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The purpose of this paper is to measure the influence of peers, and the Government and non-governmental organization (NGO) initiatives on an individual’s attitudinal drivers such as environmental knowledge and environmental concern, which are the reasons for their green purchasing intentions. This concept was applied among the Indian young consumers.

For the research, a structured online questionnaire was used to obtain responses from 342 Indians from various cities. The participants were 20-25 years of age. SPSS software package was used to refine the data while SmartPLS was used to test the validity of the hypotheses.

The findings revealed that the Government and NGO initiatives along with peer influence do have a significant effect on a consumer’s environmental knowledge and environmental concerns. Further, this study found a significant positive effect of environmental knowledge and environmental concern on perceived value. In turn, the perceived value had a direct positive impact on green attitude leading to green purchase intention.

This paper provides critical insights for marketers, as well as for governmental agencies and NGOs promoting the conservation of the environment through environmental-friendly practices. These parties aim to generate greater awareness among consumers and impart knowledge about the benefits of green practices.

The studies measuring the impact of external factors on green consumption are scarce. Even the few studies available have measured the direct impact of external factors on green purchase intention. Governmental and NGO initiatives along with peer influence are the stimuli impacting operational factors such as environmental knowledge, environmental concern, perceived value, and green attitude, which, in turn, lead to the response of green purchase intention. This study provides new insights to this relationship by using a stimulus – organism – response framework.

Many companies produce environmentally friendly goods and offer their products with varied attractive marketing mix strategies. One of the company's potential target markets is millennials because the growing number of this community has become enormous. In terms of behavior, millennials have a high level of consumption compared to other generations. However, there are big questions about the willingness of millennials to consume green products. This study aims to acknowledge the green product buying behavior among millennials, especially premium green products. The variables expected to influence the millennial's willingness to pay premium include environmental concern, reference group, and pro-environmental attitude. Data collected through a survey of 250 respondents. The hypothesis framework was tested using PLS-SEM modeling to evaluate the measurement and structural models with the assistance of Warp PLS version 7.0. This study found that millennials who consider the importance of preserving the environment and have a reference group that solicitude to the environment will have a pro-environmental attitude and willing to buy the green product, even though it has a higher price. Green product's management can use the result to formulate an effective green marketing strategy to target the millennials. Regarding the need for millennials' environmental behavior clearer picture in a developing economy, the present study inflicts the literature by describing the antecedents of millennials' willingness to pay premium green products. The results also give practical implications by shedding light on millennials’ green behavior variables. It helps green entrepreneurs conceive their strategic marketing management, and thus can boost the green economy and economic growth.

Previous studies suggested that talent management (TM) is positively related to employee work attitudes. However, a few studies have examined the mechanisms through which TM leads to employee work attitudes. The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of person-organisation (P-O) fit on the relationship between TM and employee’s job satisfaction, and organisational citizenship behaviours (OCBs).

Using a sample of 232 talented employees from the Ghanaian banking sector, a partial mediation model was outlined and tested using structural equation modelling.

The results showed that TM had positive relationship with P-O fit, job satisfaction and OCBs. The findings further show that P-O fit had positive relationship between job satisfaction and OCBs and partially mediated the relationship between TM and both job satisfaction, and OCBs.

This study used cross-sectional data; hence, conclusions regarding causality cannot be made. That is, the results must be interpreted as associations rather than causality.

Management should endeavour to use TM to help align talented employee’s competences, values and goals to those of their organisation.

This study contributed to the TM literature by providing a stronger and more plausible explanation of the relationship between TM and talented employees’ outcomes.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the investment pattern, adoption behaviour, attitude of farmers towards conservation compliance programmes and the extent of participation of farmers in soil conservation projects in the Western Ghats of India.

For the present study, multistage purposive sampling was followed. The sample respondents were identified for the survey in all the five categories of watersheds (very high, high, medium, low and very low priority watersheds) in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu at the rate of 50 farm respondents in each category. Since the investment among the five categories of watersheds did not show any significant differences, the sample farmers were post stratified as marginal, small, medium and large farmers based on farm size for further analysis.

