mindfulness and physical distancing behaviour, along with the mediating role of empathy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To achieve the study objectives, this study has used an online survey method and has collected responses from the general adult population in India spread across all six regions. The survey was conducted during May 2020 when India was under a nationwide lockdown to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 pandemic. The respondents were identified based on convenience and snowball sampling techniques. Using social media platforms, the prospective respondents were contacted through WhatsApp, LinkedIn and Facebook or e-mails. Post data cleaning, a total of 315 responses were found to be suitable for analysis. For analysis, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to establish the validity and reliability of the conceptual model, whereas Pearson correlation was undertaken to study the relationship between variables and mediation was examined using the PROCESS macro of Hayes.

The findings were encouraging and could become the foundation stone for further research and a practical guide for policymakers, agencies working in the health-care areas and even corporate leaders. As expected, an individual’s mindfulness was noted to be positively-related and influencing physical distancing behaviour. The mediation analysis indicated the intervening role of empathy in the association between an individual’s mindfulness and physical distancing behaviour.

The findings of the present could be a game-changer in restricting the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. As espoused by various scholars, as well as health-care organizations about the use of physical distancing in mitigating the risk of COVID-19, policymakers, health-care authorities and even corporate leaders could look forward to strategizing and execute the dissemination of various mindfulness-based programs among the individuals. These mindfulness-based programs, which could be disseminated offline and online through smartphones, could, in turn, help in positively influence physical distancing behaviour among the individuals leading to the success of physical distancing policy.

This study relates and extends the mechanism of mindfulness in influencing individuals’ physical distancing behaviour in the pandemic situation, notably the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, based on the “empathy-altruism hypothesis”, as well as Schwartz’s theory of fundamental values, the intervening role of empathy has been explored and the findings further helped in extended these two theories in the domain of pandemic.

This study could be the first to conceptualize and examine the human psychological factors, particularly the relationship and role of an individual’s mindfulness with physical distancing behaviour among the general public during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, this could also be the first study to conceptualize and explore the intervening role of empathy in the relationship between an individual’s mindfulness and physical distancing behaviour. Moreover, in conceptualizing and exploring the relationship between an individual’s mindfulness and physical distancing behaviour, this study explored and extended the “reperceiving” mechanism of mindfulness and the “empathy-altruism hypothesis” along with Schwartz’s theory of fundamental values in the domain of pandemic.

The paper aims to enhance the understanding of robust food supply chains (FSC) by exploring the capabilities of various digital technologies and examining their interactions.

This study finding shows that digital technology enhances the resilience of the FSC by improving visibility, traceability and adaptability. This resilience provides a competitive advantage, ultimately enhancing the overall business performance.

In developing countries, inadequate infrastructure, poor Internet connectivity and diverse stakeholder systems pose challenges to implementing advanced digital solutions in the FSC.

This paper is among the first to investigate the impact of digital technology on FSC resilience, exploring visibility, flexibility and collaboration.

The purpose of this research is to establish a conceptual model to understand the impact of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) and Industry 4.0 (I4.0) on the transition of a Circular Economy (CE). Also, the paper explores the combined impact of TPM, I4.0 and CE on the sustainability performance (SP) of manufacturing firms.

The conceptual model is proposed using the dynamic capability view (DCV) and empirically validated by partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) using 304 responses from Indian manufacturing firms.

The results suggest that I4.0 positively impacts TPM, CE and SP, also showing TPM's positive impact on CE and SP. In addition, CE has a positive influence on the SP of manufacturing firms. Furthermore, CE partially mediates the relationship between I4.0 and SP with TPM and SP. The study also identifies TPM, I4.0 and CE as a new bundle of dynamic capabilities to deliver SP in manufacturing firms.

The present research adds to the knowledge and literature on DCV by identifying the importance of CE in the settings of I4.0 and TPM, especially in the context of sustainability. Also, the current study offers a new set of dynamic capabilities and provides some significant future recommendations for researchers and practitioners.

The study aims to highlight the barriers faced by the entrepreneurs toward achieving sustainability in business and innovation cultivation by offering solutions for academicians, practitioners and policymakers. The study uses the resource-based view (RBV) theory to discuss how an organization’s resources and capabilities influence the competitive ambience and barriers faced by entrepreneurs.

The present research uses grey-causal modelling (GSC) to analyse the barriers against successful entrepreneurship.

The research focuses on the usefulness of dynamic capabilities, managing and cooperating resources in the entrepreneurship setting. The paper highlights the importance of resource gathering and nurturing as a method to combat scarcity. This research further identifies that financial limitations, regulatory obstacles, challenges to sourcing qualified labour, poor infrastructure and technology, limited mentorship opportunities, lack of scalability, low initial cost barriers in product development and risk-averse attitudes are the major factors hindering entrepreneurs from obtaining sustainable business and innovation.

The contribution of this research to the literature is that it assesses RBV theory within the realm of entrepreneurship, providing a different perspective on resources and capabilities as well as the challenges faced by entrepreneurs. The systematic approach to the analysis and prioritization of various barriers is innovative, and it adds knowledge in this area.

This study aims to examine current research on the relationship between Operational Excellence and Healthcare 4.0 (H4.0) for healthcare organizations.

The authors have performed a systematic literature review of 102 documents published between 2011 and 2022 from the Scopus database to identify the research trends on Operational Excellence and H4.0. Through a descriptive bibliometric analysis, this study has highlighted the year-wise trend in publication, top authors, prominent sources of publications, the country-wise spread of research activities and subject area analysis. Furthermore, through content analysis, this study has identified four clusters and proposed directions for future research of each identified cluster.

Results reflect overall growth in this area, with a few parts of the world being underrepresented in research related to Operational Excellence and H4.0. The content analysis focused on describing challenges pertaining to healthcare industries and the role of Operational Excellence tools and H4.0 technologies in dealing with various healthcare delivery aspects. The authors concluded their analysis by proposing a theoretical framework and providing theoretical and managerial implications of the study.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the paper is one of the first to analyze the existing literature on the healthcare sector at the interface of Operational Excellence and H4.0 technologies. The conceptual framework and cluster-wise future research prepositions are some of the unique offerings of the study.