The investment analysis showed a benefit cost ratio (BCR) of 1.03 for staggered trenches for tea to 1.40 for bench terrace for carrot. For annual crops, the BCR for bench terrace varied from 1.03 for cabbage to 1.32 for carrot. Among the soil conservation technologies, in tea plantation, stone wall had the highest net present value (NPV) of Rs. 74,335. Staggered trench had the lower NPV Rs. 19,237 among all conservation structures. The results of the contingent valuation showed that cropped area, farm size, on-farm income positively and significantly influenced the willingness to pay (WTP) towards soil conservation. Family size and age of the farmer negatively influenced the WTP of the respondents significantly. The multinomial logit model indicated that staggered trench had direct impact on productivity. In tea plantation, staggered trench adoption was influenced by area under plantation crops, farm size, educational level and land slope. The participation index was very low (<30), indicating the poor participation of farmers in soil conservation programmes.

The results of the study reveal the appropriateness of the soil conservation technologies for the select soil type as well as the specific socioeconomic conditions of the farmers undertaking conservation compliance programs in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu. Understanding the farmer’s perceptions and adoption behaviour is important in making the whole programme a successful one. Hence the results of the study may not be generalized for other study zones, unless otherwise, the agro-ecological zone is similar to the site where the study was conducted.

The study suggested that adoption of conservation technologies should be promoted in a big way to conserve natural resources like soil and enhance economic returns. It is also advocated that institutions should provide only guidance for community participation not on community governance and the role should be involving the real stakeholders/beneficiaries under participatory mode to achieve the goal of soil conservation. The bottom-up approach should be adopted to address the real issues involved in conservation compliance programmes.

The outcome of the study advocates the economic viability of conservation technologies adopted by the crop farmers. The project results also advised the farmers, institutions and the enforcements authorities, the strategies to be adopted to minimize soil loss and increase crop productivity by adopting the appropriate conservation compliance programs. The results also revealed that conservation of soil and water not only conserved the precious natural resources but also had far reaching effect on the yield of croplands, which would be reflected on the food and nutritional securities of the local communities at the micro level and the nation as a whole at the macro level.

The research outcome is based on the field level research done by the authors in the Western Ghats of India. The primary data collected from the respondents were analysed and used for drawing inferences and conclusions.

Higher education institutions understand the importance of the quality of work life (QoWL) since it directly impacts faculty members’ involvement in providing high-quality teaching. The purpose of this paper is to compare the QoWL of faculty members in undergraduate medical and undergraduate engineering programs offered at Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Saudi Arabia.

An exploratory study design was adopted and 100 faculty members from each program were selected. A pretested QoWL questionnaire was distributed among faculty members using the Questionpro online survey portal.

Results showed that there is no significant difference between the two programs with regard to the overall QoWL (p>0.05). However, a significant difference was observed with respect to dimensions such as “working condition/environment,” “psychosocial factors at work place” and “job satisfaction and job security.” Also, there is a positive relationship observed between all the dimensions of QoWL (p<0.05).

This study will help educational policy planners to understand the differences in QoWL of faculty members in different programs so as to develop appropriate strategies for its improvement.

The purpose of this conceptual paper is to explore how Africa has been branded, and to suggest ways the continent could be re‐branded to attract both international and domestic investments.

An extensive review of literature that encapsulates branding, nation branding, place/destination branding, foreign direct investment and issues associated with investment opportunities in Africa was conducted towards exploring how Africa has been branded and could be re‐branded.

This paper finds that the extant literature is replete with publications that essentially associate Africa, as a brand, to poverty, underdevelopment, corruption, doom, pestilence and several other inauspicious features. Nonetheless, the article also shows that there are several existing virtues especially in the form of business opportunities in several sectors that could be accorded extensive publicity to espouse the continents' brand equity. These range from agriculture, to tourism, to real estate, to sports and several existing foreign direct investments already thriving in several parts of the continent. Hence, the suggestion for re‐branding Africa as a viable continent for global business transactions is strongly emphasised in the article.

This paper has a significant implication for positioning Africa as a relevant business partner in the global marketplace by echoing the extensive business opportunities that await both the indigenous and foreign investors in the continent.

The article espouses the brand equity of Africa as a continent and suggests avenues for constantly communicating the inherent virtues of the content to the world towards maintaining her rightful position in the international business community.

The overall aim of the present study is to advance research by drawing from this body of work and applying the brand personality construct, which has so far been considered mostly in connection with commercial product brands, in the context of nation branding. More specifically, and also more importantly, the study aims to contribute to research both in nation branding, as well as, indirectly, in the broader domain of brand personality in general, by being one of the first to examine the relationship between individual personality (IP) and nation brand personality (NBP) traits.

The study was conducted via a Web-based questionnaire in Arabic language to Saudi citizens living in Saudi Arabia. The study object was defined as the brand personality of the USA. To make possible the comparison between respondents’ personality and the US brand personality, the Big Five factors typology was used as a proxy (openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism).

Results revealed a significant negative impact of the gaps between Saudi’s IP and the US brand personality (i.e. independent variables) upon their attitudes and intentions to behave toward the USA (dependent variables). Results also show that there are no moderating effects of previous visits paid to the USA and having relatives living there.

First, data were collected in only one country about perceptions of NBP traits of one other country. Thus, the results should not be generalized to other contexts until further research is done for a mix of both sample and target countries. This must include not only culturally dissimilar countries (as, in this case, Saudi views of the USA), but also countries that are classified as very close in their cultural distance index (i.e. view of the USA by Canadians or of Kuwaitis by Saudis). A second limitation is the proxy used to measure NBP. Future research may alternatively use an NBP scale developed explicitly for countries. Finally, the somewhat higher proportion of female respondents may be an issue to consider in future studies. In this study, the concern, if any, is largely ameliorated by the results, which showed virtually no significant differences between male and female average responses in relation to the Big Five (the only exception was observed with regards to conscientiousness, where males scored slightly lower than females). As was noted above, one may speculate as to potential reasons for the gender distribution in this study – but differences between samples and populations, not only in gender but in any sample characteristics, are quite common in research; therefore, any effort to achieve more balanced sample distributions will be well placed and received.

These results should encourage nation brand marketers to closely consider the predominant personality of their target markets, as well as the perceived personality of their own countries (image) when developing international marketing strategies. Such strategic focus should start by deciding what messages to send to the target audience to create in their minds the intended country’s identity by using the appropriate personality traits in communication applications. As this paper has demonstrated, international audiences holding similar personality types, especially in agreeableness, extraversion and conscientiousness, would feel attracted to perform positively towards the country’s offerings (i.e. tourism, investment, job opportunities, immigration, etc.).

In this first ever study to explore the relationship between an IP and NBP, a key finding is the confirmation of self-congruity theory.

The study aims to analyze the composition and mineral profile of oyster shell powder (OSP) and assess its potential as a sustainable source of calcium.

A total of two batches of OSP with different particle sizes had been evaluated for centesimal and mineral composition and microbiological quality. OSP with smaller particles (0.85 mm) was used in the production of bread: standard bread (SB) (0%), fortified bread (FB1) (3%) and FB2 (4%). Centesimal and mineral composition and sensory acceptance had been performed. The internal preference map had been constructed using principal component analysis. The Just About Right data and the influence of sensory attributes on bread acceptance had been assessed by a penalty analysis test.

OSP-0.85 mm had calcium content (478.47 ± 2.37 mg.g-1) lower than OSP-1.00 mm (521.15 ± 0.99 mg.g-1) due to retention of particles. In both batches, heavy metals such as chromium, nickel and copper had not detected. FB1 and FB2 had the best nutritional content compared to SB, with higher calcium content (mg.g-1) 0.69 ± 0.07; 13.76 ± 0.72 and 19.47 ± 1.99 for SB, FB1 and FB2, respectively. The internal preference map showed better acceptance of FB1 compared to FB2. The penalty test showed that this acceptance was penalized (p < 0.05) due to the sandy texture.

The large number of shells generated in the processing of oysters is an environmental problem and generates waste of a natural source of calcium. It has been demonstrated that oyster shell powder can be used as a natural and sustainable source of calcium in bread, requiring further studies to assess the bioavailability of calcium.

The purpose of this study to analyze the unsteady magneto hydrodynamic incompressible viscous fluid flow along the porous parallel plates in which constant periodic suction/injection takes place at lower and upper plate, respectively. By the proper choice of stream function, they obtained exact solution analytically. Velocity components are obtained from exact solution.

Emissions of the pollutants from the aviation sectors are doubled compared to 2000. There are many recent developments that are actively developed to combat the emission by increasing the performance of the Jet engines. The role of the computational fluid dynamics and the numerical approaches are crucial in terms of research and development.

Velocity profiles like axial and radial have been drawn for various values of M, D, α and θ. The exact solutions have been solved by differential transformation method. The closed form analytical solutions are obtained for the stream function, axial and radial velocities and flow velocity.

The effects of Darcy parameter, magnetic parameter, Suction Reynolds number and frequency parameter on lower and upper plates are discussed through graphs.